How a Tragic Death Created California’s Most Infamous Surf Spot (Video)

There aren’t many waves on this planet quite like The Wedge.

In surfing, the term “gladiator pit” is tossed around often – especially when it comes to heavy waves like Pipeline. That’s because, surfers are putting their lives on the line very close to shore, allowing spectators to cheer and jeer from a relatively safe distance.

But The Wedge is even closer than Pipe. It’s the ultimate shorebreak wave, with surfers, bodyboarders, and bodysurfers a stone’s throw away from the throngs of viewers onshore when the Newport Beach, CA surf spot turns on. And it’s a manmade phenomenon with a peculiar history, dating back over 100 years. Dive into the backwash below.

In 1926, a 15-year-old boy with polio named George Rogers Jr. was sailing in the Newport Harbor when his boat capsized amidst turbulent surf, and he tragically drowned. The boy was wearing metal leg braces, due to his illness, which caused him to sink.

The boy’s father, George Rogers Sr., was devastated.

Per the LA Times: “The rocky surf overturned the boat, and the victim’s father spent the next decade campaigning for the government to dredge the entrance and build stronger jetties to protect boat traffic from the waves.”

By 1936, the jetty was finally expanded. And by accident, the signature refraction waves, which give The Wedge its name, were born.

“This modification stabilized the harbor, and made it much safer,” YouTuber Dan Harmon explains in his video above. “But on the other side of the jetty, it actually altered how swells interacted with the coastline. Now, when long period energy from the south Pacific met Newport Beach, it first rebounded off the jetty, and began rebounding back towards the incoming swell.”

Thus, The Wedge was born. And the rest is history.

For a deeper look at Southern California’s beloved, freak-of-nature, manmade monstrosity of a surf spot, check out the documentary, Dirty Old Wedge – it’s a must-watch.