SANDinyourPANTS.com 000801- Haggerty's, Malibu south.

Haggs, Malibu south.

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Actually I wanted to title this: "I like Haggs," but we agreed it sounded a little too FOX Network. And besides Dave chiming in with "be careful what you affirm" I heard the beach trash can people got a lot of flack for those JAWS 25th Anniversary DVD ads; I could only imagine our e-mails ...so I chick- ened out... (sort of.)

"Haggerty's, home of the moving dark spots" might also have been an appropriate title. I'm usually not too anxious to talk about my favorite spots because they may get crowded, but Haggs ain't going to be everyone's cup of tea. For starters, no bathrooms and no showers. Personally, I think that's better than sticking a port-a-potty there and never servicing it (yeah, I'm talking about you Huntington!)

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Just having a blast.

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Rather dramatic don't you think?

Haggs is that strip of beach nicely isolated between Redondo's Hollywood Rivera to the east and the Palos Verdes Peninsula to the south, and is further protected against perhaps U-boat attack by huge floating seaweed fields to the west. There are four routes to water, two private, one a ½ mile sand trek from the $6 parking lot and the other a local secret. I'd tell ya, but I'm a lot smaller than some of the big long boarders that surf there, and anyway it is pretty easy to figure out once you're there and feeling a little adventurous. Regardless, all first

timers probably deserve to hoof it, you know: "the things worth having are the things you work for" ...or something like that.

For you folks that have surfed Zeroes, Haggs is pretty much the same thing without the drive. In the winter the sun sits so low in the sky that you've got to wait for it to make it all the way around PV before there's a chance of rays. And no matter what the season, if there is any fog or clouds within a hundred miles, the peninsula will grab hold of them until your sick of looking at the sunshined beaches just a mile north and leave.

But it's the middle of summer not even PV can tame the August sun. Unfortunately that means you're buzzed by bees on your way down and have to contend with sand flies while sleeping off your session. Have I lost you yet? If not you, certainly some of the tanning parlor crowd has moved on to other pages. Though it will probably sound like I'm knocking the place, I'm just trying to accurately describe it.

Yeah, I agree it's pretty hard to meet that surfer girl with sea grass hanging over your ears, but Haggs is like no place in the South Bay. We've got some awesome clean expansive beaches here, with lots of fun folks and activities and a fresh BLT is usually only a short walk away, but some times it's just too much of a good thing.. or the same thing. Haggs on the other hand, it completely different, much like Malibu. I like angling my turn toward the lip over a bed of seaweed hoping to make it as I hear the hundreds of little thumps hitting my undercarriage. I'm not entirely keen on finishing a successful ride so close to the shore bottom that my fins scrape, but all in all the shape at Haggs is pretty consistent. (Warning: Before you get all teary eyed and start mapping out your trip, the truth is if it's small where you are it's going to also small here.)

My packing the car and heading to Topanga or Zeroes days left me with a pair of booties which I only still need for Haggs. Granted they look a little funny with unless your wearing a wetsuit, but tip-toeing through a rocky shoreline has got to be some kind of right of passage doesn't it? Or is it slipping on some moss and falling on your tailbone while you listen to a fin pop?

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Matt getting the small ones to pay off.

Now over at 26th Street if you see a traveling dark spot you're going to be doing some quick paddling; at Haggs get used to it. There's a sign that says it's a preserve and that's hard to argue with. World's Largest seaweed preserve I'd bet. But there are occasional seals and dolphins down there too, the trick is gain a sense of comfort that the odds are against it being a man-eater moving under there this time. But the closer to the peninsula you are the more you're looking down to make sure that's your leash tapping against your leg. I don't know what all those scuba people are looking for down there, but I hope they catch it.

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Though it's not obvious from the shot, this is the lifeguard dragging
a different kayaker out of the seaweed beds.

The point being it's different and you don't have to drive 20 miles to get there. And though our camera didn't exactly catch it, families do beach there. So do kayakers and kite types, but alas no topless women. So to wrap it up you'll leave a little dirty since some of the hillside is mixed in with the sand. You'll leave having to pee unless the 'motion of the ocean' doesn't bother you. And you'll leave seeing the beach refreshingly different. Take it from the guy who's got to drive to Palm Springs once a summer to take a chlorine break.

EP.
August, 2000