For 40 years, they have been wandering in the sand. They part the sea with their surfboards each day before dawn, and then the mystical, white-haired men proceed to walk on water.

The Bible, though, has nothing to do with it. This is about the beach, plain and simple. Surfing is their passion; volleyball, cards and Polynesian music their pastimes. A small stretch of shoreline just south of the San Diego County line is their home. After all, it has been in the family for three generations.

Members of the San Onofre Surfing Club, the oldest and largest organization of its kind on the continent, gathered Saturday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their first official meeting.

"A very strong human quality is to retain your heritage," said Tom (Opai) Wert, one of the club's founding members, explaining why the tradition continues.

"It's just a desire to not abandon the roots of your past," said Wert, 68, an American government professor at Orange Coast College who wears his white hair in a ponytail. "The club is a vehicle to continue the lives (we've) lived in the past. There's always that nostalgia factor that keeps people doing what they used to do."

On Saturday, the old-timers were doing what they always have, arriving at the beach with the sun and quickly setting up tables behind their motor homes and pickups.

Founding members and surf legends started the day with a breakfast of ham, eggs and fruit, trading tales about the old days. Children and grandchildren came later for games and contests from horseshoes to boccie ball, and more than 300 members gathered for an evening luau complete with surf music by the Reef Riders, a band that formed at San Onofre almost a decade ago.

"It's like being at a giant party every weekend," said longtime member Alice Peterson of San Clemente. "Where else can you go and know this many people and not have to buy them a drink?"

About a mile off Interstate 5, a dirt road brings beach-goers right to the sand. Members of the club have been parking in the same spaces for decades. Nowadays, they line up before dawn to ensure their spots.

San Onofre's two main breaks are Old Man's, named for the surfing club founders who are fixtures there, and the Point. In between are various "neighborhoods": Dogpatch, where dogs are allowed; the Ghetto, where the cars aren't as fancy; and the Bamboo Room, where old-timers play guitars and ukuleles every Wednesday afternoon.