Lunada Bay Boys

Lunada Bay had been considered an acclaimed big wave winter surf spot, with a right-hand break. The culture of Palos Verdes surfing clubs extends back as far as the 1930s with groups such as the Palos Verdes Surfing Club. The Lunada Bay Boys formed in the 1960s as a fraternity of local surfers in the Palos Verdes region. An anonymous member stated, "It was more like a big family. I wouldn’t call it a gang. We used to camp down there every other night. We would almost live down there." The group wasn't known for its localism during the 1960s, and surfers within the group were not as prone to violence. At the time, the Lunada Bay Boys wasn't the only surf crew in the city and neighbored the "Portuguese Bend crew" (Portuguese Bend Club) as well as the "Haggerty's crew" (Haggerty's Surfing Club) of their respective surf spots. In the 1960s, the Lunada Bay Boys culture was mostly nonviolent and held close alliances with the neighboring Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. Activities of the original generation included camping down at the beach, fishing, diving, or shaping their surf boards in their shops. Becoming a member of the group was relaxed and involved no more than to be a local. Common acts of localism include hassling people, intimidation, vandalizing vehicles, slashing tires, throwing rocks, and inciting violence against non-locals. A surfer at Lunada Bay expressed his feelings on localism stating, "If we let every nice guy surf, there’d be a hundred guys out here. You have to nip it in the bud. The reason it’s not crowded is that people protect it. It’s fucked, dude. People think we’re a bunch of assholes, but you know what? We want to keep it like this so we can go somewhere where it’s fucking sacred." ==Legality and lawsuits==

The city had the illegally constructed fort removed in 2016 in response to the concerns of the California Coastal Commission regarding public access to the beach. The Palos Verdes Estates Police Department has been criticized for not taking effective legal action against the Lunada Bay Boys, with the Los Angeles Times reporting that "city leaders repeatedly downplayed the alleged harassment by the Bay Boys against other surfers at Lunada Bay". Palos Verdes Estates Police Chief Jeff Kepley has acknowledged that officers in his department "may have relationships with surfers accused of tormenting outsiders". In March 2016, lawsuits were filed by several non-local surfers against twelve Bay Boys surfers and the city of Palos Verdes Estates. The lawsuits alleged that the Bay Boys harassed non-local surfers, held them underwater, and damaged their cars. The lawsuits also alleged that the city ignored the harassment and never investigated or punished the perpetrators. Plaintiffs included surfer Diana Milena Reed, whose allegations included claims of sexual harassment, The defendants denied the allegations. Defendant Frank Ponce stated the claims were "ridiculous" and that "there are no Bay Boys". In 2023 and 2024, most of the Bay Boys individually settled the suits by paying damages ranging from $35,000 to $90,000 each, or agreeing to not use the beach for a year. In September 2024, the city settled the lawsuit, and agreed to add signs welcoming non-local people to the beach, to improve the public access path, to remove unpermitted structures from the beach, for city employees to receive training on California coastal access laws, and for the police to begin investigating claims of harassment. The city also agreed to pay the plaintiff's attorney fees, estimated at between $1M and $4M. In April 2025, the city removed bundles of bamboo and other items from another illegally constructed structure in compliance with the settlement. ==In popular culture==

A fictional representation of the Bay Boys is prominently featured in the book (and film), The Tribes of Palos Verdes. 2024 movie The Surfer, starring Nicolas Cage, is based on the Lunada Bay Boys. ==See also==