Stonesteps Surfing Contest · Encinitas, California · Est. 1969
The contest nobody
could stop
No permits. No announcements. Word of mouth only, since 1967. The sheriffs showed up and were outnumbered. This is the archive.
Summer of 1975
Kyle Thomas was 18 years old with a camera on the beach. The photographs, protected in a sealed box for forty years, remained in remarkable, pristine condition. Full article, photo archive, and archival prints.
The 1970s, from John Peugh's collection
Photographs gathered by John Peugh — a Stonesteps neighbor and contest official — from the people who were there, and restored by Kyle Thomas. Confirmed 1979 frames; others circa-1970s. The tribe decides what matters.