Bob Freeman’s Surfing Memories (bobfreemansurf.com) Bob Freeman 1966-photo: Roger Scruggs
Not having a car really sucked. Back then I lived in the old Gateway apartments in Cape Canaveral, so I mostly surfed the Cheri Down area. Weekends I would make the long beach walk to Canaveral Pier to surf there for the day. One Saturday morning, the surf was big and nasty with strong southeasterly winds. I surfed a while with a few others on the north side of the pier. After a few bumpy, out-of-control rides and a couple of long swims, I decided to take a break. I couldn’t believe there were so few surfers out. It was a nice late October day, water and air still warm… “but, where was everybody?”. There were lotsa surfers showing up, but all left right away.
A station wagon was driving down the pier (you could park up there back then). I recognized some of the Merritt Island boys inside. They asked me if I had checked the jetties yet that morning. Now I had heard of Canaveral Jetties while still learning to surf off the Outer Banks, but wasn’t sure where they were or how to get there. I was stoked when they offered me a ride. We pulled off A1A near the port (just shrimpers and boaters then) and began our trek toward the ocean on a long, single lane sandy trail. I was surprised to see all the surf-vehicle traffic. We had to swing into soft sand to let others pass. Other surf vehicles followed us in. There was absolutely nothing there except sand dunes and scrub oaks. Eventually we came to this clearing near where the inlet emptied to the ocean with a small rock jetty separating the two. Holy cow! I couldn’t believe what I saw!
The scene was right out of those old surf movies like Ride the Wild Surf. The area was absolutely packed with cars and trucks. As we looked for a choice place to park, I could see 50-60 people along the jetty watching the surfers inside the channel. The waves looked about head-high. Some waves were washing over the jetty out near the end. After parking we walked up to the jetty for a better view of the surfing.
I was stoked, the inside of the jetties was a smoothed 4-5 feet with lotsa multiple wedges rebounding off the rocks across the lineup. There were at least 100 surfers out, but still plenty of room for most. Some were sitting well outside near the old ash can buoy past the jetty. Most were sitting all along the inside jetty, more were in the middle area and some sitting further along the jetty after it bends down the channel.
Suddenly everyone jumped up and pointed to the outside. A well-overhead set wave was peaking up. Guy McRoberts and Wayne Williams were both paddling for it. Guy was eaten up by a pitching late drop, Wayne went left. “Left?” Everybody was yelling and hooting as he surfed the wave over the end of the jetty and down the beach on the south side. Guy’s board drifted out into the channel and he retrieved it easily.
All the hot guys were out… Tabeling, Propper, and many of the O’Hare and Oceanside team riders. Longboards were still the only surfboards in existence and leashes were years away… so many lost boards were smashed by the waves into the rocks.
I waxed up and looked for a way to climb down the rocks into the surf without getting pounded by the incoming waves. The rocks were slippery and the lower tide had exposed barnacles and slippery green growth. I timed my entry best I could and jumped out into the backwash of a wave… suddenly I was in the lineup.
There was a lot more water moving around than I expected and the waves were hard to pick with all the wedges coming off the rocks. The wedges produced a lot of quick drops resulting in many loose boards washing around everywhere. But I finally figured it out and managed to catch a few good ones. The breaking right-handers were much like a point-break wave with long peeling walls.
I soon figured out when to cut back into the wave where it would wall up and start peeling all over again. Properly executed, you could catch a ride from near the end of the jetty, surf back and forth all the way to the jetty bend. This was most often the most critical part of the ride. If you miss-judged that corner you were doomed to get pitched on to the rocks. You had to commit and race that section around its corner, then you could continue on down the channel. Most didn’t ride that far because of the super long paddle back. Some would climb out and walk back up to the main jetty and jump in again.
We remained and surfed it all day. Someone made a run to KFC for those 25cent bags of french fries. Resting between sessions we had a fantastic view from the rocks of surfers surfing past us. Sometimes we could climb down and retrieve a lost board. It was by far the best breaking wave and the coolest surf spot I had ever surfed.
That evening most of us returned to Jetty Park for an entire night of partying on the beach in the car’s headlights. (Again, reminded me of the old Gidget surf movies). We eventually fell asleep (passed out) in vehicles, on vehicles, in the dunes or on the beach. Waking at dawn we jumped back in the inlet and surfed it again.
We continued to surf inside Canaveral Jetties for several more years. It was the undisputed best place to surf during those huge southeasterly days. Soon we entered the short board revolution. Those reforming multiple wedges off the jetty proved more suited for the smaller, quicker twin fins of the era. As the years passed, the port became more developed, more turn basins were dug, our all-night partying area became a campground. We knew the end of an era was drawing near. The area was eventually closed to surfing , but we surfed it until the Coast Guard threatened arrest and jail time. Reluctantly, we gave it up, but all of us who were fortunate enough to surf those waves will never forget our wonderful experiences there.
Hey Bobby,
How ya doin’ pal? Hope all’s well, I keep lookin for ya when I go surf the pier, my buddy Bruce says he runs into ya occasionally…anyways,
I enjoyed reading this article, nice commentary, I have many memories surfing this place with the original guys that turned me on to it, Jack, Dick,Gary, Artie. and that Indiatlantic crew, back in 62 … when I moved to Cocoa Beach, from Sea Park in 64 for my senior year, I would usually go to the Jettys’s with Bruce when the channel was breaking , we had a lot of crazy fun times there,… we all took math together , me Gary, Claude, Mike and Bruce, whenever the waves were good ,you know school came second, lol ….I even missed the band yearbook photo because of an offshore glassy 5′ day and the rest as they say is history… Take care my friend, best regards always KC
Some of the best surf was around Jetty Park. That inside was so much fun and so was the south side. One afternoon we had been surfing Sebastian all day. Really tired. Decided to just have a look at JP and wow! 4′ with off shores. Every wave cleared the jetty and broke in the same spot over and over. After each ride you’d end up right at the base of the jetty. Perfect rights with nice tubes. One of my best memories ever. The kicker…not a soul around but my friend and myself. I’ll never forget nod thankful to be one of only a few who’ve surfed the inside. Cheers
One of my memories living in CB late 60’s was my friend Jay Hughes lived in Harbor Heights and we would stay at his house when the jetties were breaking. Just a short walk down the beach. And the Morey Pope Contest they had in 69. The waves were too big at the pier so they moved it to the jetties. Barry Dix won it and his brother Randy got second place. They had just moved here from NY.
Thanks for the comments everyone. I just found them since the website is new and I am still trying to figure out the whole website/wordpress process. I remember surfing there as well. One of the most unique spots around. Maybe we should practice some civil disobedience and surf it on the next big swell :-) Mahalo- John Hughes-editor
I started surfing about 1970 just about when I started to drive. Through a friend, I met Dave Lambert, a considerably older but very good surfer. While my age group was surfing short boards, Dave and mainly becuase of his size and weight, always rode what we consider a long board….and he rode it WELL!. Anyway, getting rides to tbe beach with Dave was my first introduction to things such as fetch, why the winds are offshore some mornings and how, on certain days with certain conditions, surfing inside the jetty was the place to surf. Enjoy reading this article and viewing the pictures.
Inside jetty is one of those legendary spots that many surfers have heard about so we were stoked to get access to some photos and publish Bob Freeman’s article about his experiences there.
Bob – your website and info from the CB pier is my first spot check everyday, as far as cams………….even though I live in NSB, for the past 46 years. THANKS – your predictions and surf reports are always spot on
While my gang often surfed the CB jetties/south side – whenever Picnic Tables was >6′-8′ and a bit unruly, those special combinations of conditions that made the inside break with quality (but strange/backwashy/angled into the jetties wave) were pretty rare.
The first time we saw Crawford and Loehr take over a break was there inside the CB jetties, around 1969 on the best day I ever saw it. Maybe 4-6′, sparkly/sunny day. And they were lacerating it.
When we started surfing in 66 at 7th ave by the old surfer’s Baptist Church, we knew if it’s big – head north and pick the size you wanted (with any true north swell, that is). Me and my old 10′ Ole Custom!
And we often camped out at night there, and also at Sebastian Inlet a few years before it became a park. My one bud, Jake Strunk, used to ride his dirt bike at those CB jetties and tear up the dunes back there. Free as you wanted to be!
Thanks for the memories bro.
PS – I saw you about 2 years ago, at Picnic Tables, around Thanksgiving. Had my 32 yr old son, and we came down from NSB since it was perfect conditions for Cocoa. The old spots still motivate me to come down – and when we loaded up to leave and were in the parking lot talking to the CFL.com Ross’s son Danny, caught you out of the corner of my eye. Sorry I had no time to say hi, or thank you in person, but I wasn’t sure it was you. You are a lot taller in real life than your picture! That day was light green crystal clear water, glassy 3-4.5′, light offshores and as good as it gets. The CFL site even had about 20 shots of this very special day as well – another unique memory, that you and I got to capture (we surfed the north end, all by ourselves – just like the old days).
Dave – I love your stories too
Thanks for the kind words.
Good times
Good friends
Good waves (good enough… lol)
Bob Freeman
Free Surf on facebook
Being a young girl back then I never learned to surf. But, just watching you guys surf made my heart sing! All of you gorgeous guys, blonde streaked hair from the sun and golden skin! It was a young girls dream. Makes you want some magic to turn back time for just one sunny day with the waves and the surfers……