The Great Divide

The scene: The Wedge in Newport Beach, where huge south swells careen off a rock jetty, jack up to monstrous proportions and then explode, grinding everything, body surfers, surfboards, leashes, vertebrae, even swim trunks onto the sand bottom.

In the water is world champion surfer Kelly Slater on his surfboard. Word of Slater’s presence at Big Wedge has gotten out.

Result: Enough paparazzi to make Alec Baldwin throw a left hook.

Fans on the beach chant, “Kelly! Kelly!” But body surfer and Wedge local Terry Wade is oblivious. In Wade’s world, the waves are important, not who is in the water, prompting Wade to mutter: “Jeez, that’s all we need is more people out here.”

Slater, who overheard Wade, smiled and said, “Hey, I body surf too.”

“Yeah, right,” Wade said. “If I had a nickel for everybody who ever said they body surf too, I’d be a millionaire now.”

Wade, who didn’t know who Slater was, went on to ride with abandon, while the Wedge powered down on Slater’s board, busting it in half.

It is here, at the end of Balboa Peninsula, where expert body surfers such as Wade, Mel Thoman, Tom Kennedy, Fred Simpson and others converge when big swells strike. Each has spent endless hours over the years, and in the case of Simpson, over decades, honing a wave-riding skill that only those who dare ride Pipeline in Hawaii can match.

“There are other good beaches on the West Coast,” said Ron Romanowsky, a Newport Beach photographer who has chronicled the Wedge. “But the Wedge is where it’s at. It’s got a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde personality at times, especially when it’s big. And when there’s size, you can have a caldron out there, a witch’s brew of waves.”

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Southern California beaches with ripe conditions for body surfing include Manhattan Beach, La Jolla’s Boomer Beach and Laguna Beach coves. But the Wedge is California’s main arena, the top venue in the body surfing world.

For Thoman, 41, it took many years before he could lay claim to being “a Wedge local.”

Thoman grew up in the South Bay’s Marina del Rey, 60 miles from Newport, where he learned how to swim and enjoy the ocean. One day, he saw a lifeguard zip across a breaking wave like a dolphin.

He’s never been the same.

“He just angled across the wave and he did these helicopter spinners or ‘sixties’ as they’re called. I said, ‘That’s it!’ You know how people have these revelations and they go, ‘I want to do that.’ That started me, that was it.”

Thoman grew older, entered college, but never lost the stoke of body surfing, especially after he got his first taste of the Wedge.

“It wasn’t until 1975 when I got my first Wedge waves. Up to then it had been in all the surf magazines. That day I got seven waves. I counted each one. I was so happy, I went home and I called everybody, my brother, my family. I told everybody. I got Wedge.”

Right about the same time the Wedge crew jelled. Wade was a gawky 16-year-old, yet already ripping, and there were others, including Craig Bowman and Greg Deets.

And, of course, Fred Simpson of Costa Mesa, who at 60, is regarded as the ageless wonder.

“Simpson influenced the whole crew with his power and speed through the tube,” Thoman said. “I remember in ’76 we were doing a move called ‘The Fred.’ You kind of lay out, putting your right hand on a hip, and your back leaning into the wave and your forward arm and hand are planing, lifting you up. Fred still does it.”

No one is sure how many people body surf in Southern California. Thousands, millions perhaps, said Huntington Beach Lifeguard Lt. Mike Beuerlein.

“Aside from swimming, it’s the first stage of recreational activity in the ocean,” Beuerlein said.

To decrease the risk of injury with surfboards, several cities have designated areas for boogie boards and body surfers. In Huntington Beach, towers 7 and 9, south of the pier, are designated for boogie boards and body surfers. At Newport Beach, the designated area during the summer season from May 1 to Oct. 31., is from 42nd Street to 44th Street.

The regalia for the sport is pretty basic, consisting of only swim wear and swim fins. To purists, flotation devices such as boogie boards are not in keeping with the tradition of body surfing.

“It may seem easy, but it’s really not,” Beuerlein said. “Most people don’t know how to do it properly. In fact, we have too many people who think they can take off but don’t know they need to ride the wave at an angle. They go straight [toward shore] and then down. They often get tumbled and can injure their neck on the bottom.”

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At Newport’s Wedge, lifeguards often see cervical and back injuries, and also hip injuries, muscle strains and near drownings, said Newport Beach lifeguard David Wenger. It’s one of Orange County’s few beaches where lifeguards approach you and talk about precautions as soon as you put your beach towel down, Wenger said.

“What’s unfortunate,” Wenger added, “is that hundreds of people go to the Wedge and look and watch on big days. They see these experts making it look easy and they try it and get into trouble.

“It’s a very powerful and dangerous place. That’s why only expert swimmers and expert watermen and women should be at the Wedge because of the high risk factor.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

1. Catch a wave: Spot incoming wave. As it breaks, turn and begin swimming with your head above water in order to build speed.

2. Move at an angle: Start by moving across the face of the wave at an angle. Many injuries result from being driven straight into the sand.

3. Arms in front: As wave breaks, decide to go left or right. It’s important to get arms in front of you to bear brunt of any impact. Continue steering with arms and kicking to maintain speed and control through ride.

Use fins: They help you to swim faster, making it easier to catch a wave.

Check it out: Talk to lifeguards and locals before getting in the water. Find where there may be dangerous currents.

Flag Language

Green:Generally safe conditions for average swimmer.

Yellow: Larger surf and rip currents, use caution; black ball in yellow means no board surfing.

Red: Large surf and hazardous conditions; strong rip currents. Use extreme caution.

Where to Go

The best breaks for beginning bodysurfers are above Newport Beach. South County breaks provide bigger and more challenging rides but also an increased risk of injury.