September 1940 - the surfing area just north of Sunset Pier, with Venice Pier visible on the right. The "building with the interesting architecture" is the Dragon Slide; you would slide down this bamboo shoot on a burlap bag at great speed. Alongside is the Ship Cafe that had been there since the early 1900's. The Fun House is the building to the left. Fat Frank, lobster trapper, lived under the pier at the end where the rock breakwater is. Waves sometimes broke far out beyond the breakwater.

Photo from the Tommy Zahn Collection.

The sea would ultimately claim Nick Gabaldon, but not before his dedication to surfing made him a role model whose legacy lives on. In an era still defined largely by Jim Crow laws, Gabaldon became California's first surfer of African-American and Latino descent when he learned to surf at "The Inkwell," an "informally" segregated beach in Santa Monica. Passion thus fueled, Gabaldon would regularly paddle 12 miles north to Malibu, where he held his own and then some with the top surfers of the day. Yes, 12 miles.

Director Richard Yelland tells Gabaldon's story in his aptly titled film, 12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldon Story.

Bruce Brown footage
"You know, human beings just take, take, take from the natural environment and not many put anything back. Like Malibu sits there year after year, and gets surfed and surfed, and how many people who've used it give anything back? How do you pay back for all the years you've surfed and partied and taken from the beach and that special element?
People don't care about anything today. It's like, "I'm gonna get down to the beach, and I'm gonna take all the waves I can, and I don't care what happens to the beach beyond that." I mean, how many people are aware, sitting out in the water at Malibu, that there's the Santa Monica mountains. But no, there they all are, sitting with their heads stuck up in the air, staring out to sea, anxiously looking for the next set, necks stretched out like a bunch of cranes. They're not even aware of what's going on around them. I mean, it's beautiful...
Look, I don't get into any big philosophical stuff, but I'm trying to spread some appreciation and awareness. When I go to the beach I don't amp up to go surfing. I try to psyche down, relax. I'm not trying to get in anyone's way, not trying to get in any hassles. I'm trying to relax, enjoy what's around me." - Lance in Surfer, 1984

Surfing footage of Malibu from 1947.

Click Throwbacks , for more vintage surf stories.

From catching waves in California in the early 1900s to relaxing on Bondi Beach in the 1930s: Stunning images in this new book chart the evolution of surfing through the ages



- Incredible photographs chart evolution of surfing as both a sport and a lifestyle through the ages
- Images, which date back centuries, capture surfers maintaining their boards in Hawaii in the 1890s
- Other pictures show people surfing in California in 1900s and relaxing on Bondi Beach in the 1930s
- The images have been compiled into a new book, which provides a visual history of the water sport



At nearly 600 pages and featuring over 900 images, this new book from Taschen tells the complete history of surfing,


California is featured in the book, with photos such as this one of Craig Stecyk posing with his surfboard in Venice, California



Vintage surf photos of Santa Monica and nearby beaches.











Surfing. 1778–2015 is available on Amazon :

A collection of clips from POP, Santa Monica Pier and Bay St. from a collection of footage shot by Bill Robbins on a Bolex 16mm, there some really good surfers that hung out and we all got a bit crazy from time to time as seen in some of the on the beach footage. This is the 1st cut with more to be added, about 2k more feet to look through and pull from.

During the El Niño winter that spanned the years 1982 to 1983 Venice Beach was battered by storms that flooded Venice and destroyed the Pier.

Throwback to the swell we got last November.