Surfers to Meet in Show of Support for Dana Strand

They lost Killer Dana, and they vow not to let it happen again.

A new breed of surfers, inspired by the memory of the hallowed surfing spot that was dredged and transformed into Dana Point Harbor in the late 1960s, has organized a fledgling group to fight to save another spot: Dana Strands.

The Dana Point Conservation Group, based at Saddleback College, will stage an informal gathering today at Dana Strands Beach, a popular spot they believe may be threatened by development.

A proposed hotel-residential development for the Dana Point promontory known as The Headlands, which overlooks Dana Strands, may not bode well for its surfing reefs, they say.

“We want to raise the public’s awareness of what the city and developers have planned for The Headlands,” said Gary Wright, 31, who named his Dana Point surfing store the Killer Dana Surf Shop after the long-lost spot. “No one took action in the 1960s when the county ruined one of the best surfing spots in California.”

Wright and Mario (Maji) Melendez, 22, have planned an “expression session” for 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Dana Strands Beach, which sits on the other side of The Headlands from what was Killer Dana. Contributions of $15 are requested.

“This is not for the money or meant to be a protest or a contest, but a fun day at the beach,” Melendez said. “It’s just a gathering of surfers not sanctioned by anyone. Our group is meant to watch over developers and make sure this area is developed conscientiously.”

A spokesman for the owner of the 122-acre Headlands project said he welcomes such scrutiny and plans to attend today’s session. William R. Phillips, president of PBR, the planning firm that has created the project, claims that surfers and beach-goers will be beneficiaries of the development.

Rumors that the beach will be transformed into a marina or channeled by a jetty are unfounded, Phillips said.

“We have been accused of planning to close the beach and not providing access and that is not true. The (Dana Strands) beach is not public now and really has never been so,” Phillips said. “Part of our proposal is to open the beach to the public and provide a more accessible walkway to the beach.”

Phillips acknowledges that a 400-room hotel, about 19 acres of specialty shopping commercial development and about 550 homes are planned for The Headlands. The project also includes a trail system that meanders around the promontory dotted with gazebos and parkland, he said.

“We have made a major commitment to open space in the area,” Phillips said. Joining him at the beach today will be Dan Daniels, president of M.H. Sherman Co., which has owned the property with the Chandis Securities Co. since the 1940s, Phillips said.