‘Bravada at Lunada’ draws crowd of locals
The internet hyped “Bravada at Lunada” produced a bigger than expected turn-out Monday morning. But almost all of the surfers who responded to the call to “take back” the controversial Palos Verdes break from local surfers were local surfers.
It was easy to see why. After the early morning fog lifted, temperatures soared to a summery 75 degrees and the head high surf was consistent, if a bit mushy. Lunada only breaks a few days each winter.
The few non locals who ventured out reported being verbally but not physically harassed. Palos Verdes police got high marks from both sides. When asked about the protestors, one officer responded, “There are no protestors, just visitors.”
Bodyboarder Chris Taloa, who organized the protest, ironically played a mean local in the Blue Crush. “I was the lead troublemaker. Basically, we just pushed our weight around on people,” Taloa told a fan mag following the release of the movie in 2002.
(Check back for a complete story of the day’s events.)