The Long Beach SuperBank

When humans tinker with or modify Mother Nature, sometimes the results are irreversible; sometimes they’re not. If anything is true, though, every cause has an effect, and as surfers, we’ve seen our fair share of incredible surf breaks perish after messing with the coastline or adding a pile of rocks into the mix. We take a look at this cause and effect on some of our favorite past (and present day) surf spots in a series we call “Unintended Consequences.”

Unintended Consequences

Once upon a time did Long Beach have its very own Superbank?

While that call might be a bit of hyperbole, most folks have probably never heard of the glorious wave that once existed called “Flood Control.” Perhaps that’s because it only existed from the early 1920s to the mid 1940s, during surfing’s modern-day infancy really. Despite its undercover, oft-forgotten persona, however, the wave has been touted as one of the best in California at the time.

So, how the hell did this wave come about—and how’d we lose it?

While construction of breakwaters for LA Harbor began in 1899, the wave called Flood Control was initially created when a jetty was built to 1) direct the LA River into the ocean and 2) form a protected harbor for Navy ships on the other side.

With the longshore current halted by the new jetty, hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sediment transported by the river formed a massive sandbar. Offshore canyons focused swell on the sandbar and favorable wind patterns persisted, creating a fabled, leg-burning righthander that was a swell magnet, offered super long rides, and clean conditions—all over a sand bottom. Pretty much everything a surfer could want, no?

But then came World War II, and everything changed. As the US surged into the war, it expanded all military assets—including Long Beach Harbor. The additional jetties that were constructed effectively killed the wave by the mid-1940s. Further development and alterations to the river mouth killed the wave for good.

To give you a little perspective as to where Flood Control used to be, it’s been said its takeoff point now rests just aft of the Queen Mary’s stern.

Thus, unintended consequences like this one can actually begin with man making good waves sometimes not just screwing them up (like the Gold Coast’s Superbank). Unfortunately for LA surfers, the good times didn’t last too long with this one.