Navy to host first surfing contest on Pacific ocean

Until now there were just a few legal options to get to the waves at Point Mugu, Calif.: Befriend someone in the military who didn't mind escorting you to the beach, boat in, or enlist in the Navy.

The military base has generated buzz in the surfing world recently by sponsoring a contest this month that is being billed as the first ever at Point Mugu, a spot Surfer Magazine once called "SoCal's best kept secret."

There's plenty of stuff at Naval Base Ventura County that is top secret, but the waves don't have to be, said Capt. Brad "Brick" Conners, commander of the base.

"There are two questions that the man on the street always asks me when they find out I'm in charge of the base," Conners said. "When is the air show and how can I surf on the base?"

Over the years, plenty of surfers have figured out how to get access, although it hasn't been easy.

"Enlisting? No, but I've been able to surf Mugu," said Matt Malone, a lifelong surfer and contest organizer. "I have friends in the military and just got lucky a few times and got to surf it. It's amazing how good it is."

For several years, there was even a club, the Point Mugu Surf Club, which included civilian and military employees on the base and some of their friends.

Surfers have used less honorable ways to gain access to the waves. Base patrols regularly nab surfers who trespass on base through the wetlands, risking $500 fines and an appearance in front of a federal magistrate.

Sneaking up the beach really isn't an option, and coming in by boat isn't always doable. The Coast Guard has been known to sweep in and shoo away boats that get too close to the exclusionary zone around the base.

Surfers who get dropped off in the water risk getting citations if they set feet on the sand.

So when Malone got a call a couple of weeks ago asking if he was interested in helping the Navy organize a contest on Oct. 25, he was taken aback.

The spot is actually called Pelican Point. Others call it Radar Towers, and it has an unusual amount of power for a California surfing spot, Malone said.

Although the late October timing for the contest isn't optimal for getting the kind of south swell that works best for the spot, Malone isn't too worried.

"I was out there this week and it was maybe 2 or 3 feet, and even at that size it was really good," he said. "It's going to be fun."

If the swell is bigger, it promises to be thrilling as well.

One of those who has committed to surfing the event is Dane Reynolds, a top-ranked professional surfer from Ventura, Calif.

Kent Blankenship, athletics director at Naval Base Ventura County, wants to attract a wide range of surfers. The event will have open men and women divisions, a younger-than-17 boy's division as well as military women and men divisions. There will also be a professional division.

Blankenship, a former beach lifeguard at the base who regularly body surfs the area with his daughter, said the power of the wave is what surprises people the most.

Fred Morgan, the base recreational director, said if the event is successful, the Navy will do it again next year.

Conners said the contest would be a way to both give surfers a chance to sample the wave, and "cure the frustration surfers harbored towards the Navy for restricting use of the most celebrated surf spot in California."

(Scott Hadley is a reporter for the Ventura County Star in California.)