The California coast is a truly vast space, chock-full of adventure and natural beauty. It’s got it all—soaring mountain ranges, gigantic redwood forests, and hundreds of miles of idyllic coastline. No discussion of the Golden State would be complete without mention of the act of riding waves, the sport of kings, surfing. Ever since the Beach Boys crooned ballads of summer days spent chasing the surf, the public imagination has been transfixed by the promise of sun-bleached hair, tanned skin, and saltwater serenity that the surfing lifestyle provides.
While certain cities in Southern California have staked a claim as “Surf City USA”, it’s clear to anyone with common sense that the true epicenter of the Californian surfing lifestyle is none other than Santa Cruz, where the only thing bigger than the waves are the personalities of the legends who tame them.
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet. While it’s unclear when exactly humans first began riding waves, some of the earliest evidence of wave-riding comes from Pre-Incan cultures of Peru, whose reed-fishing boats were capable of catching waves into shore upon returning from their hunts for food on the open ocean. Other than that, the first people believed to stand up on surfboards were ancient Polynesians, who brought the pastime with them to Hawaii when the first inhabitants arrived there around 400 AD.
Then, in 1885, it was three Hawaiian princes, who brought the practice with them to the West Coast of the United States while attending military school at Saint Matthews Hall in San Mateol. And where, exactly, did these royal Hawaiians ride the first recorded waves in North American waters? You guessed it, Santa Cruz, CA!
During their time off from school, the princes, named David Kawananakoa, Edward Keliiahonui and Jonah Kuhio Kalaniana'ole, spent time in Santa Cruz with Antoinette Swan, a native of Oahu and adopted member of the royal family. They must have noticed the epic waves on hand in the area and quickly found and procured wood from a local lumber company to craft their own boards.
On Monday, July 20, 1885, a local newspaper, the Santa Cruz Daily Surf, published an account of the prince’s antics in the Santa Cruz sea, noting that it was a packed summer day, with “dozens of swimmers dashing and tossing and plunging through the breakers,” who waded out into the shallows at the San Lorenzo River mouth to watch the three princes and their surfing exploits.
Although the locals were transfixed by this exciting spectacle, they weren’t in a rush to mimic it. It wouldn’t be until 1907 that surfing was reintroduced to the mainland United States, this time in Southern California, where Hawaiian born life guard and swimmer George Freeth was brought to Palos Verdes, California by Henry Huntington as an attraction.
While surfing gained popularity in Southern California, members of the Santa Cruz Surf Club were responsible for the bringing the frequent sight of surfers bobbing in the water to local residents. The Santa Cruz Surf club was formed by a rag-tag group of youngsters in 1936, and they were inspired by groups of visiting surfers from Burlingame and San Mateo who would travel to Santa Cruz to enjoy the plentiful point-break surf.
These determined kids built their own boards in woodshop class; hollow paddle boards and giant plank boards. It was a social activity—the Junior Chamber of Commerce built a board house for them right on the beach at Cowells and then they leased a hamburger stand for their clubhouse, which they later bought.
Surfing in those early days were not for the faint of heart. They surfed year-round, so that meant quick, brisk sessions wearing swim suits in below 50-degree Winter water, followed by quick sprints to the cliff at Cowells Beach, where they’d warm up with fires. The fun wouldn’t last forever for these original members as the struggle to make a living and raise families post World War 2 became a sobering reality.
As these first members phased out, and World War 2 came to an end, a new generation of Santa Cruz surfers began flooding the waters. This was the time of Dick Dale’s dreamy surf-influenced guitar licks and “Woodies”—old cars constructed with wooden panels, perfect for cramming a bunch of sandy surfers and wax covered board into. Hollywood movies like Gidget, and Beach Blanket Bingo, brought surfing to the masses while flicks such as Bruce Brown’s 1966 classic, “Endless Summer”, about two young men scouring the globe to find the perfect wave, satisfied the tribe.
With surfing becoming featured and recognized in popular media, the California coastline become ground zero for this new guard of surfers, and in short order a surfing lifestyle began to be recognized world-wide. The surf inspired Beach Boys made a splash across the nation with their “Surfin USA” song, which mentions Santa Cruz among other surfing destinations. The beach lifestyle was certainly celebrated during this period. Boards began to be constructed with polyurethane cores and sealed with fiberglass and resin, a revolutionary shift that made boards extremely lighter and more maneuverable than before, inspiring more Santa Cruz locals to take up the sport than ever.
Around this time in San Francisco, the late Jack O’Neill was tinkering with the creation of neoprene wetsuits that would allow the avid waterman to stay brave all sorts of conditions that would have been previously written off as lunacy. After moving to Santa Cruz and opening a surf shop in the 1950’s, O’Neill would see his name become synonymous with Santa Cruz surfing over the decades as he refined his cold-water wetsuits. Eventually, the brand would expand into an international operation, with their surf inspired clothing line, O’Neill International. Since then, O’Neill has sponsored some of the best surfers in the world, including local World Surf League veteran, Nat Young.
Early variations of the sport as a profession were relatively small scale, with little to no prize money involved. After some desperately unorganized jump-starts, professional surfing began to be organized under the Association of Surfing Professionals, now the World Surf League. The first professional contest in Santa Cruz, The Coldwater Classic was won by local surfer Anthony Ruffo
The late 1980’s and early 90’s saw a pack of talented Santa Cruz surfers make a splash on the international scene. Veterans like Vince Collier and Richard Schmidt had cemented their big wave credentials in Hawaii- a very hard scene for white boys from Cali to join, to say the least. “Groms”, or youngsters with quirky nicknames began receiving international coverage in all the surf magazines. Peter “The Condor” Mel, Jason “Ratboy” Collins, Daryl “Flea” Virotsko, and Shawn “Barney” Barron formed the core of this crew, closely followed by surf photographers like Tony Roberts, who documented their every session. In particular, Roberts and his skateboard photography-influenced action shots were spilling out of magazines across the world.
Prior to this movement, there weren’t many famous professionals being spawned in the waters of Santa Cruz, but Roberts and his crew changed that forever. “This amazing group of talent was underground, and we were having a tough time getting our foot in the door,” recalls Roberts. “Santa Cruz was known for big waves, cold water and kelp, not progressive aerial surfers with outlandish nicknames. This opportunity was a calculated takeover by myself and our surf crew. We accomplished a lot and that is how that incredible generation of surfers became household names”.
Santa Cruz had always been known to be a heavy water surf location. The waves at Steamer’s Lane on the West Side of town can reach over twenty feet, and places like Scott’s Creek perhaps even taller. However, in the early 90’s, Mel, Virotsko and other members of the new guard were introduced to a wave called Mavericks by Vince Collier, and elder Santa Cruz local. Located on Pillar Point in Half Moon Bay, Mavericks is a unique wave, surfed only in the winter on massive swells. These swells are born from giant storms in Alaska, and when they reach the relatively shallow reef off Pillar Point, they stand up and hollow out, creating thick, giant, and extremely heavy waves.
Mavericks, now regarded as one of the most dangerous breaks on earth, was pioneered by Jeff Clark, who basically surfed the deadly open ocean break alone for over a decade. There have been numerous big-wave surfing competitions at the famed wave off Pillar Point, with local winners such as Virotsko, Anthony Tashnick, and Mel. The story of 16-year-old Santa Cruz local Jay Moriarity and his tutelage under Rick “Frosty” Hesson was adapted for the big screen in the film, “Chasing Mavericks”, which starred Gerard Butler.
Despite all the crowds and changes to the town, the surf scene in Santa Cruz is still vibrant, and the waves are still world class. Local board builders like Bob Pearson and William “Stretch” Reidel, are continuing the tradition of building custom, hand-shaped boards, local brands such as O’Neill are still thriving, and, on a global level, pro surfers such as Nat Young and Nic Lamb continue to represent the area with tons of class. As a surfing destination with such a storied history, Santa Cruz still ranks high amongst the surf meccas of the world.
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