A new wave of resentment hits Bluff Cove as Jet Ski racers return to surfers’ turf.

Jet skiers have returned to jump the waves at Bluff Cove, and surfers at the secluded beach in Palos Verdes Estates aren’t giving them a warm welcome.

The surfers, who call Jet Skis the dirt bikes of the ocean, complain that the watercraft are noisy, pollute the air and water and, most important, pose a danger.

“It’s loud,” complained Dave Constable, 75, who surfs at the cove. “It stinks. There’s a lot of exhaust. You think you’re in downtown L.A.”

Some surfers say they plan to seek restrictions on the craft through the City Council. The city has no ordinances prohibiting Jet Skis.

On a normal weekend, three or four Jet Skis jump the waves at the cove, often for about an hour, surfers say.

Because the waves at the cove often are long and gentle and flow almost a quarter of a mile onto the rocky beach, the cove has been popular for old-time and beginning surfers. Jet skiers, Constable said, like the area for the same reason. The calm water and low surf give them a chance to master wave-jumping techniques.

Two years ago, a group of surfers went to the City Council to complain that Jet Skis had invaded their domain. Although the City Council took no action, the jet skiers later disappeared--some say because a buildup of kelp made it difficult for them to navigate in the cove. But the skiers recently returned, and surfers are irritated.

Redondo Beach City Clerk John Oliver, who surfs at the cove at least once a week, said he fears a jet skier will fail to spot a surfer or swimmer when jumping a large wave. Surfers and jet skiers have engaged in several tense verbal exchanges in the last few weekends, he said.

“I’ve had them come over a wave and land six feet from me,” Oliver said. “They terrorize the area. Sooner or later they are going to kill someone. It’s a matter of time.”

Most Jet Skis can travel at speeds from 30 to 40 m.p.h., said Pat Hulett, president of the San Pedro based Class A Boating Assn. The association has about 10,000 members nationwide, most of whom are jet skiers.

Hulett, who has jet skied at the cove, said he is familiar with the situation.

“It’s a dangerous situation,” he said. “They’ve got to compromise. It’s give and take. ‘Leave us alone and we’ll leave you alone.’ ”

Hulett said that separate areas for jet skiers and surfers have been set up at Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. He said he has proposed that Palos Verdes Estates designate either Bluff Cove or Lunada Bay for jet skiing and the other for surfing. But he said the City Council never acted on his idea.

Palos Verdes Estates Mayor Ruth Gralow said she doesn’t specifically remember Hulett’s proposal and that she would need more information about its feasibility.

City staff members say they looked into the Jet Ski problem two years ago and decided that little could be done.

“Even if we did (have an ordinance), enforcement would be very difficult,” said Police Chief Gary Johansen. “We don’t have a boat. There’s not much we can do if people are out in the water.”

Under state law, all boats--including Jet Skis--can go no faster than 5 m.p.h. within 100 feet of swimmers and surfers or within 200 feet of a beach, said Jim DeBenedetti, the supervisor for the state’s Department of Boating and Waterways.

Los Angeles County also has a law that prohibits motorized vessels from coming within 300 yards of shoreline public beaches, said Howard Lee, the county’s chief lifeguard. County lifeguards and harbor patrols are in charge of enforcing the law.

Scott Linkletter, a county senior ocean lifeguard, said there have been a few problems with jet skiers at crowded beaches, but most obey the laws.

Linkletter said lifeguards don’t regularly patrol Bluff Cove but, if necessary, will respond to complaints.

“If we can get out there, we will,” Linkletter said. But he said that, although he considers the Jet Skis a nuisance, lifeguards often have more pressing emergencies. on their hands. Further, he said, lifeguards have a difficult time catching the jet skiers.

“You can’t catch them,” he said. “That Jet Ski can go faster than a boat. It’s really tough enforcement.”

But Constable, Oliver and other surfers have created a plan that they say would enable authorities to cite the jet skiers. Violators’ identification numbers could be noted and the skiers could be cited when they returned to Redondo Beach’s King Harbor, where many of the craft are launched. Such a plan would take coordination between Palos Verdes Estates and Redondo Beach, Oliver said.

Mayor Gralow said she thought the idea could work, but Palos Verdes Estates wouldn’t be able to have a regular officer watching the cove. Surfers, swimmers and neighbors would be in charge of spotting violators, much like a Neighborhood Watch program, she said.

Still, city police might have difficulty proving that a Jet Skier went within restricted areas, Johansen said. He said that when surfers go up to 100 yards from shore, it is difficult to determine who has a right to be there. Further, he said, it is more difficult to prove a jet skier has come within a certain distance.

“Who controls the water?” he said “It’s basically a no-win situation.”