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The Wedge at West Jetty View
Park at Ocean Blvd. and Channel Road is known for its spectacular waves that
break offshore.
While
Rincon has its Pit Crew, the
Newport Wedge has the Wedge Crew, elite riders of the wave who enter the
water with nothing more than a wetsuit and fins.
Fred Simpson began surfing the Wedge in Newport Beach back in the
1960's. He worked as a salesman for Xerox, one of the leading business
firms and models of that era, and he excelled in his job. But his heart
and mind were constantly thinking about the Pacific Ocean and the waves
that challenged this athlete. Inspired by the strength of the surf,
Simpson was so spellbound by its force that it had on him, he ever wore
swim trunks under his business suit so that he could dodge over to the
surf in Newport Beach while on sales calls outside his Santa Monica
office.
Fred Simpson created the Viper Surfing Fin and became known throughout
Southern California as a legend of the The Wedge. Yet to garnish a stone
on the Surfing Walk of Fame,
his friends and fellow surfers in the surfing community know him and
recognize his contributions that they believe are great. Some surfers
and surf inventors have yet to be recognized for their contributions.
Their numbers are large compared to the amount of stones and space the
fills the sidewalk around Jack's Surf in Huntington Beach.
Simpson was a Long Beach lifeguard in the 1960's. The waves in Long
Beach at that time had virtually died out with the creation of cement
and boulder jetty that mellowed Long Beach's bay, which once was known
as a surfing spot. Suffice to say there were few surfing
challenges being a lifeguard in Long Beach. So Simpson kept in shape and
found his challenges near the Huntington Beach Pier, bodysurfing for fun
and exercise. Through word of mouth (a buddy), Simpson learned about the
Jetty, a gnarly cove where waves are formed by the action of the ocean
swells arriving on shore in Newport Beach peninsula's tip. The
Wedge is at the Newport Harbor entrance, and gets its smashing, pounding
waves from a force of the water bouncing off the jetty rocks, then
wedging together with incoming swells. Many have been paralyzed by the
force of the Jetty, not knowing its strength and the way it can drop you
into the sand, smacking your down (sometimes upside down), thus causing
spinal fractures.
Simpson handled to the Jetty and Wedge action well, and fell in love
with its exciting, never-the-same delivery. He loved it so much, in
fact, he moved to Newport Beach so he could be close to the Wedge on a
daily basis.
Simspon's Wedge Tips
include a laundry list of advice from an expert: Don’t make the locals
mad. That's Simpsons' biggest gripe or pet peeve. The locals love their
Wedge and they hate to have to teach the beginners or spend time in
rescues, which can happen frequently. Simpson advises to start with
small waves and grow into the bigger sets. If you have the right wave
stuff, Simpson and the older guys (Simpson hit his 70's recently), will
help you out.
It's
hard to understand until you visit and see what the fuss is all about. Some
days the waves are too blown out (see top and bottom-right photos.)
What is the
Wedge video?
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