It s an unforgiving place. There s a reason why a lot of people don t come back. It s hard to read and it has its own little quirks and its own little dangers. Mostly because of the style of the breaks and the ferocity of them. Since the beginning of the United States Life Saving Service in 1871, and its subsequent expansion to the west, thousands of mariners have been pulled from an ocean plagued by the ill-tempered weather of the Pacific coast.
Weather is our sole purpose.
That s our whole reason of existence on these bars. You have to go out, but Early surfmen in the 1800s played host to a flood of danger. With primitive surfboats and limited resources, many lost their lives, or were seriously injured in the process of saving the lives of others. Even the rigorous training exercises proved fatal to some. As with other past establishments that perform their duties under such perilous conditions, the nineteenth century surfmen had a dark creed to explain their commitment.