Surf the Harbor, Go to Jail

[Jon Manss]

The phone was ringing late one Sunday night in ‘83; I picked it up and found Jeannie, my sister-in-law on the other end. She called for me to know that brother Dale had been arrested and could I help bail him out. The poor woman was all upset and enraged that the sheriff could walk right into her house and snatch her husband out of bed. She barely got pants and a shirt on him as they marched him out the door and she was asking me to get his shoes and did I have an extra 250.00 dollars for bail. She proceeded to tell me that he was sick and had a temperature before I finally got a word in edgewise and asked why he'd been arrested. "OH" she said," Your brother was surfing the Harbor."
I calmed her down and said of course I'll help but the money was another matter. After a few moments I came up with the most logical solution. Call Bob DuBois. Bob's another Kneeboarder and mentor to all of the clan up here. He had a knack of getting us out of trouble or having the best answer to our wayward questions. He happened to be working at the Crows Nest that night which is the restaurant right next to the scene of the crime, The Harbor. Bob was a little shocked to hear Dale had been arrested, as this activity was a little out of his league. But when I told him why, he busted up, he told the rest of the staff, and they all were in stitches for the next ten minutes. When they all calmed down Bob told me he’d be able to get the money and the night off only if we brought Dale back to the restaurant so the whole story could be told.
A little history about the Harbor is in order for all not familiar with Santa Cruz. The Army Corp of Engineers designed the harbor to avoid in-coming swells driving down the mouth and slamming the back of harbor and all boats moored in floating slips. They got this part right for most of the season, a few Southerlies get by in the summer. But what they didn't anticipate was the sand flow during big swell activity. It takes about four large swells with a good duration to migrate the sands above the harbor right into the mouth to create one of the best barrels in town. It is a hair-raising take off in front of the jetty that sets you up for a very dry fast and sometimes dark barrel. This ride varies depending on the length of the sand bar.
We call it the ten million-dollar wave. The boat owners call it a pain in the pocket book and elsewhere. You can see the conflict between surfers and boaters already. They pay for it and we get a free ride half the winter when they can't use it. Also there is a time when the harbor is half-filled with sand and still navigable for the boats. This is where trouble has developed and laws have been set against all surfing in the harbor. There have been foolish actions by both the boaters and surfers. To this day, even with a full time dredge, the problem has not been solved and no real solution to the conflict.
After bailing Dale out of Jail and back at the Crows Nest the story was told. Dale had just gotten out of the water and was standing by his work truck. A harbor patrol officer came up to Dale and asked for some ID. Standing in his wetsuit Dale informed him the obvious; he had no ID on him. The officer then asked for his name. Now the work truck advertised his business name in very large print " DALE MANSS TILE WORKS" and Dale's response was "You figure it out ". Well that did it; the officer went for his citation book. But just as he turned away Dale threw his board and fins in his truck, got behind the wheel and took off. The patrol must have been pissed and Dale knew he was being chased. Fortunately or unfortunately Dale got away without the officer getting his license plate number. It took three months before the Harbor Patrol recognized Dale’s truck parked at his house just a block away from the officer’s house. That’s where the phone call came into me that Sunday night.
All of us in town were excited about the court case and the possibility of some sort of solution to the Harbor Vs Surfer debate. Dale’s lawyer thought they had a solid case against the Harbor ‘s stand. The law the surfers were breaking was obstructing a navigable passage to boat traffic. And the day Dale was out there the tide was at a minus low and the swell ripping from the outer jetty to the beach. There was no way boat traffic could use the mouth and therefore not navigable. And apparently the Harbor’s lawyers felt the same because they settled out of court. They dropped the charge of obstruction and fined Dale $100 for evading an officer of the Law.
Another surfer ,Harbor Bill, took the Harbor to court after being fined himself and challenged the law and won. And then the Harbor tailored the law to prevent any further challenges. We still have a perfect wave that is outlawed to surf (but watch the mags) and my brother has the claim to fame of being arrested for surfing. Jon

[Scott]

Good story, Jon. I could tell it happened a long time ago because the fines were so light. Now you get fined $279 in this area just for driving alone in the car pool lane, so I can't imagine what the fees would be today for evading an officer and (gasp!) surfing in a restricted area. Remember the signs they tried putting up at Steamer Lane a few years ago stating that anyone venturing beyond the safety railing and too close to the cliffs would be fined $1000! Surfers just brazenly hopped the railing and trotted out to jump off the point. The new signs there now no longer mention a fine, just the very real danger of falling off the cliff into the surf and drowning.

But I digress from your good Harbor story. While I surfed it a bit in the early 70's, I passed up surfing there so many times in the 1980's and 90's because of the stories I heard of guy's gettin' their board confiscated. I finally ventured back out there a few years ago with my used board, just in case! Lots of other guys out and, or course, no hassles. But the tube is still there. Those out there who have never seen this wave on fire should find a video copy of "WAVES OF ADVENTURE IN THE RED TRIANGLE" which has lots of the Harbor footage at its barreling best. The local guys make some impossible takeoffs followed by amazing tube rides. The best SC Rivermouth I've ever seen on film, too. All the local Santa Cruz spots are renamed in this video with various shark-related terms, and there are many interviews with shark attack victims, slow motion Great White feeding footage, and other delicacies designed to show off local waves while hopefully terrifying any who would consider venturing to this area to surf. Pretty funny concept, actually...

Looking forward to meeting you at the November Gathering, Jon, if not before. As you know, one of those great local waves, Pleasure Point, will be turned over to all these crazy kneeboarders...

P.S. Another interesting interview that deals with the early days of surfing the Harbor, and with some nods to SC kneeboarding (including to Jon Manns) is with one of the outstanding surf photogs of all time: Jeff Devine. Read the full 1999 interview at: http://www.surfacemotion.com/sc70s80s/h ... arint.html

[Jon Manss]

Scott, that Jeff Devine is from Santa Cruz and is not the same photographer. Jeff started out on one of my boards and then started shaping for himself. He borrowed my templates and a few pointers and off he went. Jeff is a great shaper and JD boards are very popular here.

[surfhorn]

When it comes to KBing in Santa Cruz, Jon has the knowledge. If you want to know anything about the beginning of KBing in out area, Jon is the resource.

The Santa Cruz KBer and SURFER mag photog was/is Dan Devine, Jeff's brother. I've been meeting with Dan re: putting together a KB exhibit for the surfing Museum.

Dan has killer photos from the 70's and 80's but now concentrates on sailing: America's Cup; Transpac, etc. I've told him about this site and I've asked him to check it out and start posting some of his KB shots. His water shot of Dale Manss at The Harbor was one of the few great KB shots to ever be run by SURFER mag.

[Jon Manss]

Dan I've got original pictures of Dale at the Harbor but they need some restoring. Can you help me? Give me a call. Also I would like to post some pictures here but I'm afraid i'm better surfing the waves than the net. Is Don out there for some advice? I'm a mac man. Jon

[Don]

Jon,

I'm here to help. I have scanners, P'shop, and all the Adobe toys to get your photo's as close to restored as possible (within limits).

If you send them to me I'll make sure you get them back.

Should you care to send them...

Don Harris
7 William Court
Sausalito, CA
94965
(415) 497-2643 (c)