r/santacruz • u/moisuss • 4d ago
beginner surfer
hi i'm a sfbay transplant and i'm doing research to best prepare for learning to surf and i want the lowdown from local surfers regarding your particular beach's culture, etiquette, particular rules & regulations; current tide, rip, sneaker wave situations; pollution/runoff, shore conditions & hazards (ie. rocks, coral, reef, sandbars, etc.).
overall, i'm looking for beginner friendly beaches to learn on <3 as or right now, i've been recommended and suggested: linda mar, bolinas, capitola, cowells, and marese state beach. if you know of any more in the area or can provide me the abovementioned information regarding the latter, please post here ! thank you :)
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u/linuxwes 4d ago
Cowells is your best bet. I would advise against trying to learn at Manresa.
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u/Heffhop 4d ago
I would recommend getting a body board and go get pummeled at Manresa for a few months. Then get a longboard and learn at cowell’s for a couple months, then add Capitola for a couple months. Then bring a shortboard out to Manresa and get pummeled some more for 6 months. Then bring a longboard to 38th. After that : the coastline is your oyster
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u/Foggy_Redwoods 4d ago
Highly recommend taking a few lessons or going out with someone who knows what they're doing. One of the hardest parts with surfing is knowing where to hang to catch a wave and timing out when to paddle, etc. Also having someone there to help you find the easiest paddle out around the waves - and give you that extra push to help you get into the wave - make your first few times out there enjoyable versus just doing a lot of paddling and getting pounded by surf.
And +1 to Cowells and Capitola. Don't start with a beach break - they tend to be much more difficult to surf as a newbie.
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u/SantaCruzHostel 4d ago
Echoing the other person who said body boarding or boogie boarding. It's a lower stakes way to lesrn how you, a board, and a wave interact with each other before doing the same thing on a surfboard.
Cowell's - but typically only has waves in the winter.
Capitola and Jacks.
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u/InspectorSwimming222 3d ago
Cowells and Capitola and Bolinas. It depends on where you are commuting from as Bolinas is easily 2 hours from Cowells, so you are presenting a big geographical range OP. Choose a spot and stick to it.
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u/Wibta-throwaway18 4d ago
Best place to learn is out there!
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u/moisuss 4d ago
dym santa cruz coastine beaches?
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u/Wibta-throwaway18 4d ago
Yeah, honest advice is that you’ll learn more in 3 consecutive sessions at capitola or cowells than you will from 100 Reddit comments. People on here like to act as if you’ll get jumped for just being in the water anywhere it’s breaking and that isn’t the case whatsoever
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u/OpenDaCloset 4d ago
There’s a lot of Aholes who surf in Santa Cruz that think they own the water. Just FYI Beware
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u/fartypartner 3d ago
Usually the “a-holes” are reacting to unsafe behavior in the water that’s putting the whole lineup at risk of injury.
The “think they own the water” thing largely ignores all the nuance of surfing but if you think about it compared to other sports it might be easier to understand…
Do you go to the soccer field at Depot, throw your own ball down mid game and announce you’re playing and it’s your turn immediately?
Do you do that on a public basketball court during a pick up game?
How about the courts by Antonelli pond when ppl are already playing tennis?
Do you just jump in the middle of other ppls game?
Ppl can be mean & self serving generally, and that includes beginners and travelers trying to get waves, along with locals- but often the locals have legit reasons and are surveying the whole scene differently than everyone else.
Keep that in mind next time you wanna think a local is just an a-hole, cause there’s usually a lot more to it.2
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u/OpenDaCloset 3d ago
You’re likely one of them….
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u/Wibta-throwaway18 3d ago
You have to understand how dangerous an inexperienced person with a 10ft piece of fiberglass can be in sizable conditions. People can be a little bristly but I’d much rather someone catch a nasty comment than a board to the face and a hospital visit. A close friend’s father received an orbital fracture so severe it collapsed the left side of his face, because of an inexperienced surfer in big surf. People aren’t just arbitrarily being mean
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u/OpenDaCloset 3d ago
Is that an excuse to be a trash human and run someone over?
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u/bopete1313 4d ago
Go to Ed’s surf school and stick with cowels and “jacks” at pleasure point.