Dawn Patrol:

Congratulations are in order for my friend Ross McAdam, one of the “Three Wise Men” I’ve told you about, for catching his first wave since celebrating his 80th birthday.

I paddled out with him and fellow Wise Man Don Benson (nearing that milestone himself) into consistent chest- to head-high waves at the point at San Onofre.

A nasty south wind chop amplified the challenge, but the goal was achieved and friends like Eve Fletcher (Google her if you want to learn about a pioneer of women’s surfing) and temporarily beached Wise Man Fred Casserio were there to celebrate.

A few days later we went out at Doheny under much nicer conditions. We’d hoped to hit it again Thursday but unfortunately Doheny surfing in general will be curtailed for several days as the result of a serious sewage spill upstream in Rancho Santa Margarita.

When I drove into the park Wednesday there was a yellow warning sign and the ranger told me the beach was closed to surfing due to the pollution.

I checked out the waves at the creek mouth and they were pretty decent. No one was out defying the closure order. A couple of vehicles were there from OC Watersheds which I learned is a county bureau, part of Public Works, that helps local agencies in assessing and dealing with water runoff issues. Grant Sharp, County Stormwater Program Manager, was kind enough to talk to me for a few minutes before his crew headed inland to make some temporary dams. He explained that a pump in RSM had failed completely and that some of the streets “had been compromised” in addition to the runoff into San Juan Creek — in other words, quite a mess up there.

Grant said he thought the dilution was enough so that the thousands of gulls, pelicans and other birds that hang out at the creek mouth wouldn’t be threatened, but there was a danger to humans from the bacteria and especially viruses that can cause maladies like gastroenteritis, a stomach flu. Once the sewage runoff into the creek is stopped it should take about 72 hours until the surf is safe again.

I’m glad we have OC Watersheds on the job. Have a look at www.ocwatersheds.com. I thought about how fragile our ecosystem is here in OC and how little it takes to shatter our surfing world.

I get to end on a positive note because Rick and Ann Chatillon gave me the official word that their surfing documentary “Living It Forever” will premier April 28, 7 p.m. at the Lido Theatre in Newport Beach as part of the Newport Beach Film Festival’s Action Sports Series.

You can see a trailer at www.livingitforeverthemovie.com.

JOHN BURTON’S surf column appears Fridays. He may be reached by e-mail at hot_dogger@mac.com.