Surfing Waves

I surf weekdays at a vast beach break with many peaks that allow everyone to spread out. All this year I've never had to contend with more than 10 folks at a time, so following etiquette rules is easy. I'm spoiled!

Soon I will join some friends in Santa Cruz to relive our college days and ride a few waves. Today's lineup at Cowell's looks like this...



and I've got to manage my prospects. Dawn patrol may be the only option. What do you think?

I would probably be outside somewhere if I were there

I guess it depends on your particular location, but where i surf there is a dawn patrol group (say 0530 - 0800ish) and a group that turns up at around 0900 or 0930, but between 0745 and 0915 there is a lull in the crowds - the have to go to work crowd have gone to work, and the dont have to go to work crowd hasn't finished their coffee after a sleep in. But where I surf there are a lot of holidayers and retired/semi retired people, hence the late morning crew

Then, unless the wind picks up (which is most days unfortunately), lunch time is pretty good. Evenings can also be fun, depending on the wind

In any case - in many areas dawn patrol is busier than later in the day, and you generally get the better/serious surfers hitting the waves before work (or school) early morning. The late morning surfers tend to be older, although that doesn't mean less good or less grumpy/self entitled to the waves!

But if you are mainly in a holiday spot, then dawn patrol might be much less busy

dtc wrote:I guess it depends on your particular location, but where i surf there is a dawn patrol group (say 0530 - 0800ish) and a group that turns up at around 0900 or 0930, but between 0745 and 0915 there is a lull in the crowds

Good call. I'll look at the Surfrider cams to get an idea of what to expect at different times...if I don't go crazy watching the ads. Might also be smart to focus on paddle fitness and hunt the occasional sneaker waves outside.

BoMan, are you seriously considering surfing at Cowell's? This is a beginner's break. It's kook filled and doesn't break often. My encouragement is for you to surf at 38th street and Pleasure Point. I used to surf these locations twice monthly when I live in NorCAL. Even when there's a crowd at 38th, everybody gets a turn. billie

P.S. Don't forget to go to the Santa Cruz Surf Museum in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse. It's located on West Cliff Drive at Steamer's Lane surf break. It's open hours used to be Thursday through Monday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the winter, and Wednesday through Monday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the summer. Call them 831- 420-6289 or log onto www.cruzio.com/arts/scva/surf.html

billie_morini wrote:P.S. Don't forget to go to the Santa Cruz Surf Museum in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse. It's located on West Cliff Drive at Steamer's Lane surf break. It's open hours used to be Thursday through Monday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the winter, and Wednesday through Monday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., in the summer. Call them 831- 420-6289 or log onto http://www.cruzio.com/arts/scva/surf.html

Wow. You should be a surf concierge. Thanks!

I was surfing Steamer Lane today and that south swell was lining up right through Cowell's as well. It looked just as crowded as ever (worse than your pic actually), but I bet it'd be fun on a log. Despite the number of people out there, it's not typically an aggro spot. I think you'd have no trouble catching some loooooong, mellow rides if you know what you're doing. Indicators and Middle Peak were also working on the low tide, and there was hardly anyone on it. But as Billie said, Pleasure Point is pretty chill, too.

BoMan, a new surfing film about Santa Cruz is available for a limited duration with free viewing on Youtube. The film is called, "The Westsiders." It tells the stories of surfing luminaries that originated from Steamer's Lane in Santa Cruz. It's worthwhile to view it before you go on your Santa Cruz surfing safari.