It’s been over a week since 140 thousand gallons of oil spilled at Huntington Beach. The beach has since opened, and is welcoming back visitors. But some never left in the first place.
Before the beach reopened to the public, Shayla Escudero talked to some surfers at USC and Huntington Beach to understand why an oil spill may not be stopping some from getting in the water.
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Glen Jackson went on his usual morning walk along the coastline. The beach was vacant and covered with miles of caution tape. So, he was surprised to see a silhouette in the water.
“There was a surfer down near the end of Bolsa Chica near Sunset beach. He was just out there surfing. I saw him catch a few waves. I saw him walk in. The beach was supposed to be closed , but he was out there”
Some think surfers are going to go in the water no matter what. Pedro Lopez, thinks surfers are still going surfing because it’s tied to their mental health.
“When I was young, if I didn’t surf everyday I didn’t feel right. I had to be in the water. All these kids right now are feeling lousy because they can’t be in the water everyday.”
Looking below the pier, at the waves crashing on shore, local surfer, Jesse Mellema is anxious to go back in the water. He usually surfs twice a week, and misses the sense of community. He thinks there has always been an anti-establishment attitude when it comes to surfing.
“Surfers have always kind of gone against the system. Surf culture is all about just being in the water and the culture of a community and I don’t think people like it when their community is disrupted”
USC has its own surfing community. The USC Surf team usually surfs at Manhattan Beach.
" As of now, they are saying the south bay is safe. We will see if that changes in the future..”
Andrew Huang is a president of the USC Surf Team. He knows that although beaches may be open, the damage of spills is long lasting.
“It affects the coastline for years. There was an oil spill about the same size in Santa Barbara in 2005. There has been tar on the beach ever since.”
The effects of the spill are still being felt over 15 years later. But who knows more about patience than surfers? Daniel da Silveria doesn’t know when his part of the beach will be clean enough for him to feel safe.
“I’m going to wait. That’s what surfers do, we wait for the waves. We don’t catch waves, we ride them”
But for some, there is a different kind of waiting. Pedro Lopez has been surfing since the 1970s. He says the water was dirty back then and no one cared about the environment. He is still waiting for change. Lopez thinks the oil spill was a wake up call.
“Surfers can unite and and actually make change for the people”
While Lopez isn’t certain about what change needs to happen, one thing is clear: surfers will always find their way to the waves.