There was a time when Long Beach was one of the best surf spots in Southern California, but then the breakwater was built decades ago blocking the wave action. Surfers have rarely shown up since.

Except when just the right swell hits.

While the tropical storm that blew into the region on Saturday, Sept. 10, brought much attention to flood risk from big waves and high tides along the Southern California coast, a group of surfers showed up to the Long Beach Peninsula to snag a few waves, a rare occurrence that can be a once-in-a-decade opportunity.

Long Beach was dubbed the “Waikiki of Southern California” in its heyday in the 1930s, before the days of wetsuits, when boards were made of heavy wood and riders would share the long rides all the way to shore.

A rock wall – a 2.2-mile breakwater – was put in place in 1949, helping to shelter Navy ships that use the bay. It was one of many examples of man-made structures destroying a  popular surf spot, just like what happened to Killer Dana when the Dana Point Harbor was built. Or like the waves surfing pioneer Duke Kahanamoku used to ride in Corona del Mar that evaporated when a jetty was created.

On Saturday, the swell energy combined with the south-east angle of the tropical storm and allowed waves that could actually be surfed to again sneak into Long Beach. Photographer Tom Dumont rushed down in the morning to capture some surf shots after getting an excited text from a friend who was heading over to ride the waves.

“I brought my camera down to the beach at 55th Place,” Dumont said,  “and sure enough there were about 15 or 20 surfers out there tearing it up.”

Several years ago, an effort led by surfers and environmentalists to get the breakwater taken down looked to gain traction and money was spent to research the idea, but it was deemed not feasible.

So for now, surfers wait for the rare occurrences of just the right waves to align. The last time surfable swell showed up at this part of the coast was 2014. 

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