In the 1970s, Craig Peterson became accustomed to strange looks.
He and fellow surf bum Kevin Naughton spent the era travelling the world to surf. At this point, surfing was well established in the popular culture of Southern California. But friends and family were mystified as to why they would head out on the road looking for waves.
“People back home thought it all sounded very exotic. Why go way out there and risk so much when you can go surfing in the morning and then have your fast food hamburger, your clean sheets and your girlfriend? That was sometimes a hard thing for people to grasp,” Peterson said.
Of course, a wave in Huntington or Hermosa is not the same thing as a wave in Honduras. In far-flung locales, just making it to the surf can be as memorable as a perfect, uncrowded break.
Peterson and Naughton will recall their adventures next Thursday, August 11, at the Hermosa Beach Historical Society’s “Happy Hour with History” at the Hermosa Historical Museum. The pair began contributing to Surfer Magazine as teenagers, introducing the world to feral surf travel over the next two decades. They have written a new book “Search for the Perfect Wave,” a first volume about their travels through California and Latin America. Their talk, Peterson said, will memorialize things that happened that didn’t make it into their photos and articles.
“We like to tell stories like the background beyond the photo,” he said. “How long it had taken us to get to a certain place, Getting sick on the road, encountering sharks and border guards: stories other than just the surf.”
Peterson and Naughton confront a surfing world that has changed a great deal since they began. Feral surfers did explore places like Bali and Costa Rica, only to have them become considerably less wild.
“A lot of the places that surfers find end up becoming something much, larger development wise,” Peterson said. “These are areas they were just sleepy fishing villages. Then all of a sudden there’s a surf camp, surf yoga, surf smoothies.”
Even so, the spirit of exploration that fueled their travel lives on.
“The idea of a guy with a surfboard and a backpack, being able to hit the road in the least expensive way: it’s still possible” Peterson said.
Happy Hour with History is sponsored by King Harbor Brewing. It is free for historical society members and $10 for non-members. The event takes place at the Hermosa Museum in the Community Center at 710 Pier Ave., and runs from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
