Surfer shooting OB Pier. Photo by Albert C Elliott By Chas Smith / Beach Grit / December 30, 2024 Pier pressure to become a thing of the past? Everyone knows, I think, that California’s coolest surfers generally congregate around the Golden State’s many piers. Bobbing below the fisherpeople in Pismo, shooting the pilings in Huntington, getting all rad in Ocean Beach etc. Pier Rats, as they are reverentially called, thrive off the high stakes of visibility. One thing to bog a top turn whilst out at a local beachbreak. Quite another thing to do whilst under the discerning eyes of tens, if not hundreds, of inland tourists. Pier surfing is the creme and who could forget such incredible moments as Laird Hamilton navigating Malibu’s iconic pier back in ’14? Or Kelly Slater slipping through Huntington’s back in ’11? Well, bad news for everyone, I think, then, as experts have declared that California’s piers will soon all be demolished thanks to climate change. Just last week week we witnessed a hunk of Santa Cruz’s gorgeous wharf become ripped apart by big waves. She but a harbinger. Grinchy meteorologist Patrick Abbott told San Diego’s local NBC affiliate, “We are sticking something out into the largest ocean in the world, expecting it to stand up against huge waves.” Spreading no Christmas cheer, he continued, “As the ocean comes up farther. (The) tree is pulling up ever saltier water into its system. We’re fighting, shall we say, a greater amount of energy in the ocean. That means we have to build stronger piers to stand up to them, and even those will last for a relatively short time.” While some cities will attempt to shore up the structures, others are considering simply feeding them to climate change. Drew Kiel, who enjoys visiting the […]