As a physical embodiment of their claim to the waves,

Back in December of 2015, newly appointed PV Police Chief Jeff Kepley promised a crack-down on the surf crew’s illegal activity. And an El Segundo police officer brought the Bay Boys to court in March after he was harassed while trying to surf the wave. According to the suit , the officer and another surfer had been “unlawfully excluded from recreational opportunities” at Lunada, courtesy of the Bay Boys. In addition, there was an alleged incident at the stone clubhouse with some beer spraying and indecent exposure.While the confrontations at Lunada Bay have recently been highlighted in the news, surfers are no strangers to localism – it’s deep-rooted and accepted, almost like tradition. To get a feel for the extent of the Bay Boys’ presence at the South Bay surf spot, we spoke to a member of the group. The source wished to remain anonymous:“If you're down there and we don't know you,” he said , “then someone or multiple people are going to say something to you and at the very least make your whole session completely miserable. All the locals are pre-programmed to all react the same and treat outsiders without open arms and lots of stink eye. This has been passed down generation to generation for 60+years.“They [police] have been very active this whole winter really, spending every weekend on the patio all day long (10 weekend swells in a row from January-March). We are pretty bummed out that we can’t relax, have a beer and heckle each other with officers sitting right there.”And things just got worse for the Bay Boys. Instead of just an increased police presence, the clubhouse will be removed – and with it, the PV surf crew’s authority will likely be threatened, too. After all, what’s a king without his castle?+++++More stories by Dashel Pierson:Want breaking surf news, fresh videos, fullscreen photo galleries and more delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Surfline weekly newsletter .