SAN ONOFRE POWER PLANT: To Glow or Not To Glow, Surfers Will Still Go

     When great white sharks swam along the beaches of San Onofre a few years back, most surfers got out of the water. Until, that is, a good swell ran through. Then it was business as usual for the locals, who have been enjoying the pristine beaches of San Onofre and San Clemente since the Roaring Twenties.

     Does the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant bother them? The threat of a radiation leak, or, worse, a natural disaster like what hit Japan in 2012, certainly rests uncomfortably in the back of their minds. That is, of course, until a good swell comes through.

     Surfers are like that.

     What is known is that the slightest radiation leak could ruin the coastline for decades. How the huge structures of the power plant will be removed (if at all) remains a major concern. How you eliminate radioactive waste is also a concern, but if history is any indication of what will happen, all of this will become a problem for the next generation to deal with.

     That section of coastline was originally home to the Juaneño or Acagchemem tribes, who hunted and camped along the beaches and cliffs. Sitting at the foot of those cliffs, it doesn’t take much to feel their ghostly presence. The air is still and quiet; the waves break over rocky beaches creating a hypnotic clicking and chattering sound; while squadrons of brown pelicans soar overhead. The sea is abundant with life even today.

     After World War II, standard beach equipment at San Onofre was limited to a woody, a longboard and a ukulele. It has been a soulful escape for surfers and campers ever since – a poor man’s paradise where it was perfectly accepted to sit on the beach weaving hats from palm fronds, or rub a little paraffin on your board and spend the day surfing with friends.

     Today, while many a surfer goes into debt traveling to exotic lands in search of the perfect wave, it’s enough for me to just drive 40 minutes up the coast from San Diego. If you time it right re tides, weather, swell and crowds, it can be better than any exotic trip abroad. If you have a friend in the military, you have access to even more, like the reef break known as “Church.”

     Church was named after a small church on the hill that is there no more. There is, however, a lone, white cross on the hill that marks the takeoff point on the wave.

     Church is just south of Trestles, on the Marine base, and is a wonderful right that holds size and a small crowd. It opens up for 300 yards down the beach in one of the most beautifully shaped rights imaginable.

     To the north is a world-class wave, “Trestles.” To the south is the San Onofre State Beach, and beyond that are a number of trails that cut over the bluff to even more deserted and pristine beaches.

     Impromptu beach surveys this week seem to conclude most surfers prefer the generator plant be closed. They believe the chance of a radiation leak is greater during operation of the plant. No one, however, had any idea how the hazardous materials will be removed, if at all.

    But, here comes a big swell, it’s no longer a concern.

    -Joe Ditler