Yeah Gene, I live in LB and the breakwater has been there for years as you noted. When I was in college and surfing actively in the mid-'90s, we used to go to northern Huntington Beach (away from everyone near the pier basically) but mostly to Seal Beach. If you can suck it up and surf the shorebreak there was some great surfing to be had in SB.
More recently there have been calls to remove the breakwater, or at least the eastern portion of the wall from its termination in Alamitos all the way, potentially, to Queen's Gate. I doubt that will happen - certainly most of the overall breakwater will be retained in defense of the combined port complex (thank God / as it should be). But they may end up removing a big chunk of the east end of it to "facilitate the rehabilitation of the native seafloor and related fauna, and to bring waves and surfing back to the shoreline" (I'm paraphrasing).
Personally I think that the point is a) it's there, paid for already, b) it costs a good deal to remove it, and c) it adds a significant layer of protection for a 9 to 10 mile stretch, against natural disasters such as hurricanes/storms and tsunamis. I think that is the most important part. Why remove it? For waves?
Anyway - to the point, I cannot imagine trying to hang onto the surfboard in the middle of the ocean for over a day. I still don' exactly understand how he could be caught out so badly that you can't paddle back in.
