Twenty Magazine: The Sport Of Surfing
The Trestles Issue
ClassificationsMagazines
Credit LineTwenty Magazine
Object numberMAG.473
DescriptionEditor's NoteRoughly 50 miles north of San Diego is an expanse of ocean
front, sand and cobblestones named after a railroad bridge.
How did this spot, called “Trestles,” become the most
important place to surf in the continental United States?
We thought it would be fun to explore that question in this
debut of Twenty, a magazine for anyone curious about the
sport of surfing.
It begins with the 37th President of the United States,
Richard Nixon, who owned a compound just steps from
Trestles while he was in the White House. One “beautiful
sunny day,” as Nixon’s aide John Ehrlichman remembered
it, the President walked along a stretch of sand controlled
by the U.S. military and suggested the “clean ocean water”
should be open to the public. Exactly why remains a bit of
a mystery, as writer Alex Roth explains: “Like many stories
involving the only U.S. president to resign from office, this
one involves political calculations, feelings of betrayal and
possible ulterior motives.”
Nixon’s decision had a significant impact on surfing around
the world. Trestles’ clean, consistent waves provided a
canvas for athletes to test what was possible on a surfboard
and broaden the sport’s appeal in the coming decades.
Illustrator Alvar Sirlin captures some of those moments
in his distinctive style. Perhaps the most notable is the first
pro victory for an 18-year-old Kelly Slater. We compiled an
oral history of Slater’s 1990 Trestles win with help from the
11-time world champion.
Trestles today stands as a rare example of what the
California coast looked like in the early part of the 20th
century, when surfing was a new import from Hawaii and
not yet a widespread part of American culture. Photographer
Chris Ortiz offers a visual guide to this iconic place, and
oceanographer Falk Feddersen explains why Trestles’ waves
got so good in the first place. Dr. Feddersen, who has surfed
Trestles roughly 10 times, can confi rm the site lives up to
its reputation.
We hope this issue gets you excited for the start of
Trestles’ Hurley Pro and Swatch Women’s Pro, which start
on September 7th and offer a chance to see how the best
surfers attack one of the world’s best waves. You can watch
the heats live at worldsurfleague.com. We started Twenty,
which stands for the highest score one can achieve in a
round of competitive surfing, because we believe all surfers
deserve a publication to call their own. The pursuit of excellence
belongs to everyone as we enter the water for the first
time and embrace the power of trying something new.
Dan Fitzpatrick, editor
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