Franko's Map of Orange County Surfing

Side 1 shows Franko's Map of Orange County Surfing for the whole county, from Seal Beach to San Clemente, with an additional inset for the Trestles to San Onofre surf sites (which are technically in San Diego County, even though Orange County surfers seem to claim them). Major surf spots all the way down the coast are named, and then their descriptions are given in a geographically ordered list. It starts all the way up at Seal Beach with Ray Bay and the Seal Beach Pier, then works down the coast through Surfside, Sunset Beach, Bolsa Chica, Old Man's, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Crystal Cove, El Moro, Crescent Bay, Rockpile, the Street Beaches, Aliso Beach, Thousand Steps, Salt Creek, Strands, Doheny, Killer Capo, San Clemente Pier, T Street, Riviera, Cotton's, Trestles, Churches, San Onofre and Trails. If that's not enough, well I only listed about half of them. The nature of the break, the physical features that make it that way, the best time of year, swell directions, tides and other factors for optimum surfing conditions are noted. Although much of the notes are dedicated to surfing in general, there are also notes about longboarding or shortboarding in particular, about the best bodyboarding spots, as well as skim boarding. Side one omits the details of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, because they are featured up close on side two of the map. Side one also features a few choice photos, including one of particular note - it was a winter's day in 1983, when the so-called El Nino storm swept in off the Pacific and pounded California not only with rain and wind that blew down trees everywhere, but with immense waves that brought water and sand clear across Pacific Coast Highway in many places, and damaged or destroyed 118 piers in the Golden State. This photo shows a ridiculously huge wave crashing right over the end of the Huntington Beach pier, which wound up absolutely totaled that day, with parts of it just disappearing as it crumbled beneath the surf. The major roads and freeways of Orange County are mapped to show the surfer just how to get there as well. Spots that have webcams or surf reports are noted.

ide 2 shows Franko's Map of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach Surfing with details of some of the most heavily used surfing spots on earth. Everything from Bolsa Chica to Corona Del Mar is shown, with lots of detailed description for each and every notable spot. This includes my own favorite spot, 56th St., Newport Beach. It also includes Huntington Cliffs, Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington State Beach, Santa Ana River Jetties, Newport Jetties, Blackies, Newport Pier, Newport Point, 15th Street Newport, Schoolyards, Balboa Pier, Cylinders, the infamous Wedge, Big Corona Jetty and Beach, and Little Corona. There are many tens of thousands of surfers who frequent these spots. Back in 1969 when I started surfing in Newport Beach in particular, plus San Clemente, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach and Seal Beach, I soon learned that there were no secret spots left. Sorry, but there just ain't. It is crowded just about everywhere, especially when it's good, but the shear length of the beaches helps to spread the crowd out a bit. This side of the map also has a seasonal overview, in which the conditions are generalized and the nature of the changing season and how it affects our passion for surfing is explained. This is a map, but it is like a guidebook.