Protesters Pay Fines for Surfing at Closed Beach

Three surfers who vowed to challenge the state’s right to hold private contests at the world-renowned Trestles beach have reluctantly given up their fight, they said Thursday.

The trio, who were cited by state lifeguards in May when they refused to leave the Lower Trestles surfing area during a contest, agreed to pay fines rather than face a trial on Monday. Two accepted a plea bargain this week, and one accepted weeks ago.

According to the two holdouts, they decided not to contest the issue when the San Diego County district attorney’s office filed new charges against them that could have increased their jail time and fines if they were found guilty.

“This stinks,” said Steve Murga, a Huntington Beach car salesman who paid a $200 fine Tuesday in San Diego County for violating a special permit. “We just didn’t have the resources to take them on.”

Murga, along with Corky Crandal of Costa Mesa and Scott Lisk of San Bernardino, were cited on May 18 for defying the lifeguards who ordered them out of the water during a contest at Lower Trestles.

Lower Trestles, a rocky-bottomed point break in San Onofre State Park south of San Clemente, is considered one of California’s premier surfing areas.

The trio, who are regulars at Lower Trestles, had hoped to force the state to stop holding private contests at the public surfing area by challenging the citation in court. The state, which contends it needs the contests at the park to raise revenue, closed the popular Lower Trestles area for 21 days in 1996--a number of days local surfers argue is too many.

While Crandal accepted a plea bargain several weeks ago, Lisk and Murga had rejected that action until this week, after the San Diego County district attorney’s office added charges of lying to a peace officer and disobeying a peace officer. Each charge could have added another 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines if they were convicted, said their attorney, Lincoln Gardner of San Clemente.

“They tried to intimidate them,” Gardner said of the new charges. “They didn’t want to try the case on the validity of the contest and the validity of the special permit [issued by the state for the contest]. It’s an unfortunate turn of events, but that’s the way it turned out.”

Deputy Dist. Attys. Steve Garvin and Karl Appel, who handled the cases, did not return phone calls for comment Thursday.

Gardner said he was eager to argue the issues the surfers were championing in court. “Our feeling is the people should not be excluded from the surf at probably the best summer spot in California,” the attorney said.

Both Murga and Crandal vowed to continue their effort to save the beach from what they regard as commercialism and unfair restrictions. A survey is being conducted by state parks officials and Surfing magazine on the controversy.