The pelicans and gulls presented a display of their aviation skills.  The pelicans were diving into the water for seafood hors oeuvres. After being shuttled down to the beach by 2 of Ralph Black’s grandchildren, we gathered at the group of palapas for socializing and wine.  Jeff and his assistant prepared barbecued dinner, including Frisbee-sized hamburgers, dogs, salad & dessert, as the sun set among low-lying clouds on the horizon.
 
Our thanks to Ralph Black for arranging our Club’s off-site social evening here. He delivered a brief history of the Portuguese Bend Club and its residents and members. Portuguese Bend gets its name from Portuguese whalemen from the Azores, who built a shore station here in the 1860s to process whale oil from gray whales caught on their annual coastal migration.
 
 
 
Frank Vanderlip bought the 16,000 acre Rancho de los Palos Verdes in 1913, and built the Vanderlip estates near the Portuguese Bend area. In 1949 his son, Kelvin Cox Vanderlip, built the Portuguese Bend Beach Club as a gated beach house community, where houses were built on lots leased for 25 years as weekend places. Originally there was a clubhouse, restaurant, paddle tennis courts, 50 foot swimming pool, a sandy beach, and a long pier for boats.
 
Unfortunately for those plans, the area is geologically unstable and unsuitable for most building. The projected southern end of Crenshaw Boulevard, planned to end near here, was abandoned due to landslides. However, this coastal area has coastal sage scrub which provides habitat for many migrating birds. The Bend area is shielded from the wind and strong off-shore currents, so it avoids high surf (and surfers), providing a peaceful location to relax and enjoy the natural beauty.