George Rogers was on a mission: Make sure no one endures the same tragic fate of his son.

The president of Union Rock lost his oldest son, George Rogers Jr., in a boating accident off the coast in Newport after massive waves slammed the shore during a big swell in 1926. So he’d dedicate his life to extend rock wall jetties out toward the ocean, to block big surf from capsizing boats coming in and out of the Newport Harbor.

Little did Rogers Sr. know how much he would change this small slice of the Orange County coastline.

A film that focuses on the Wedge’s tragic past will air on PBS Friday, showing how the rock jetties were built and eventually spawned the world-famous surf break called “The Wedge.”

The movie, called “The Wedge: Dynasty, Tragedy, Legacy,” was created by Bob Rogers, who spent nearly 20 years compiling information on his family’s past.

“Although it’s personal, it’s personal in a way that touches many people’s lives,” said Bob Rogers, who grew up just houses away from the Wedge and is Rogers Sr.’s great nephew. “It’s really a family story, about life and death and serving causes bigger than oneself.”

ONE WAVE DIES, ANOTHER RISES

The area in Corona del Mar was once one of the best surfing spots along the California coastline, drawing surfers such as Duke Kahanamoku on long wooden boards to the area to put on exhibitions.

But the area was also dangerous for boats trying to enter the harbor, especially during big swells. Kahanamoku, an Olympic swimmer considered the father of modern-day surfing, saved eight lives in 1925 after a fishing boat accident when rough seas hit.

George Jr., who developed polio at a young age, decided to take a boat ride on a day he shouldn’t have been out in the ocean.

“It flipped over. His iron leg braces took him straight to the bottom, his body was never found,” Bob Rogers said. “(Rogers Sr.) decides he’s going to do whatever it takes to kill the monster that killed his son.”

Rogers Sr. sold his business and focused his life on making the harbor entrance safe, lobbying Washington and Sacramento.

Small rock jetties existed, but weren’t much good to block strong surf. The rock jetty extensions in the mid-’30s eliminated the famous surf break at Corona del Mar – compared to the smooth rides of Waikiki – but also formed a much different wave, the Wedge, a beast of a wave that arises after one wave reflects off a rock jetty and joins with another wave to double in size, sometimes up to 30 feet.

Just a month after the re-dedication of the harbor entrance, Rogers Sr. suffered a heart attack while on his boat named in honor of his son, The Memory, while near the Newport Harbor entrance. He died at almost the exact location as his son, almost 10 years to the day.

DANGER STILL LOOMS

Much of the film is created from photos and footage from the Rogers family’s archives. The film shows 16 mm film footage of the early transformation of the Los Angeles road system, shipwrecks, early longboard surfing in the treacherous Newport Harbor entrance and the opening of the modified harbor in May 1936.

Today, the Wedge is a place where thousands of stunned spectators stand on the sand and watch in awe when a big south swell is on the horizon, cheering on body surfers, bodyboarders, skimboarders and surfers all hoping to get their piece of the wild Wedge.

The rock jetties might have stopped big waves from entering the harbor entrance, but danger still looms at the Wedge.

In 2007, a pair fishing on the rock jetty were swept away by big waves and killed.

Local surfer Tim Burnham, who also has a documentary in the works called “The Dirty Old Wedge,” almost died after taking the biggest wave of his life in 2009, when 35-foot waves showed. Shortly after, a man from Lawndale named Monte Valentin tried to body surf the big waves and died after getting slammed into rocks. No one could get to him in time to help.

“This place, it’s fun,” Burnham was quoted as saying in a previous story. “But it will kill you if you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing.”

Contact the writer: lconnelly@ocregister.com