Виндансиа: История пляжа и серферской культуры Сан-Диего

Windansea Beach is a stretch of coastline located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California. The neighborhood adjacent to the beach is named Windansea after the beach. It is named after the 1909 oceanfront Strand Hotel that was renamed "Windansea" Hotel in 1919 after the owner Arthur Snell ran a "naming contest". The Windansea Hotel which was located on Neptune Avenue between Playa del Sur and Playa del Norte burned down in 1943. Geographically, it is defined by the beachfront extending north of Palomar Avenue and south of Westbourne Street.

The main peak at Windansea is a reef break with surf that breaks at the shoreline. During the winter months, Windansea can have six to eight foot surf. Other breaks in the vicinity of Windansea include Middles, Turtles, Simmons (named after Bob Simmons who died at that break in 1954) and Big Rock.

The distinguishing landmark at Windansea is a palm covered shack that was originally constructed in 1947 by Woody Ekstrom, Fred Kenyon, Don Okey and a few others. It was constructed as a shady area to prevent the wax from melting off surfers’ boards and to protect their families from the sun. It was moved inland about 2 feet in 2003 when it was rebuilt after a major storm, and over the years the palm fronds replaced but its orientation has remained the same. The shack was struck down by a large storm in 2003, rebuilt, and large waves knocked it down again during a high tide on December 24, 2015, but it was once again rebuilt by locals in June 2016. In 2017, a plaque was attached to the shack that reads: “Historical Landmark 358, The Surf Shack WindanSea Beach built by returning World War II surfers in 1947 for shade and aloha.”

The Windansea parking lot is located along Neptune Place, between Nautilus and Bonair Streets. Although recently upgraded by the City of San Diego, it offers a limited number of parking spaces. Street parking is typically widely available. There are no drinking fountains, showers or public restrooms available.

Windansea enjoys a storied reputation as a surfbreak, and has served as home break to many notable surfers, including Mickey Munoz and Butch Van Artsdalen. Steve Pezman, former publisher of Surfer magazine and current publisher of The Surfer's Journal, called Windansea locals in the early 1960s "the heaviest surf crew ever." In 1960, following city wide strife between homeowners and surfers, Windansea was designated as one of the six official “surfing beaches” in San Diego. Further ordinances restricting surfing to specific beaches were dropped by 1961. In 1964 Hot Curl was featured in "Muscle Beach Party" starring Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Buddy Hackett, and Don Rickles. For many years, the break was notoriously exclusive, with non locals or younger surfers facing harassment, intimidation, or violence, but by the 1990s, this had decreased.

The title article in Tom Wolfe's book of essays, The Pump House Gang, is about a group of surfers from Windansea Beach who "attended the Watts riots as if it were the Rose Bowl game in Pasadena." The title of the song "Wind 'an' Sea" by La Jolla Christian rock band Dakoda Motor Co. from their 1993 album Into the Son takes its name from the community.