Right after 9/11 the base near me became really strict. One day two friends were surfing there and MPs did an ID check. For whatever reason, a new MP was being a huge dick and would not accept that my friend was a dependent. He claimed sponsors had to be present under the policy in place. I have no idea what the actual policy was at the time, but this E-3 MP decided the best course of action was to put my two friends under arrest and take them to the brig. My friends Dad was an O-6. He was not happy that his teenage son was placed under arrest and put in the brig. Lol.
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A whole new world of California surfing has opened up to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter gymbag
- Start date
I’ve got some epic barrels on the Eastside base.
Depending on the base commander surfing there can be a chore. Prior to 9/11 one of the COs was super lax because his kid got in trouble in the water and surfers got to him before the life guards. He was strict before but after that rescue he learned surfers, well competent ones, make the area safer.
My friend used to be a Marine then worked on base and he would give me his pass or sponsor me on from his work phone. One Xmas day I got my friend Ron to drive me and another friend on with my pass. There was a huge NS swell and the base was pumping. I got the best backside tube of my life up to then that day. Saw this bomb roll in and everyone was stroking out but it’s a beach break it looks like it will break but if you’re too far out it will just roll under you. I was riding a magic 6’8 and whipped on it and it backed off a little and I got a roll in. I was planning on making the drop and then grab rail. But after the bottom turn it threw over so far out I just stood there. It tubed for three section then spit me out. My legs were shaking from the adrenaline and fell on the bs roundhouse haha. One of those waves 20+ years ago and I can still close my eyes and see it.
Another time we got whistled in from pumping barreling surf while the MPs checked ID and passes. By the time they let us surf it turned onshore.
Depending on the base commander surfing there can be a chore. Prior to 9/11 one of the COs was super lax because his kid got in trouble in the water and surfers got to him before the life guards. He was strict before but after that rescue he learned surfers, well competent ones, make the area safer.
My friend used to be a Marine then worked on base and he would give me his pass or sponsor me on from his work phone. One Xmas day I got my friend Ron to drive me and another friend on with my pass. There was a huge NS swell and the base was pumping. I got the best backside tube of my life up to then that day. Saw this bomb roll in and everyone was stroking out but it’s a beach break it looks like it will break but if you’re too far out it will just roll under you. I was riding a magic 6’8 and whipped on it and it backed off a little and I got a roll in. I was planning on making the drop and then grab rail. But after the bottom turn it threw over so far out I just stood there. It tubed for three section then spit me out. My legs were shaking from the adrenaline and fell on the bs roundhouse haha. One of those waves 20+ years ago and I can still close my eyes and see it.
Another time we got whistled in from pumping barreling surf while the MPs checked ID and passes. By the time they let us surf it turned onshore.
Eastside base is amazing. I've gotten some incredible barrels there with nobody around. While I do miss having access to that, it's kind of a hassle to surf over there and it's only really good maybe 30-40 days out of the year. I could go on with my mom, but then she'd have to be at the beach with me. I haven't seen my mom at the beach in 20 years lol.
Back to OP, I'm picturing MP's being a lot more combative with a sudden influx of people getting on base (to surf or to go to the exchange or use other ammenities). People will probably go to just buy gas or get furniture, which is cheaper than off base.
Back to OP, I'm picturing MP's being a lot more combative with a sudden influx of people getting on base (to surf or to go to the exchange or use other ammenities). People will probably go to just buy gas or get furniture, which is cheaper than off base.
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If we wanted a guarantee hassle, we surfed Zombies, which required actual trespassing, surfing in front of the houses of the people who ran the base. Long paddle in when trying to avoid pissed military police. Sharky too.
Surfing zombies and running from MPs is a right of passage as a Eastside grom.
Oh sh*t I forgot the rest of my story cause I kept reliving that bs barrel.
When we walked back to Ron’s truck it was gone. We had to walk to the MP office in our surf shorts with our boards. I think I had on a bright yellow Rip Curl shortjohn. It was the late 80’s. An MP picked us up and we got questioned by NIS.We thought we were going to get in trouble. But the detective or whatever his rank was totally cool. He asked us how we got on and I was totally honest with him. Using a friends pass. I asked if we were going to get in trouble he said no. He was super pissed that Ron’s truck got stolen on his base. HPD found the truck two days later in Maunawili missing his stereo and alarm. Ron had put his key under the mat of his truck bed and someone must’ve saw us. Haha. One of the most memorable backside tubes I ever made.
When we walked back to Ron’s truck it was gone. We had to walk to the MP office in our surf shorts with our boards. I think I had on a bright yellow Rip Curl shortjohn. It was the late 80’s. An MP picked us up and we got questioned by NIS.We thought we were going to get in trouble. But the detective or whatever his rank was totally cool. He asked us how we got on and I was totally honest with him. Using a friends pass. I asked if we were going to get in trouble he said no. He was super pissed that Ron’s truck got stolen on his base. HPD found the truck two days later in Maunawili missing his stereo and alarm. Ron had put his key under the mat of his truck bed and someone must’ve saw us. Haha. One of the most memorable backside tubes I ever made.
Yeah probably never gonna make it with my dad anywhere. To line up swell, schedule, etc.
Grand theft auto on a military base to steal a stereo might be the dumbest sh!t I've ever heard of.
my dad was a navy pilot so I had a sticker on my car at age 16. navy base access is nice to have in so-cal but we rushed baja way more than the bases but some of the days we got on bases are my best memories. late after i lost my sticker, my parents moved back into town and i would trade my car for my mom's mini van to get on base, and then my friend was a fireman on pendleton and he would get me on any day it was firing. i was so sad when he retired. so glad the bases are there because they break up the urban sprawl. drive the back roads of pendleton on a quiet winter day and you will think you've gone back in time. until a marine jumps out of the bushes....
Haha. Bummer. Probably Portuguese Man-o-War on the onshore days. Although box jellyfish are gnarly too.
My friend Les used to date a dependent on base and she lived right by the spot I’ve been writing about. She wasn’t the hottest looking girl but she sponsored us on base every time it fired. We used to pack 6 boards in the trunk of my moms 4 door Gran Torino and get on. Sometimes you had to hide boards or else get turned away. I think Les dated her until her dad got transferred to another base. Man I haven’t been there in years. Good memories.
From dealing with a few Base COs, I realized that there is a reason for their uptightness. They deal with a lot of sh!t, mostly political BS. Some like it, but there are also some who are just trying to get through it, and get promoted into their next job before retirement. They also have to answer for every little thing that happens on the base, and they especially hate it if it is something that the media can spin and exaggerate.
I surf around Military Bases a lot and I was always worried that if an active duty were to ever get hurt, they would prohibit the activity.
I surf around Military Bases a lot and I was always worried that if an active duty were to ever get hurt, they would prohibit the activity.
I keep hearing kona wind days fire at that base but I've never been there to see it. Surfed some overhead onshore days. One day 3 or 4 guys got zapped hard by jellies. Welted all over. I just got hit once. Man it hurt.
That happened up at Vandenburg many years ago, a guy drowned up at Purisima and the base CO closed down all beaches and no swimming/surfing.
I only know 'cause a friend was stationed there and was so bummed not just for the surf he lost but for the guy that died.
Not say at 15 we were second coming of Einstein
but I cant count the number of 8 track players
we lifted from cars parked at the golf course
on our way back from a sesh @ 14th
Meh. It gets good. But, true Kona wind days happen maybe 40 days per year. Then you need the right swell direction which is maybe half of those Kona wind days. So on average you may have 20 days per year that it is truly firing.
It isn't the place to plan a trip to if you're looking to score.