Tale of two cities vying for title of surf capital

[T_i_B]

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It is the ultimate battle of the breaks: two Californian cities stake their claim to the title "Surf City USA", then one nabs the official trademark and the spray starts to fly.

For decades Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, and Santa Cruz, near San Francisco, have each adopted the nickname Surf City, taken from the seminal Californian anthem co-written by the 1960s rock'n'roll duo Jan and Dean, and Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys. Both boast an impressive surfing heritage, breaks that draw surfers by the thousand and an array of businesses sporting the name – from Surf City Chiropractic in Santa Cruz to the Surf City Store on Huntington Beach pier.

But Huntington Beach recently trumped its northern rival by securing official government recognition in the shape of a federal trademark – "Surf City USA™". It plans to market the "brand" and is already designing a new city logo incorporating the title.

Outraged residents of the "real Surf City", as Santa Cruz sees itself, decided to fight back and, after a unanimous council vote, dispatched John Barisone, the city attorney, to investigate trademarking the title "Original Surf City USA". He has yet to report back. Mike Rotkin, the mayor of Santa Cruz, called Huntington Beach surfers "wimps" – the waters off Santa Cruz are traditionally colder – and challenged the rival city to a "surf off".