Surf Nation: California (1)

Here we are in Santa Cruz. The weather couldn't be better and after surfing The Hook, a right-hander along from Pleasure Point, this morning Harry and I are feeling fairly sunned out. The waves weren't big and this was as crowded a line-up as I've ever seen, but Harry surfed well on a 6"4' fish courtesy of Freeline (a surf shop near The Hook) while I managed to avoid the crowds just long enough for a couple of decent waves on a 7ft Surftech whose exact identity now eludes me owing to the effects of the sun, my ailing 42-year-old's memory and the fact that it looked fine so I just grabbed it, handed over my $20 for the day and vamoosed to the ocean. Up the road at Steamer Lane some nice head high sets were coming through for the O'Neill Cold Water Classic, but for the other breaks around here I'd say that if the swell remains small a longboard is what the Doctor would order.

Why haven't we brought our own boards? You may well ask. Well, we thought that it might make sense to buy some here, taking advantage of cheaper US prices, and then bring them back. So far, though, equipment seems to cost about the same as it does in the UK, so it looks like hire boards for us.

First impressions? The vibe is mellow and friendly and a crew of old-timer longboarders reminded me somewhat of home. Steamer Lane is clearly a great wave. Subject to jet lag, late nights and the effects of the sun, we might surf there tomorrow morning, pre-contest. The standard of the local surfers at The Hook was very high and of the surfers we've seen so far at the Cold Water Classic, Granger Larson was slick, smooth and fast on the Steamer Lane rights.

All, then, is well, but after my post of a few days ago lamenting the lack of effective wifi networks in many places in the UK, the irony is that here, in our modern American hotel, the internet in our rooms isn't working. So here I am, in the lobby on the hotel PC, unable to load any pictures, but hopefully this glitch will be remedied soon.

Random observations of US culture:

1. Old-style American cars have been vanquished by the ubiquitous outsize 4-wheel drive monster from Japan.

2. Down the road, there is a self-service pet grooming shop. If only my loyal hounds, Rio and Maya, were with us - we could take 'em for a groom.

3. (This one is more surf specific.) There is a hell of a lot of kelp here.

4. Sea otters, turning, rolling and sunbathing in the line-up as they eat fish, make for some serious stoke.

5. "If God took u to it, God will take u thru it." So says a notice board on a Santa Cruz church.

Aloha.

Comments

Alex if you stay out there for much longer you will be in danger of becoming a full-time longboarder.

And further to number 2 in the list above, my brother and sister-in-law own a 'Barkery' in Breckenridge where Americans go to buy their pets jackets, t-shirts etc!

Posted by: David Somerville | October 23, 2008 at 04:07 PM