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A perfect longboard performance wave, out of the 50s and into the 60s Malibu was favored by the best hotdoggers of the 60s including Dewey Weber, Lance Carson, Tom Morey and most of the greats of that era, who either lived for the spot or came there when a south swell was running and weaved their way through the growing crowds of dweebs, gremmies, kooks, hodads and cowboys who plugged the lineup in increasing numbers.
In the 70s and 80s, the lineup was ruled and order was kind of maintained by the likes of Jay Riddle and Angie Reno, while Malibu produced hot 90s surfers like Ricky Shaffer and Solo Scott.
In The Beginning:
• Malibu Creek was an important place for the Chumash Indians: A fresh-water supply in an arid desert, lobster and fish on the reef, more fish in the rivers. The Chumash named the point “humaliwu” which means: Where the surf sounds loudly. • The first European to explore California – Juan Cabrillo – might have stopped at Malibu Creek in 1542 to get fresh water. He described a Puebla de las Canoas – a small village with a lot of canoes at the foot of a canyon. • The first legal claim to land in Malibu was made in 1802 by Spanish settler Jose Bartoleme Tapia. Tapia established a ranch and built a large adobe in Malibu Canyon. These property holdings became known as the "Rancho Topanga Malibu Simi Sequit."
• Passed down through family inheritance, the rancho was eventually sold by Henry Keller to Frederick Hastings Rindge in 1891 for the reputed figure of $300,000. The original Spanish Land Grant was 13,300 acres and that was expanded to 17,000 acres. The Rancho Topanga Malibu y Sequit at one time was one of the most valuable pieces of property in the United States. It was a working cattle ranch, but as the population of Los Angeles began to boom, the State of California and the United States Government tried to built a lighthouse on the property, and build a railroad through it and a highway. The Rindge family fought all of these attempts in order to keep the land to themselves, but it was a losing battle. • The Rindge family of Malibu and the Hollister family of Gaviota fought very similar battles to maintain the privacy of their coastal, south-facing ranchlands. The Rindges didn’t want the railroad, so they built their own and manipulated a law which disallowed two railroads along the same route.. The Hollisters did want the railroad, and part of the deal is the family got free rides to Los Angeles or San Francisco from the two stops on the Ranch.
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READER COMMENTS
Tue Jun23, 2009, 12:45 AM
I started surfing Malibu in 1966. I pretty much stopped getting in the water there around 1978. The problem? Assholes: Very young, very rude, very entitled. They made sure the vibe changed to match their conceit, and that same attitude has insured that Malibu surfrider outshines all southern California surf spots in ugly intensity. Mickey Dora? I remember him well. He hardly surfed. He was a drug addled little thief,(though he could still surf like a bastard when he felt the urge)and it was because of his confused state of mind and a clear personal frustration that he fucked with other surfers, not because he was some cool surf pioneer that was robbed of "his" waves. As to surfing etiquette at the points being non-existent, I say, good. The assholes out there started the trend 40 years ago. they're all just surfing in the Kharma of their own shitty medicine.
Sat Jul11, 2009, 8:17 PM
Why is it that degradation of 3rd and 2nd point is never mentioned.Two of the finest hollowest swell south spots on the coast.If you can find old footage you will see it is NOTHING like it used to be .There is more than a water quality problem.The wave is disappearing more each year .Check out the coastal records project of surfrider beach from 1972 to 2009 the beach is gone and so are the perfect waves.Those 2 points were machine like winding quality .This year the bottom of 2nd you might catch a couple of shoulders. pat conway
Fri Jul24, 2009, 8:51 PM
If there is one spot in So Cal that I would have loved to grow up at in the 30's/40's, it's Malibu. I've been surfing there since I was 8 and even though I live 20 minutes away in Venice, I'd rather surf the pier. The vibe there sucks now, a bunch of straight legged old men, "Soul'd Out" groms about 10 years behind in thier fashion statements, and even the girls who can't surf to save thier lives seem to be snakes these days...
Mon Aug 3, 2009, 10:30 PM
TomR sizzles! His steaks are the best. Decker Creek still drums the vibe.
Wed Sep30, 2009, 6:01 PM
Malibu has a few things going for it that ruin it. Easy access, and an easy tame paddle out and soft friendly surf. there are so many better surf experiences to be had around the world, but not many where you can surf in the morning, chillax in your house and grab some grub, and then be a sell-out in a suit by noon. Selling real estate, or an image to movies and print. Sarlo? come on that moron snakes everybody with his over-amped gorilla squat barking all the way down the line. Wow that sounds like fun, snake three guys then yell at people the rest of the wave cause you think they are going to snake you. Total Combat. As for Matt Rapf, he might be a decent realtor and decent guy, but surfer? ah no-- he pretty much sucks. No where is it written that this thing they call the united states will live in perpetuity. Malibu was majic before that dumb bitch so called "owned it" in the early 1900's.
Sun Oct 4, 2009, 11:49 AM
So it is true, bodyboarding isn't allowed? What a piece of &@#§. I've never seen this. Pipeline allows it, but not 3 feet Malibu? Oh well, they can keep their over rated, over crowded, over cool attitude and snake themselves in "peace".