Bodysurfer wants the Wedge recognized

June Casagrande

BALBOA PENINSULA -- With its short, steep, intense waves, the Wedge is

known worldwide as the ideal bodysurfing location. But one local man

wants to make it official.

Kevin “Mel” Thoman said he wants the city to officially designate the

spot as the world’s top bodysurfing site and to punctuate the point with

a statue.

“I used to drive through Huntington Beach -- Surf City, USA -- past

the surfer statue on the way to the Wedge,” Thoman said. “I always

thought it was cool and that the Wedge deserves something similar.”

But it’s an idea Mayor Tod Ridgeway says requires caution.

“You’ve got to keep in mind that that’s a residential area back

there,” said Ridgeway, whose district includes the peninsula. “A lot of

people have reason to not want to draw that kind of attention in that

kind of area.”

Ridgeway said he would prefer to see a statue commemorating the Wedge

in Balboa Village instead of at the actual site, where it could be an

encroachment on homes.

The Wedge owes its waves to the artificial jetty that shelters the

entrance to Newport Harbor.

“Everywhere in the world people have heard of it,” said Thoman, a

veteran bodysurfer who helped win a battle to reserve the Wedge’s

powerful waves for bodysurfing exclusively during summer days. “Everyone

knows it’s the top bodysurfing place in the world.”