Santa Cruz-a-palooza (Part 4: The Surfers)
Posted by Jody on June 3, 2013
Surf’s Up! ~Early May in Santa Cruz on California’s Central Coast~
On our last day in Santa Cruz, Greg and I were thrilled to catch the surfers off of Cowell Beach. The water near the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum was teeming with wet-suited folks just waiting for the perfect wave. As we stood at the railing happily watching the action, I noticed more surfers quickly running toward the picturesque cliffs to enter the water. Not knowing if this was their usual routine, I wondered whether this was an especially good morning for surfing in Santa Cruz. You can see in the photo collage that we caught sight of one of the younger surfers jumping into the ocean from the unstable cliff edge. Most of the surfers just scrambled down the precarious bluff to the water’s edge to (safely?) enter the surf.
Wouldn’t the Beach Boys be proud? ♬Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world!♫
Surfing history in Santa Cruz, California:
“History records that surfboard riding first began in the Hawaiian Islands hundreds of years ago. It took until the late 1800’s and early 1900’s before it was introduced to the U.S. Mainland, mostly along the southern coast of California. Surfing became known in the Santa Cruz area when a few young men from the beaches of southern California migrated to the San Francisco Bay Area to seek jobs or to attend college. They already knew how to surf and brought their boards with them. Soon they discovered the beaches of Monterey Bay and the outstanding surf breaking across the outer reefs and sandbars at Cowell’s Beach.”
Source: Hal Goody, History of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club, Santa Cruz Public Libraries
Additional links:
Friction in Santa Cruz waters: Paddle boarders, surfers battle
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adinparadise said
Looks like a fun place to be if you’re a surfer, and even if you’re not. 🙂
Jody said
Oh, yes! It was really hard to tear ourselves away!
underatopazsky said
Looks fantastic!
Jody said
🙂 It was such a fun time!