SAN CLEMENTE : Surfers to Raise Money to Fight Road

The local surfing community will hold the No Toll Road Trestles Surf Classic May 9 and 10, an event they hope will raise money for a legal battle against transportation agencies’ plan to connect the proposed Foothill Toll Road to Interstate 5.

Surfers say that, if built, the toll road lanes would cut through San Onofre State Park and across San Mateo Creek just behind Trestles Beach--a popular surfing spot for more than 30 years.

“It’s one of the premier point breaks in California,” said Andy Horn, one of the event’s organizers. “The idea of the contest is not only to raise money, but to create awareness among the people who use the beach. There are a lot of people who aren’t aware of what’s happening.”

Although the toll road would not affect surfing at Trestles, Horn said the surfers, environmentalists and residents fear that the road would disturb the wilderness along San Mateo Creek.

“It’s a 45-minute journey on foot from the parking lot to the beach,” Horn said. “It’s not a pristine national forest, but it’s a little piece of what’s left, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

“We’ve got to save some of it for the future. I hate to watch it being chiseled away because I want my children to be able to go down there.”

The surfing contest is open to 200 surfers and has a $35 entry fee. The event is being organized by San Clementeans Against Toll Roads Inc., a local nonprofit group, and is being supported by several surfing businesses including manufacturers of surfboards and clothing.