Dear Editor,
Back in the early ‘60s, I was a teenage searchlight operator. I ran 60-inch WW2 antiaircraft searchlights for various nighttime events in Los Angeles, such as movie premiers, night clubs, pizza parlors, fraternity parties, car
dealerships, and various grand openings. These 900,000,000 candlepower lights would be aimed vertically upwards and scan the skies, attracting people from miles away.
But, come August, we had a totally different use for these powerful lights at night: We would aim the lights horizontally and illuminate the surface of the ocean near the shore for the annual surf festivals at Hermosa, Redondo, and Manhattan Beaches! Typically, 20 searchlights would be parked along the pier, with each light aimed sideways to light up the water perpendicular to the pier. So, 20 parallel powerful beams of light would light up the competitors from the side for the fans to see as they swam, boated, or surfed the ocean waves at night. Now, these days, 60 years later, the searchlights are obsolete. I haven’t been to a surf festival recently, so I don’t know if there is a nighttime competition and, if there is, how the competitors are able to navigate in darkness. In any case, I’ll never forget the fun I had enabling nighttime surf competition to be possible in the ‘60s!
David M. Pepper, PhD
Worked and lived in Malibu for a combined 45 years; we lost our home in the Woolsey Fire. Presently lives in Camarillo