Surfing



Surfing was invented by the Polynesians; Captain Cook made note of it in Oahu in 1778. George Freeth (1883-1918), who first surfed Redondo Beach in 1907, is widely credited with introducing the sport to California. But surfing didn't catch on until the 1950s, when CalTech graduate Bob Simmons invented a more maneuverable lightweight fiberglass board. The Beach Boys and other surf-music groups popularized Southern California in the minds of beach-babes and -dudes everywhere, and the rest, as they say, is history. You'll also find some great surf an hour or two down the coast in the Huntington Beach and Newport areas of Orange County.

If you're a first-timer eager to learn the sport, contact Pure Surfing Experience (tel. 310/546-4451; www.puresurfingexperience.com) in Manhattan Beach. This highly respected school features a team of experienced instructors and will supply all necessary equipment. Single lessons are $80, but subsequent follow-ups are deeply discounted. Call for reservations, but don't expect anyone to answer the phone if the waves are good.

Boards are available for rent at shops near all top surfing beaches in the L.A. area. Zuma Jay Surfboards, 22775 Pacific Coast Hwy., Malibu (tel. 310/456-8044), Malibu's oldest surf shop, is about a quarter-mile south of Malibu Pier. Rentals are about $20 per day, plus $8 for wet suits in winter.