I got an email from David Natal, a local author, lifelong surfer and former film maker. He and Joe Mickey made surf films back in the day and they made quite a splash on the local scene, especially with their 1983 classic, “Off The Wall 2”. David sent me photos of a long, handwritten essay about surfing written by Joe Mickey that he had found in his files.
Joe’s widow Connie was kind enough to take on the huge task of transcribing and editing it for us, making it much easier to read. Written in 1978, it was titled, “RINCON ’78- Crowds, Locals & Waves of Perfection” The piece offers some interesting reflections about surfing Rincon as Joe Mickey saw it in 1978 and we thought it was worth sharing. David had also sent me some selected scans of Mickey’s fantastic photos from the early 1980s, so I mixed them in with the essay. Enjoy-
Snodgrass doing his thing. Mickey/Natal Films
I’d heard stories about Snodgrass from everybody who’s been around a while. They used to all talk about him when I was just a gremmie (remember that word?) hanging around Yater’s surf shop in Santa Barbara, waiting for my first board to arrive. I’d just never met the guy. I’d seen him in the water; I just never realized that he was Snodgrass. One day, while I was photographing a clean 5-foot west swell in The Cove, this older gentleman, who was packing a 9’8” Yater on his shoulder, started talking photo-talk with me. He said I should see this picture he has of himself on a 14-foot wave at the top of The Point, that he’s got in his van. He says it’s from a swell last October and then he says that it’s almost as good a swell as the one in ’53. Whew! I was a year old in ’53 and 12 years away from Rincon. This gentleman goes on to tell me about how he’s been riding Rincon for 40 years and how he’s been surfing for 57 years. Everyone around Rincon knows this guy. I’ve seen him out plenty of times. He goes by the nickname of Snodgrass. The point is, after talking to Snodgrass, I decided to skip writing a history of Rincon and just deal with the surfing these days… 1978.
Davey Smith negotiates the crowd. Mickey/Natal Films
When it comes down to famous California surf spots, Rincon places pretty high on the list. Thanks to Gidget, Jan & Dean, and the Beach Boys, every American who suffered adolescence in the late 50s and through the 60s has heard of Rincon. Out of the mouths of internationally traveled surfers, Rincon is often mentioned in the same breath that speaks of Jeffery’s, Bells, Honolulu Bay, and Malibu. In short, Rincon is no secret. It hasn’t been a secret since surfing hit California and it’s been crowded before surfing was crowded. Rincon at its very best is long, continuously and evenly peeling, always feathering 50 feet ahead and holding line. The worst thing about Rincon is the crowd. Crowd saturation is a reality for every world-famous surf spot that lays out a claim for having perfect waves…