McNear: Mendocino’s Hare Creek Surfers: five teens with a mission

The surfing culture of the ‘50s and ‘60s is closely tied to imagery of Hawaii and Southern California, with palm tree-lined beaches, brightly colored convertibles and long piers stretching into the Pacific. Northern California’s waves, by many people’s standards, leave something to be desired.

In his book A Brief Commentary on the Hare Creek Surfers, Mick Lovett writes “One could make the argument that, with the exception of the Point Arena area, there is a far greater concentration of commendable surf in a single day, at any given three or four Southern California hot spots, than Mendocino County has in an entire year—maybe even two.”