Here’s another thing… The beaches are cleaner now.  50 years ago when you went to the beach in southern California you’d almost always had to clean tar off your feet at the end of the day.

There is a lot of oil under the ocean floor between the coast and the channel islands. Before oil production started in the channel there was natural seepage that would work its way to the beaches getting deposited at the waters edge with the tides.  Continually working its way into the sand on the beach.

Small 1 and 2 inch patches of tar. When you stepped on it, which would always happen, it would stick to the bottom of your foot.  If you sat on some, it would get on what ever you were wearing.  Lay a towel down in the sand… you got it on the towel. 

No matter where the tar got stuck first… if you knew it or not, it would migrate from one body part or clothing to something else.  You’d get it on your board, in the wax etc.

We didn’t have any citrus cleaner back then so you used solvents to get it off. Dealing with tar was part of going to the beach here in So Cal. Some people would carry a small can of solvent in the trunk of their car for clean up after a day at the beach.

I can’t remember the last time I had to clean tar off my feet now.  Never see it.  All the places that the stuff seeped from back in the day is now where the oil derricks are out in the channel.  And, most likely any residual leakage is mopped up so it never reaches the beach.  I guess you could say we have tar free beaches now.

D.R. 

The Miramar Hotel on the beach in Santa Barbara provided these for their guests.  That was some time ago, before the hotel was demolished.