Though it didn’t originate here, surfing has inspired countless publications, movies, videos, songs, and works of art that have propagated across the globe from the Golden State. Surfing has helped define California cultures for more than 50 years, at least in image. Did you know that surfing is our official state sport? And if you’ve ever experienced the magic of riding a wave on a board in the beautiful blue Pacific, you know why. But there are plenty of good reasons why surfers represent such a very small minority of Californians.
This story is not designed to compete with the exhaustive and exceptionally informative sources that are made available to all of us by dedicated California surfers who share their experiences and cultures. Instead, we continue here where some of our project’s previous stories left off, as we have already explored the science of waves and how they and ocean currents impact and shape our coastal landscapes. (As example, refer to our stories following a water drop or the natural history of a grain of sand). So, we don’t focus on the science behind the waves here. Instead, this is a more specific personal story from the perspective of a continually evolving natural scientist and native Californian who has loved and respected the ocean since childhood and who enjoys an occasional physical challenge, especially in the great outdoors. As with many of our stories, it ends with a series of photos that will transport you around the state, this time traveling along our coastline.
The “Royal Hawaiian Sport of Surfing” was introduced to California in the late 1800s. This history is recalled around Lighthouse Field State Beach in Santa Cruz, where you will find the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, which claims to be the world’s first surfing museum.
Meeting the Challenge Since the ocean is open to all of us, the sport of surfing can be inclusive…but only if you are dedicated and determined. The physical demands become clear with your first try. You must be physically fit and a good swimmer, and willing to fling yourself into challenging, uncomfortable, and even harsh and sometimes dangerous environments. As with serious swimmers in our turbulent Pacific Ocean, you must have a love for nature that will encourage you to quickly learn about our geography, oceanography, meteorology, marine biology, and coastal geomorphology. Learning how to paddle and maneuver through the surf with a board is just one step; standing on a surfboard while it is skimming down a wave is a whole different experience requiring unique skills. The time and effort will include getting up early to avoid the afternoon winds and choppy seas. Dipping into our frigid California Current for an extended time requires wearing a wet suit, even during most of our summer conditions in southern California. And you must live close enough to the beach to cut transportation time and costs, particularly where heavy traffic can block quick access. The entire process, from getting to the beach with your board, surfing, and cleaning sand out of strange places, is at least a three-hour commitment. So, are you ready for the challenge?
At the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, I found this tribute to one of the greatest surfing legends. The Duke made the ocean his home and livelihood and helped popularize aquatic sports in California and beyond during the first half of the last century.
Before Joining the Lineup Government agencies and organizations such as NOAA and the Surfrider Foundation have roughly estimated that there are more than 3 million people who surf in the U.S. every year; more than one million of them are in California. This sport contributes many millions of dollars to a string of our local coastal economies. But only a tiny fraction of those surfers make it into the water on any given day or week. Still, when conditions are most favorable, the best surf breaks can get crowded. So it is best for neophytes to practice away from the experts, where waves are smaller and gentler. Keep at least 30 feet distance from others so that you and your board can do no harm. (Beginners should also start with a softboard or “foamie”, since they are more buoyant and less likely to cause injuries when tossed around in the surf zone.) You should also try to find a beach with refracting waves that gradually spill over, rather than large, plunging surf that can pummel the beginner into a violent tempest resembling the inside of an agitating washing machine. Beginners will also want to become familiar with the whitewater before they venture out any farther. Before entering the water, spend several minutes watching for the cycles of larger waves that will arrive in sets. These sets of deeper groundswell waves are generated far out at sea, while surface wind waves are generated from local winds and are less desirable for surfing. Anticipating and reading the waves will make you more comfortable and confident and safer once you enter the water. Note how every day’s conditions are different on every beach. And never turn your back on the ocean until you’re catching a wave.
Powerful, eroding waves bend around the rugged points and promontories along the Mendocino coast and then refract into bays and coves such as this. As their energy spreads out and dissipates, they deposit sand along quieter, more protected beaches. Some record-breaking giant breakers have been recorded and surfed in northern California, where you might discover colder water and less accessible beaches without the big crowds. One of the largest waves ever recorded (nearly 75 feet (23m)) was measured in 2019 by a buoy out at sea beyond Cape Mendocino. A “bomb cyclone” with record low pressure, steep pressure gradients, and hurricane-force winds generated those monster waves.
Improving Conditions There is plenty of good surfing news in California. Almost all Golden State beaches below mean high tide are open to the public. (Mean high tide is the average of all high tides over many years. However you can roughly estimate this by looking for stranded lines of kelp or obvious signs that water has sculpted the sand farther up on the beach.) And the quality of our coastal waters has improved significantly over the last few decades, thanks to efforts to divert and treat street runoff and other pollutants. By the late 1900s, Californians were spending billions of dollars diverting and treating sewage and other toxic waste that would have otherwise spoiled many of our beaches and made it nearly impossible to swim without getting sick. Avoid the few remaining contaminated beaches (where you may find the highest bacteria levels), which are usually adjacent to piers, stream and river outlets, or enclosed bays with poor water circulation. You can also understand why it is best to stay out of the water during and after storm runoff. The worst example might be at our very southern border where the heavily polluted Tijuana River flows into the sea. Thanks to organizations such as Heal the Bay and the Surfrider Foundation, it is easy to find the grade for your favorite beach: https://www.beachreportcard.org
You will find occasional signage along our beaches reminding visitors that our ocean and beaches belong to all of us and how we all must help take care of these precious resources.
Jaws Sensationalist media obsessed with ratings have shamelessly hyped shark threats. At most, very few attacks are recorded each year along our entire Golden State coastline, resulting in an average of less than one fatality. Your chances of being hit by lightning are about the same. California surfers and swimmers are more than 1,000 times more likely to drown than be attacked by a shark.
California aquariums invite the public to become better acquainted with our incredibly productive marine ecosystems as they thrive, or barely survive. Here, we are at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific. You can also enjoy one of the premier aquariums in the world in Monterey Bay.
Take a Class The bottom line is (and most experienced surfers will cheer me on here), you will need surfing instructions to get started. You will find good public and private surfing classes up and down our coast with great instructors who will teach you much more than we can cover in this story. This gives us a chance to focus on exceptional swimming and surfing instructor role models.
Natalia Cascino is a positive role model for all surfers and surfing instructors. She has built a well-earned reputation as a cherished and respected swimming and surfing teacher in southern California. With her knowledge and experience, and her ceaseless energy and positive attitude, she has helped countless students improve their swimming and surfing skills, while also having a lot of fun. In this series of photos, you will also notice Ryan King, another positive role model. He has been surfing since he was a kid and it shows in everything he does. Watch him while he works with Natalia as they teach two classes of fledgling college students how to surf. Their love for the ocean and the waves is contagious.
Meet awesome surfing instructors Natalia Cascino (in the van) and Ryan King. We start each morning by checking out our “foamie” surfboards. They love what they do and we love them for it.
Students will be assigned the surfboard that suits their size. The marine layer’s low stratus blankets us on this day, but most of our mornings were bright and sunny, as might be expected by the end of summer and the start of autumn along the California coast.
We start each session in our circle with a series of necessary and essential stretches and warm-up exercises. Always loosen up and warm up before entering the water.
Natalia guides the first of our two groups into the water. We will paddle out to the white buoy and perform a series of maneuvers with our surfboards. She, amazingly, never showed any signs of fatigue, swimming with us as if she was born in and for the ocean.
As group one goes out, Natalia in tow, group two stays on the beach for lessons from Ryan. As group one paddles toward the buoy, they will learn and practice some essential skills that will make them more comfortable with their boards and the water. We sometimes encountered schools of fish that would attract the occasional dolphin, sea lion, or diving pelicans.
Natalia and Ryan bark out nonstop positive reinforcement and surfing tips to our eager students: “Paddle, paddle, paddle!” Natalia is about to jump back in for her repeat swim to the buoy with the second group. They will both swim into the surf zone to guide their students. Did I mention that their love for the ocean is contagious? Cawabunga!
Surfing from North to South Now continue with us as we visit several of our state’s surfing beaches. With more than 1,250 miles (2,000 km) of rugged coastline, there are far too many California beaches to feature in this story. Here, we’ve selected several as examples and arranged them from north to south.
Surfing the Golden Gate. In this video, surfers take advantage of swells approaching from the west/northwest. The waves enter through the Golden Gate, then refract into the bay and spill over around Ft. Point.
Mavericks at Half Moon Bay. There are scores of awesome videos showing epic surf that can erupt at world-famous Mavericks, south of San Francisco. Some of these waves have been estimated at over 50 feet (15m), as winter storms churned the North Pacific! They are powerful enough to be recorded on seismometers when they break. To save time, I picked out two very different perspectives for you. (Note how these videos show the most extreme surfing conditions that can threaten the most seasoned, expert surfers.) Then, make sure you stay with us as we continue down the coast: If you haven’t jumped into extreme surfing videos before, know that it is a fantastical rabbit hole world with no end. So, it might be best to complete our story and then go back to these links.
Moving on down the coast to Santa Cruz…
This begins a series of photos as we follow the waves around the rocky point at Steamer Lane, Lighthouse Field State Beach, in Santa Cruz. You will also find the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum near here.Watch the wave as it refracts around and breaks at the point first and then bends in toward Monterey Bay at Steamer Lane/Lighthouse Field State Park, Santa Cruz. Photographers often gather here to get the perfect surfing image, sometimes with their own shadows.
We are reminded of the incredible diversity of marine life nurtured by the ecosystems below the waves in the cold waters of Monterey Bay. There’s a lot more than world-famous surfing going on here.
And as we follow our wave around the point at Steamer Lane, we can learn how waves and currents are shaping the entire coastline along the Santa Cruz coast.
Following our wave around the point as it refracts into Monterey Bay, awesome surfing options continue.
Our perfect wave finally passes through Steamer Lane on into the bay and heads over the kelp forest; it will continue curving toward the Santa Cruz Wharf and Boardwalk.
Pt. Dume, Malibu is composed of ancient volcanic rock (just to our backs here) that is resistant to erosion, so it protrudes into the ocean. Waves hit its rocks first, then refract around the stubborn point, which is behind us and to our right. We are looking at the waves after they have wrapped around the point and are now refracting into a more protected cove dominated by softer, more vulnerable sedimentary rock formations (locally known as the Monterey Formation or Modelo Shale). The surf here may not be so conveniently accessible, but you might see how it can become a surfer’s paradise when the tide and other conditions are favorable. Rare giant coreopsis shines among the plants in bloom during this spring shot.
You might notice why Malibu Surfrider is one of the most popular surfing beaches in the world. A sandy bar jets out from where Malibu Creek and Lagoon spill into the ocean. As waves wrap around the point (to our right here), they gradually refract and spill over toward Malibu Pier (to our left). Since the shoreline faces south, this break is especially popular when south swells (usually during summer) make their way up from the South Pacific or from tropical storms off the Mexican coast.
Moving south, where Palos Verdes Peninsula’s marine terraces and landslides extend out into the Pacific, you will find more fine examples of how waves break first and pummel resistant rock outcrops and then refract into coves, pushing water and sand along the way. Past conflicts have erupted near here when territorial local surfers objected to sharing their waves with perceived outsiders. Such bad behavior was mostly condemned by a savvy surfing community determined to encourage good surfing etiquette.
Continuing along at Palos Verdes, as the waves refract and spread out into more protected coves, their energy becomes less concentrated. Some visitors are surprised to find such beautiful and seemingly remote beaches teaming with marine life, but also straddling population centers in L.A. County.
During your surfing trips, take some time to stop by visitor centers and natural science museums along the coast. You might find some interesting facts about life in and out of the water, such as here at Palos Verdes.
Farther south, surfing etiquette is on display with each wave here, next to the Huntington Beach Pier.
An easily accessible coastline is openly exposed to incoming waves, making Huntington Beach a popular surfing destination. For many decades, the crowds have peaked during summer around Huntington Beach Pier. But you might stumble upon surfing competitions and other beach sports events at any time of year.
There are many reasons why Huntington Beach earned the official moniker “Surf City”. But they had to fight for it. Boosters had used the name for years to describe Santa Cruz until Huntington Beach won the legal rights. This exhibit at Huntington’s 4th of July parade exploits the stereotypes.
You will find some historical and contemporary displays and exhibits at the compact surfing museum in Huntington Beach.
Tracing California history at Huntington Beach’s surfing museum.
Does this guy seem familiar? The “father of modern surfing”, Duke Kahanamoku, is honored again in Huntington Beach.
Following the Duke, California’s surfing culture stereotypes spread around the world. Classic movies provided an extra boost.
Getting in the lineup at Huntington Beach, AKA Surf City, USA.
Moving on south, you will find plenty of good breaks and skilled surfers around San Clemente Pier.
It’s not only about surfing. Paddleboarding has grown to become one of the leading water sports in California. This guy makes his way through the lineup near San Clemente Pier.
The fog has drifted in at Trestles. Some folks went to the trouble of building this makeshift shelter that looks more like a scene from Baja. Even as we move south into San Diego County, summer water temperatures struggle to make it over 70 degrees F (21C). When air masses drift over the cold, upwelling ocean currents, they often cool to their dew points. Though California’s coastal (advection) fog is more common along the colder north coast, it often condenses down here as well.
We used this sign in a previous story about following a grain of sand. You get the picture.
At Trestles, you are likely to find beach break suited for a variety of surfers.
Sections of San Onofre Beach are composed of rounded rocks eroded and falling out of a formation exposed on adjacent cliffs. This will require extra caution when tumbling off a surfboard.
You might also notice why San Onofre has gained a reputation as another popular surfing beach.
A long line of cars and frustrating wait will greet you at the entrance to San Onofre State Beach if you arrive during peak times, such as during summer weekend afternoons. You will enjoy more personal space during off season weekdays. Once you gain entrance, you can walk down to the narrow beach and popular surfing spots.
Numerous other California beach towns have exploited their surfing and beach culture reputations. This is a crosswalk in Encinitas.
Magic Carpet Ride. Locals have added some personal decorations to this celebration of surfing in Encinitas.
Another point, another great break as waves refract around it. You will find these scenes and eager surfers around Swami’s, Encinitas. This is yet another image that connects us to one of our earlier stories about the natural history of a sand grain.Swami’s doesn’t disappoint on this latest perfect summer day.The sign next to the longboard tells us why Swami’s is also designated as one of California’s precious marine protected areas (MPA).Various coastal California museums and visitor centers include displays informing visitors about our long history of surfing. As an example, this tribute to skateboarding and surfing can be found in the modest San Dieguito Heritage Museum at Heritage Ranch in Encinitas. Up north, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum claims to be the first to focus on surfing.
California’s most southerly Imperial Beach is our last stop. Heavily polluted beaches are often closed from here to the Mexican Border, where the Tijuana River coughs out contaminants that often include sewage into the surf. Since humans are responsible for this insult to marine life and anyone who wants to go into the water, the U.S. and Mexican Governments are responsible for working together to clean up the shameful, unhealthy mess. This would have been the fate of most of California’s beaches had we not shown the will and determination to clean our waste and respect and cherish our coastline. So, while most of our state’s other beaches are graded as very high quality, the annual Beach Report Card often scores beaches from Imperial to the southern border with an F. That qualifies as a real Beach Bummer.
California art shows are frequently colored by artists who celebrate our beach and surfing cultures. This one was in San Diego.
Splashing into the waves and surrounding yourself with Earth’s largest ocean may be the most effective and rewarding learning experiences of your life. Books and classrooms can never compete with nature’s most spectacular natural science laboratory, where experiential learning opportunities are always calling out to all of us.
