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December 1 – Talking Story about San Onofre

Join author David Matuszak for a presentation and book signing for San Onofre: Memories of a Legendary Surfing Beach with author David F. Matuszak, his 1,550 page book, now in its 2nd edition.

• Wednesday, December 1st

• Presentation begins at 6:30pm

• Doors open at 6pm

• General admission $5 (pay at the door)

• Free for CSM members

• Seating is limited, please RSVP to (760) 721-6876

San Onofre: Memories of a Legendary Surfing Beach is a landmark achievement in the study of surfing history and culture from its origins in Polynesia, Peru, and Africa, to the role that San Onofre played in molding California surf culture. San Onofre is the story of California surf culture as seen through the eyes of the surfers at San Onofre Surf Beach. Pioneer surfers tell their own story of the Golden Age of Surfing and illustrate their tales with never-before-seen vintage photographs from their own family albums. From the earliest accounts of surfing through 2020, San Onofre is the most comprehensive history of surfing culture ever written.

Available in our Museum Store – $79.95

The following is a review by Steve Pezman, The Surfer’s Journal (posted on author’s website).

“The San—O Beach and Surf Club history book by David Matusak is a limited run, immense in page count, absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind effort about a surf cultural subject. 

“Obviously the result of laborious research, Matusak’s ninth book establishes a stunning degree of context by actually plowing back, long before the advent of the [San Onofre Surfing] club to track surfing’s evolution from pre-history, through Polynesia, Peru, Hawaii, then to California and world-wide, along that way finally encompassing the coastal tract that became Indian lands, Mexican rancho, cattle range, military training grounds, “surf beach,” State Park, and along that path, a benchmark of how surfing can become a centering lifestyle with all the trappings. 

“This all culminates at San Onofre in particular, as it is the rare surf destination to which you could and can drive to park on the sand, allowing one to bring along all the ideas, tools, toys, gear, instruments and accouterments as well as playmates, friends and family you can imagine with which to articulate your time, which does happen there. 

“All the attendant aspects of getting there over the ages, and being there, who was there at various stages, where it is, how it has changed, etc. etc. etc. are presented in stupefying detail. In a sense it ventures beyond any intent, trying to grasp the overall gist of that surf beach, what it represents whether you’ve been there, or not, with nuggets of previously unknown information to startle or inform, or create context where none existed previously … 

“It manages to capture between its inclusive pages something intangible that comes only from experiencing those grains of sand and soft waves.”