Malibu - The Point That Built a Culture

This is a guest field note article written by our friend Dave Allee of Almond Surfboards

This right-hand point break is probably the most famous and culturally significant surf spot in California.

Clearly visible from Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu has been at the center of California surf culture for generations. Long before most of us ever paddled out there, we'd already watched countless photos, films, and magazine covers featuring surfers trimming toward the pier.

Malibu didn't become famous by accident. For decades it has been the proving ground for California longboard style. The long, peeling right-hander has been featured in countless films, magazines, and photographs, and generations of surfers have measured themselves against that wave.

My experience with Malibu is a little unusual. The first six times I surfed it were all at night.

Note: Our imaginary legal department would like me to remind you that surfing Malibu under a full moon is not an officially endorsed activity. It is, however, one way to surf it without the crowds.

It’s honestly a totally different surfing experience. You watch for the wave to break the horizon, squinting your eyes to figure out where to sit and where to take off. Then you swing a little wider because everything happens faster in the dark. When you get one, it feels like a freight train. Being goofy-footed, I generally kept a low, crouching stance and just held on.

You've never traveled so fast on a surfboard as when you can't totally see what's ahead of you.

Needless to say, my first daytime session at Malibu was a real eye-opening experience.

The first time I paddled out during daylight happened to be one of those days Los Angeles surfers dread—because about twenty guys from Orange County all had the same idea.

I was perfectly content picking off the inside waves that slipped by whenever the four people already riding kicked out or fell.

That's a trick I learned from surfing with Nathan Adams. He always seems to be either the furthest guy outside or the closest guy inside. By living on the extremes, he somehow manages to keep his wave count surprisingly high, even in crowded lineups.

Eventually I snagged a waist-high wave to myself.

Knowing opportunities were few and far between, I rode it as far as I possibly could before kicking out.

Feeling pretty good about myself, I noticed Joel Tudor knee paddling back out beside me.

We've met a few times over the years, so I gave him a polite wave.

As he paddled by, on his way back up to the top of the point, he said "don't worry, I won't tell anyone I saw that", and I thought to myself "don't worry, I won't tell you that I was actually quite pleased with how that wave went."

I guess that's why Andy Nieblas surfs for the video clips, and I spend my time thinking about how to help the average surfer catch a few more waves. Play to your strengths.

If you're going to surf Malibu, you're going to spend a lot of time fighting the crowds, surfing unintended party waves, and hoping someone else falls so you can pick one off all to yourself. But when you finally get that perfect peeling point wave, you'll be reminded why people have been congregating at this stretch of coastline for the better part of the last century.

The significance of First Point Malibu is impossible to ignore when you're sitting in the lineup looking toward the pier. When you get a wave there, set your rail, and point toward the pier, you're tracing the same line that generations of California surfers have drawn before you.