On August 29, 1996 the Army Corps of Engineers continued in their trend of coastal abuse and put the last nail on the coffin for the break formerly known as Killer Dana. With their closure of the area to all “marine activities” they ruined a very unique surf spot. Killer Dana was a large rock point that focused south swells and produced about a half dozen reef sections; Mepees, Indicators, Boneyards and Garbage Hole were a few.
On the biggest of swells when other breaks would close out Killer Dana would hold its shape. Killer Dana could handle 20 foot waves and broke like a mainland Makaha. Thus Killer Dana was said to be the closest to a Hawaiian style wave in California due to its power and shape. The geography of the spot focalized more wave energy than other spots on the coast within a seventy five mile radius.
Killer Dana also had a unique group of locals that used to make their livings fishing and diving at the same beach that they surfed and slept. It was a classic spot where surfers would leave their boards at the beach because they knew their boards would be safe there. In the 1930’s there was a group of twenty-four surfers that frequented the break forming a tight knit group.
The point at Killer Dana was muted by the addition of tons of granite that was quarried from the offshore island, Catalina, and placed in a necklace around the cove and soon to be harbor. The public was very excited and uneducated about the harbor development plans. Congress even took part in the plans by allotting one million dollars to the harbor an action that was followed by a three day celebration in Dana Point.
The harbor construction made it so that Killer Dana would never be able to break again. On the southern side of the harbor there is only a small, slow gutless and polluted wave called Doheny. The historically polluted lines of Doheny pale in comparison to the epic right hander that was buried by granite boulders. Today Doheny is one of the most regularly polluted beaches in California.
On the biggest of swells when other breaks would close out Killer Dana would hold its shape. Killer Dana could handle 20 foot waves and broke like a mainland Makaha. Thus Killer Dana was said to be the closest to a Hawaiian style wave in California due to its power and shape. The geography of the spot focalized more wave energy than other spots on the coast within a seventy five mile radius.
Killer Dana also had a unique group of locals that used to make their livings fishing and diving at the same beach that they surfed and slept. It was a classic spot where surfers would leave their boards at the beach because they knew their boards would be safe there. In the 1930’s there was a group of twenty-four surfers that frequented the break forming a tight knit group.
The point at Killer Dana was muted by the addition of tons of granite that was quarried from the offshore island, Catalina, and placed in a necklace around the cove and soon to be harbor. The public was very excited and uneducated about the harbor development plans. Congress even took part in the plans by allotting one million dollars to the harbor an action that was followed by a three day celebration in Dana Point.
The harbor construction made it so that Killer Dana would never be able to break again. On the southern side of the harbor there is only a small, slow gutless and polluted wave called Doheny. The historically polluted lines of Doheny pale in comparison to the epic right hander that was buried by granite boulders. Today Doheny is one of the most regularly polluted beaches in California.
1 comment:
Great backstory. Really nice use of the blog. Try and space out the entries a little to make it easier to read. And, of course, once you have established the history, you will use the blog to tell the human story of your experience making the film.
Nice work!
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