Hermosa Surf Camp to lose its place in the sand, may force closure, director Vince Ray says
by Kevin Cody For the past two decades, a 20-foot shipping container has rested on the beach just south of the Hermosa pier. The container holds 50 soft top surfboards, 30 body boards, and four 10-foot by 10-foot E-Z Ups. Over 12,000 local kids have learned to surf on boards stored in the container. The container belongs to the City of Hermosa Beach. The boards belong to the Hermosa Surf Camp, which Vince Ray has run through Hermosa Beach Parks and Rec since the early 1990s. Last fall, the city told Ray to empty the container because the city is moving it off the beach. As a result, Ray, 65, is contemplating closing the camp, or moving it to Redondo Beach. The Hermosa Surf Camp shipping container, viewed from the Hermosa Beach pier. Photo by Kevin Cody “The city has offered me storage for one year in the parking structure on 13th Street. But it’s too far for the kids to carry the boards to the 10th Street Lifeguard tower, where we teach. And where do I keep the boards the following year? A storage unit would cost $1,000 a month, and I’d have to buy a van, and drive the boards to and from the beach every day,” Ray said. The decision to move the shipping container from the beach was…
Read this story on easyreadernews.com