Incoming: waves and crowds

Except for a few magical days, Malibu’s Surfrider Beach lies millpond flat in winter. Locals look elsewhere for surf. Then, around the end of April, storms crank up in the Southern Hemisphere, pitching swells toward their perfectly situated point. Today, in fact, the surf forecast calls for overhead waves en route from New Zealand. “Opening day” is on. Pacific Coast Highway clogs as scores of wave riders arrive to wriggle into wet suits and sit shoulder to shoulder in the lineup. Denny Aaberg, co-writer of the classic surf film “Big Wednesday” and a Malibu local since 1959, loves opening day. “Surfing Malibu is such a big part of my life,” he says. “On the first good day it’s great to see old friends, check out their new cars, boards, talk about their lives and families. It just sucks you in. I feel like I’m back home.” Aaberg recalls the stoke of an opening-day swell in April 1963 that not only lasted for a week but also coincided with his school’s spring break. Jim Ganzer, owner of Jimmy’Z clothing, winters in Costa Rica and looks forward to returning to see legendary rippers like Hap Jacobs, David Nuuhiwa and Josh Farberow in the water on opening day. “The tribes come together for this event,” he says. But for “Mysto” George Carr, 73, widely acknowledged as the senior local at Surfrider, it’s not as great as it once was. “Every year the crowds get worse,” he says. Still, Aaberg’s excited: “I’ve been all over the world, and Malibu’s the most fun wave I’ve ever found.”

-- Jamie Tierney