Not enough Beach

I surfed on the south side of the pier the other day.

Good waves

I pretty much spent my entire teenage years waiting for the waves to wedge up next to the pier

I've surfed there more times than I can count

but I don't surf there much anymore.

There are other places

Maybe less crowded, maybe not

But the whole thing, the circus if  you will

is just a bit too much for me to make sometimes.

The streets are lined with skinny two story houses from Main street all the way to Goldenwest.

Huntington is of course the face of the surf industrial complex



The tee shirt sellers rule the industry,

the thousands of seemingly soul less machine shaped blanks

milled within a milligram of each other identical in every regard

(ever wonder why the kids spray paint a happy face on 'em?)

glassed too well

hardly anyone makes their own boards anymore,

The craft seem to be just an after thought

decorations for the surf clothing business which is the heart of the industry

boards take up too much floor space and tie up too much retail capital

their profit margin has never been good.

Not a mat in sight I might add...

Then there is the strictly tourist industry

In full swing in and around the Pier

the vendors of miscellaneous surf and non surf related crap.

On Oahu the North Shore was county and the South Shore was town

In California HB is defiantly town

Where is the country?


As I have come to think of it

Too much Huntington and not enough beach

Comments

Unknown said…
Scarey and yet poetic. A long time ago Marshall McLuhan said "the medium is the message" - the surf media/contest circuit exist to Move Product via some imaginary experience and then repackage Adventure to faraway lands when it gets too crowded at home. Madness.Even though it's Gaggle owned, at least we have blogs for free thought.
pranaglider said…
It's probably just a case of "you can't go home again" I grew up in HB but whenever I go back to town I can help but thing how much it's changed. At least the surf is still good! sometimes.
Val said…
You really nailed it, Bruce!
Driving past Main St. when the US Open was about to start this summer, and observing the whole circus, was kinda nauseating. EVERYTHING about The Surf Industry is designed to persuade the masses to Buy More Crap, but of course they never admit ANY responsibility for the overcrowding in the water that gets more and more frustrating.

On a happier note, I've been enjoying the mat at some less overhyped spots now that our real summer has finally arrived. :-)
Beetlejuice said…
I surf the pier in the pm with some wind and less crowd.usually always better than it's southern neighbor too.

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