I’m a local Malibu surfer who surfs Staircase often. On Saturday afternoon, it was clean with a little swell running. I had heard that a boat had wrecked off shore on Thursday and was disintegrating in the area but had forgotten about it when I saw the surf reports for the weekend. I remembered quickly however, when I came across a large piece of wood covered in carpet and screws during my surf on Saturday. It took me a while to pull it out. But after that, I had a great surf with no problems.
Today [Monday], I surfed Staircase again but after about an hour of surf I noticed my eyes were burning and my mouth had the taste of diesel in it. I pushed through for a little while longer but eventually called it a day and went back to the beach. There was a bunch of debris scattered across the rocks. I’m surprised the beach has remained open while the boat still flounders just out the back. The beach is littered with debris and the fact that there is diesel in the water to the point that it can be tasted is concerning both for surfers and the environment.
I’m hoping public awareness of the situation will move at least one of our local agencies to haul and clear up the mess
Brenton Brown