By CHRIS DIXON
Published: July 24, 2005

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., July 22 - "Surfing's popularity," said Corky Carroll, a former five-time United States surfing champion, "seems to come in waves. There was a big wave in the 60's that dropped in the 70's. There was a big one in the 80's, and then that dropped off. But we've got another really big wave going now." Nowhere in America is Carroll's statement more true than among the crowded summertime swells that peel off alongside the massive concrete fishing pier here. From Friday to July 31, the United States Open of Surfing, held as part of the Beach Games, is expected to draw more than 350,000 fans who will watch 500 surfers compete for $185,000 in prize money. As surf meccas go, Huntington Beach lays claim to being the original. Just last week, the town made public its newly trademarked "Surf City U.S.A." logo. Capitalizing on the Jan and Dean song of 1963, which did not name a specific town, Huntington Beach has found itself sparring with Santa Cruz, 400 miles to the north, which plans to call itself "Original Surf City." Whether the towns settle amicably or in court, the sandy circus of the United States Open of Surfing offers a window to the $1-billion-a-year surf industry and beach culture that were nurtured here. Citing Orange County surf companies like Quiksilver and Volcom, Carroll, 57, said that for better or worse, Huntington Beach deserves the title "Surf City U.S.A." With its many Main Street restaurants, boutiques, surf shops and Surfing Hall of Fame, the town has come a long way from the tiny beach burg dotted with oil wells that Carroll knew as a child. What has not changed, he said, are the broad, sandy beaches and consistent surf. "Huntington's been the center of the hard-core surfing world and a cultural center and an indicator for something that was real cutting edge," he said. "And the surf was never that great, but it was always there." In 1985, a local surf junkie and weather fanatic named Sean Collins started Surfline, a telephone surf forecasting service from an office in Huntington Beach. Today, from larger offices overlooking the town's pier, Collins's Internet-based global wave forecasting company serves more than a million surfers a month and has become an indispensable tool for the surf world. For the first time in any competition, Surfline will provide announcers at the United States Open with information via a new buoy close to shore that is so sensitive it will be able to forecast an incoming set of waves as it approaches within a few miles of shore. "If a six-footer hits the buoy," Collins said, "it will be five to six minutes before it reaches the south side of the pier." There are reasons, Collins said, for the south side of Huntington Beach's pier to play host to what are now up to two surf contests a month all year. "Huntington catches a lot of swell from the west, northwest, south and southwest," he said. "Southern California has a lot of problems with offshore islands that block the swell, but Huntington is kind of in the sweet spot. It's one of, if not the most consistent surf spot in California. And from a contest organizer's and spectator's perspective, it's about as good as it gets." The United States Open grew out of televised United States Championships held here as far back as the 1960's and the O.P. Pro, which was one of the most important stops on the world professional tour through the 1980's. The competition's growth was not always smooth. On a hot day in 1986, a huge crowd, lured by promotions on MTV and in the local media, was drawn to the O.P. Pro. Many spectators were not there for the surfing at all, according to Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Mike Baumgartner, who was a lifeguard at the time. "The Green Burrito by the beach," he said, referring to a restaurant, "was selling beer by the kegful. And there were women on the beach who apparently wanted to flash some guys in the crowd. They removed their tops and the police moved in. The crowd just turned on the police officers." As the pro surfers Mark Occhilupo and Glenn Winton fought for waves in the contest final, a group of about 40 vandals overturned and torched several police and lifeguard vehicles. Eventually, baton-wielding police officers from Orange County were called in. They were, in turn, accused of brutality. It was years, Collins and Baumgartner said, before the town and the sport recovered from the trauma. Today, with far less beachside alcohol available and far more police officers, Huntington Beach officials envision a peaceful competition. Collins predicts decent, if not stellar, surf for most of the contest. Yet local surfers out shooting through the barnacle-covered pilings on the pier appear ambivalent and even hostile about being called out of the water to make way for the event. For 13-year-old James Williams, who once broke his foot in three places crashing into a piling, the United States Open is a chance to surf with pros. But when asked if he would watch the contest, he replied, "I'd rather be surfing," adding that his father resented being called out of the water for the contest. "If there's a good swell," James said, "he gets really mad." This sentiment was shared by Jesse Rothman, 26, who had just exited the water with a nine-foot longboard. "Two weeks ago, we had the Del Taco Surf Series," he said. "Everything has a corporate sponsorship. We have to sit out here and watch our waves get ridden by people who get paid to ride waves all year round. Meanwhile, there are 300 people surfing in 100 yards of beach on the north side. It's kind of a helpless feeling. You're definitely up against the corporate machine. It's there to make money, not for the love of the sport." Aaron Pai, owner of Huntington Surf and Sport and an organizer of the Open, said that he sympathized with such complaints, but that the city and its business partners had made efforts to accommodate everyone. "It's not just surfers," he said. "There are tons of other people who want to come to the beach. I think we've struck a good balance." He added that with big sponsors like Bank of the West, surfing had become a big-money endeavor. "People can actually make a living off this sport," he said, "and that's a cool thing."