santa cruz

On Sunday, April 25, we decided to head to Capitola to surf "La Bomba" at The Hook. Even though the forecast predicted rain, Alex was not deterred. When we arrived at the parking lot, there were lots of spaces available (which is usually a bad sign for waves). However, when we walked to look at the waves in The Hook, we saw beautiful, clean rollers!…

After surfing for many days in the Laguna Beach area (at Rockpile Beach, Trestles, San Clemente Pier), it was time to return to surfing near my home. Since Surfline.com predicted 4-5 foot swells on Tuesday, November 3, and I had a company day off, I decided to try surfing in the early morning when the wind and wave forecast was most favorable. . . The…

With the New Year 2020 and relatively mild January weather upon us, Alex requested to surf at his usual spot - The Hook in Capitola.. . We woke up relatively early and arrived at The Hook around 9:10am. The waves consistently reached 3-5 feet high, with the tide ebbing.. . . . Alex wore his Ripcurl Dawn Patrol 4/3mm wetsuit with booties, gloves, and hood…

With recent surfing in Ventura, Alex and I were ready to return to surfing at "The Hook" in Capitola. When we arrived at 2:30pm, finding parking was difficult. After a few go-arounds, I found a parking spot on Opal Cliff Drive.. . . . After I parked the Lexus RX350, we waxed our boards and headed for the Hook. The waves were rolling nicely, but…

Alex had been making excellent surfing progress on his 6' Firewire Spitfire board. He surfed on it in various conditions at "The Hook" and Pleasure Point in Capitola. However, on Saturday, October 13th, feeling confident about his abilities, he decided to try surfing at the famous "Steamer Lane" surfing spot in Santa Cruz (near the Lighthouse).. . Alex encountered 6-8 foot waves at Steamer Lane,…

Alex was getting used to his Firewire Spitfire 6' surfboard and had another fantastic surfing session at "The Hook" in Capitola, CA.. . . . I also hoped to try out my used Firewire Spitfire 6'6" surfboard (45-liter) that I recently acquired, but I was too tired from yesterday's surfing to continue.. . After a short hike to Capitola, I returned to "The Hook" around…

For Alex's 16th birthday, Inna and I purchased an almost-new Firewire Spitfire Helium 6' Epoxy surfboard (since Alex has long outgrown his Wavestorm 8' board).. . . . This new board has a volume of 34.9 liters and a length of 6 feet. It was perfect for Alex (as the 25-liter board he tried at Ripcurl was too difficult to surf).. . . . Alex…

After surfing at Pleasure Point alone, I set up two-hour, two-person private lessons with the Surf School of Santa Cruz. I had to re-schedule a few times (due to high surf) but finally settled on Sunday, April 22.. . We arrived a bit early (the lesson was scheduled for 10:00am), arriving around 9:20am (before the shop was open). The owner was there soon, and we…

After surfing in Sayulita, Mexico, Alex and I decided to try surfing in Santa Cruz. I found a well-regarded surf sport called Pleasure Point in Capitola and a nearby shop to rent gear - RipCurl (on 41st Avenue). The rental prices are high - $25/board and $20/wetsuit.. . . . We rented two NSP 60 fishes and a wetsuit for Alex (I had my own)…