Making history with waves

So I’m driving down Coast Highway, sky orange, ash falling, mouth toast-dry, and I can’t help thinking about “Apocalypse Now.”

Remember the scene in which Robert Duvall — Lt. Col. Bill Kilgore, wearing a black Stetson — orders the surfer to surf the China Sea (described as “unbelievable, it’s just tube city”) in the middle of a war zone?

Well, let’s be clear: Orange County ain’t Vietnam. But, given that hundreds of thousands of acres are burning, it’s no day at the beach, either.

Unless you’re a surfer.

Because it’s tube city at Newport Beach and other coastal cities.

So while the rest of us forgo outdoor events, particularly of the sporting kind, surfers are surfing the, at times, 6- to 8-foot overheads and double-overheads.

Take the members of the Newport Harbor High School surf team, who are probably practicing their maneuvers as you read this.

They made history this week.

For the first time, the team beat state powerhouse San Clemente in league competition, which took place at 56th Street in Newport Beach Monday.

Never mind that the Newport-Mesa Unified School District had ordered all outdoor athletic activities canceled Monday.

Surfers surf at sunrise — before, in all likelihood, school officials, and journalists for that matter, choke down their first cup of Joe and arrive at the office.

The contest included short board, longboard and bodyboard surfing.

Leading the charge in the initial short board portion of the competition were Chase Wilson and Erik Heimstaedt, who took first and second place.

Wilson evoked “oohs and aahs” with his opening long barrel move.

Other standouts (guys and gals) were Kaleigh Gilchrist, Camille Collett, Robert Guy, Victor Done, Hailey Sandberg, Casey Bushong, Cameron Clark and Graeme Chesnie.

The victory put Newport Harbor High in first place in the South Coast League with a 3-0 record.

Next up is Laguna Beach High School on Tuesday at Salt Creek.

I talked with assistant coach Buzz Lowry on Tuesday and asked him about the iron wills and iron lungs of surfers.

“No matter what the weather is, if there’s a wave, they’re going to be out there,” Lowry said.

“It probably was one of the best days out there and yet all around us there were horrible things going on.”

I’m glad I took that drive down Coast Highway and got a chance to see the surfers — young, old, all shapes, sizes and styles — darting in and out of traffic on their way to and from shorelines from Newport Beach to Laguna Beach.

And I’m glad I got a chance to talk with Buzz.

It was a nice break, no pun intended, from an otherwise smoky, sooty week.

BRADY RHOADES may be reached at (714) 966-4607 or at brady.rhoades@latimes.com.