Stab Magazine | Lowers Trestles Will Be Head High And Fun Tomorrow...With Nobody In The Water

'Vacation Presented By Monster Energy' Drops 5pm on Thurs, March 30 (PT)

437 Views

Lowers Trestles Will Be Head High And Fun Tomorrow…With Nobody In The Water

Big Brother finally puts an end to the Trestles hordes.

news // Mar 27, 2020
Words by stab
Reading Time: 2 minutes

A strong west wind has been howling in San Clemente all day. The surf’s shot. Who knows when anybody will get in the water again.

Signs posted today at the top of the Lower Trestles read, “In an effort to protect our visitors and community during the global outbreak of COVID-19, this park is temporarily closed.” 

Over the past couple of weeks the crowds at Lowers have been steady with a consistent flow of electric bikes on the trail. And now, it’s party over on the point.

As somebody that lives, works and is raising a family in San Clemente, I applaud the move by the California State Park Department. There are a lot of people making a lot of sacrifices to get through this, and a bunch of selfish surfers were ruining it. 

“Hundreds of people from all over SoCal showing up at Trestles (in large groups even) all weekend. Read the rules that the Governor sent out! It doesn’t say ‘Drive out of town, up and down the freeways, and look for waves!’ I didn’t want to close my surf shops, shaping facilities, glass shops, warehouse … ALL ASPECTS of my business’s AND lay off dozens of employees, but I did. We did. It’s the law,” wrote Matt Biolos on Instagram after the weekend hordes showed up as usual.

The beach parking lots around San Clemente are all closed now. Yesterday I went for a run on the beach and there was a little pack on the peak at T Street, and a couple other surfers in the water at a few other sandbars, but it was pretty quiet. There were folks walking on the beach trail, but everybody seemed to be trying to keep their distance to the point where they didn’t even want to make eye contact…as if it might confirm how very weird everything is right now.

Nearby Laguna Beach closed their beaches last week. San Diego closed its city beaches this week. And this was the right move for San Clemente. In conversations with a number of longtime locals, pro surfers and Lowers regs, they all concur, something had to be done to put a halt to the crowds.  

As of the writing of this, there were 256 cases of coronavirus in Orange County, California, with 69 new cases announced today. The number of cases is reportedly doubling ever three days. On Tuesday, Orange County recorded its first death from the virus. 

One of the most telling stats, and one that is relevant to the surf community, is that most of the cases in Orange County are people under 50. Only 39 cases are people over 65. So all the bros that were out flexing at Lowers last weekend, knock that shit off so we can flatten the curve.

The waves will still be there when this is over, and if everybody behaves themselves, it will put us right in the middle of south swell season when things open up. 

Comments

Comments are a Stab Premium feature. Gotta join to talk shop.

Already a member? Sign In

Want to join? Sign Up

Advertisement

Most Recent

Rio Waida Has Been Surfing Onshore, Oversized Bells Alone

...and he might not go home all year.

Mar 29, 2023

18:19

John Florence Releases Long-Form Piece On The 243km Great Ocean Squiggle

Tourism Victoria going, ‘he just did our job for us’.

Mar 29, 2023

7:01

Japanese Rice Farmer Enjoys Frightening Sumatran West Bowls

Kaito Ohashi is on his best behavior.

Mar 28, 2023

Watch: When People Like This Speak, We Listen

Raw, extended conversations with Clyde Aikau and Eddie Aikau winner Luke Shepardson.

Mar 28, 2023

6:20

Diamond Tail = Diamond Hands?

We'll explain everything in the Rusty D-Min Joyride.

Mar 27, 2023

Behold Australia’s Nine & NZ’s Two Challenger Series Qualifiers*

May the Southern Cross smile upon you at Snapper.

Mar 27, 2023

An Unordinary Life Structured Around A Tidal Bore

Long Read: The life and times of Pete Beachy.

Mar 26, 2023

17:08

Watch: ‘Haiku’

Scenes From a Remote Reality, by Vans & Karina Rozunko

Mar 25, 2023

Sun Room: The Overnight Success Of A Young Surf Band

What's it like touring the world and living off of McDonald's?

Mar 25, 2023

How Surfers Get Paid, Episode 6

An instructional manual for the modern professional surfer

Mar 23, 2023

7:03

Caity Simmers — Extreme Competitive Surf Vlogger

Cool is chemical.

Mar 23, 2023

Globe Pulls Out Of The Apparel Game

…and, Taj Burrow and Dion Agius are now looking for new main sponsors.

Mar 22, 2023

Owen Wright Announces Retirement From Competitive And Heavy-Water Surfing

But will surf final CT event at Bells.

Mar 22, 2023

29:05

Fancy An Ale, Some Good Music, And A Bunch Of Tubes?

Ballet's minimalist full-length will satiate your needs.

Mar 22, 2023

João Chianca Spent Seven Years On The QS Without A Sponsor

And look where he is now.

Mar 22, 2023

Take Stab’s 2023 Audience Survey, Win A 3-Board Quiver

Stab towels and Premium subscriptions also up or grabs.

Mar 21, 2023

Jessi Miley Dyer On The New Challenger Series Schedule And More

Did you know that you could miss the mid-year cut and still theoretically win the…

Mar 20, 2023

5:05

Don’t Miss The Last Wave Of The First 2023 SEOTY Entry

Jacob Willcox's ‘Into Dust’ just set the bar.

Mar 20, 2023
Advertisement