Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, California, is the location of Wavecrest, an annual gathering of woodies-the nation's largest such event. On September 15, 2001, over 200 wooden-bodied vehicles (both structural and cosmetic) converged under mildly overcast skies for the 22nd edition. Wavecrest was founded by the late Will O'Neil, initially as a gathering of restored woodies, an annual rendezvous as it were. Soon surf-style woodies nudged their way into the show, and then came the street rodded versions-Doug and Suzy Carr's "Hot Wood" '34 being a prime example of the street rod style. Today the mix is almost 50/50 between 100 percent restorations and street rods-with some even still being used for the very thing that made them famous with the California beach culture in the first place-surfing!
Encinitas' Moonlight Beach is just off the Coast Highway and is the perfect place to showcase the wagons of California's surfing heritage. Sporting colorful aloha shirts, woodie owners from all over the nation and Canada gathered to swap lies and sniff spar varnish. Wavecrest is free to the public and free to participants, too, being completely financed by poster and coffee mug sales. The only requirement for entering a vehicle is that must have real wood as an element of body construction. As always, a few phantom woodies snuck in on their good looks and charm alone, such as Stan Betz's Corvette. Because of the beach heritage these timber-sided wagons harken back to, most carried either a surfboard or had windows slathered with historic surf decals or other suitable vestiges of surf culture. The common bond is the golden glow of finely finished wooden bodies and the love for these unique vehicles.