History of Surfing in San Francisco
Cover image: © SURFER / PETER TARAS
It's hard to imagine that beyond the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Ghirardelli Square, the foggy city of San Francisco, has a thriving, hardcore surf community. Surfing in Northern California means thick wetsuits, strong currents, frigid waters, and brave, dedicated individuals that possess a true love for the sport. The first surfers in the city were charging the waters of Ocean Beach way before the Giants, 49rs, or Golden State Warriors ever called San Francisco home. Here is a brief history of surfing in San Francisco.
The Start
The original Fleishhacker Lifeguard crew with Cliff Kamaka, Eddie Eukini, and future big wave surfer, Charlie Grimm
The first surfers in California were three Hawaiian Princes, Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole, David Kawananakoa, and Edward Keli’iahoniu, in the mid-1930s. While attending school in the Monterey Area, they fashioned boards from the trunks of Redwood Trees and paddled out to the San Lorenzo Rivermouth. A few years later, in 1938, Duke Kahanamoku visited the state during his international Surf Exhibition. For a group of curious and excited fans, he expertly glided along the waves of Santa Cruz, a few miles south of San Francisco. After this initial introduction, in the late 30s and early 40s little communities of surfers began to emerge in Pacifica and San Francisco.
Fred Van Dyke and Jack O’Neill recount the start of surfing in San Francisco in the early 1940s when two Hawaiian Lifeguards at Fleishhacker Swimming Pool, Cliff Kamaka, and Eddie Eukini, began to body and mat surf the waves at Ocean Beach. At the time, boards weren’t used because the shore break at OB was too rough.
Denny Lewis surfing Kelly’s Cove in trunks
Throughout the rest of the 40s and into the 50s, a tight night group of quirky, crusty, and dedicated surfers began to charge the notoriously chilly and rough waters of Ocean Beach. Pre-wetsuits, the surfers would always have a bonfire on the beach, and only being able to last 45 minutes in the icy waters, they'd run to the beach and warm themselves up. These fires brought together like-minded surfers and established a hangout scene for the early surfers like Bob Wise, Bill Hickey, Denny Lewis and Jeff Clark among others.
In 1952, Jack O’Neil opened his first surf shop in the Outer Sunset district. Here he started working on his brand new invention, a wetsuit. Unlike the luxury neoprene skins we have available today, these prototypes were inflexible and didn't cover the surfer's full body. Though they were in their early stages, they provided allowed the Ocean Beach surfers to stay in the water for longer sessions.
The first O’Neill Surf Shop
The Scene at Kelly's Cove
The surf crew of the 50s was described as eccentric by Mark Gunson, the maker of the Great Highway, a documentary that dives deep into the beginning of surf in San Francisco and the crew who called Ocean Beach their home.
At this time, surfing was considered a bum lifestyle for those who wanted to avoid getting a real paying job and would rather live their life by the waves. The surf scene was outsiders who all had a love for the ocean in common.
In the 1960s Kelly's Cove, on the very north end of Ocean Beach was the hot surf spot, and as the shift in American culture occurred the surfing grew in popularity, and the scene of bonfires, surfers, and beachgoers claimed this area as their hang out.
Rise to Fame
Ocean Beach on the famous 2013 MLK Day swell of the year
The sport steadily rose in popularity throughout the rest of the century. Ocean Beach became more crowded and became recognized as a big wave spot that some of the most gnarly big wave surfers charge. Fort Point, previously patrolled by military police, was opened to surfers and is now one of the most coveted surf breaks in the area. Not as gnarly as Ocean Beach and with potential for barrelage, it's one of the most crowded breaks in the city. William Finnegan in his book, Barbarian Days, talks about his experiences surfing Ocean Beach, the scene, and how it became one of his favorite breaks.
In 2011, the Association of Professional Surfers (ASP) hosted a WCT Ripcurl Pro Search Contest for the very first time at Ocean Beach. The competition was electric with a showdown between Kelly Slater and Gabriel Medina. At the time, I was 12 and was so excited to see Kelly Slater that I ran up to him and got him to sign my first flip phone.
A few years later on MLK day in 2013, the city experienced a historic swell. It attracted professional surfers, Damien Hobgood, Mike Parsons, Taylor Knox and Josh Kerr up to Ocean Beach and their session that day was considered one of the best days of surfing San Francisco had ever seen.
Today
Today, Ocean Beach has a solid regular surf crew. It has raised some of Northern California's most esteemed big wave surfers like charger, Bianca Valenti who has gained recognition for her incredible stoke and skill in the big wave surfing world.
Not a surf spot for the weak of heart, the San Francisco surf scene is historic and filled with some of the most passionate wave lovers out there.
Did reading about the colorful history of surfing in San Francisco inspire you to hit the waves? Remember to check out the Jamie O’Brien Surf App here for anytime, anywhere surf coaching.
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