Hello, Nice find of the view South on Ocean Blvd on the cliff top of Belmont Shore, heading out of downtown Long Beach. It looks to be near the L.B. Art Museum and the Belmont Pier is located in the background. But, the key element that identifies the location is the tiny brick building with a tall white smokestack in the farthest curve in the shoreline going farther South. That is the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Corp. Steam Plant – 1925 to 1967 located on the sand in Seal Beach. The San Gabriel River empties into the ocean from far inland. The place is also called “River Jetties” for lack of a better name. It is famous for warm water released from the river and plant. Good and bad… The surf gets really GOOD on the Seal Beach side at the shorter jetty. Good size peaks and fast walls. But, the key is warm water. It is no longer wetsuit weather as the warm water sometimes was warm enough to loosen the wax build up on the longboards. But, if one fell, the shallow water warm water was a welcome change… BAD Once hitting the fine sandy bottom, one had to remember to “shuffle your feet” to go get your surfboard. Why? Well, the name “ray bay” was nicknamed due to the accumulation of sting rays of all sizes sitting in the warm water just slightly under a layer of sand. Seal Beach River Jetty" or Ray Bay..." They did their natural protective thing of stinging people’s feet and ankles as one got near or stepped on one. So, the lifeguards were always busy. It did not make a difference to the surfers as the waves were really good and fun. Lucky me, I never got stung by a stingray at this location. When we did not have transportation to Seal Beach, we surfed on the Long Beach Belmont Shore side of the harbor entrance jetties. Yellow X For us local surfers, Seal Beach “Ray Bay” on the lower right with breaking waves at the end of the jetty. The Long Beach Belmont Shore side had colder water and is considered one of the best breaking waves that still roll into the Long Beach shoreline. The water company building with the tall smokestack in Seal Beach was there until around 1967-68. YRMV Jnaki We have driven on Ocean Boulevard a zillion times from the Long Beach freeway to Seal Beach when we could get over the entrance canal on the road on our early surf adventures. Then, it was a main cruising street to get to Belmont Shore main street for sights and restaurants… Mainly, it was the Southern route for early morning surf check and travel to Southern surf spots. But, the city of Long Beach took out the crossover street bridge to make way for a grand opening between a new jetty on the Long Beach side and the Seal Beach side. That made a nice, safe, separate entrance to the Alamitos Bay Harbor. My wife and I have used that harbor entrance when waves were breaking on both sides, but allowed us to sail/motor into the harbor for an overnight stop. 1956 Walking on the Belmont Shore Jetty on the Alamitos Bay across the channel water from the tall, Seal Beach smokestack building.
The Jalopy Journal
