One Day in Santa Cruz

I had to travel to the SF bay area for work last week, so I thought I might try to fit in a quick surf session. Initially, I thought I'd rent a board, but I decided to inquire on BoaterTalk to see about renting a kayak. I had a few recommendations for rentals, but I also received a post from Dave Johnston, who offered to rent me one of his boats -- and he'd go out paddling with me to boot. Dave is a world class surf kayaker and a Santa Cruz local, so I gave him a call and we made plans to meet on Tuesday morning.

Dave Johnston


Tuesday started early for me. I left the house at 4:00 AM and drove to the airport. My plane landed in San Jose a little after 9:00 where I picked up my rental car and made my way over the hills to Santa Cruz. I got to Dave's house a little after 10:00 and we headed North to find a place to surf. We scouted a few places along the way, but ended up getting into the water at Scott's Creek. The conditions weren't great -- a healthy chop on the water and on-shore winds -- but the swell was OK for me providing some nice 5-7 footers peeling to the right at a cool little reef break.

Dave paddled out and caught a few waves as I got used to his Mega Neutron. It was so cool to watch him surf, that I just hung out and watched for a while. After I got used to the boat a little bit, I caught a couple waves and learned the real difference between a full-up surk kayak and the Squashtail. This thing was fast. After dropping down the face, the fins would start to hum and I'd suddenly find myself out on the face of the wave with nowhere to go. It takes a pretty agressive bump to get the kayak to turn back to the pocket and I ended up leaning to my left while the boat was still headed to the right. After a few tips from Dave, I started to get the feel for it a little bit more and I had a few great rides.

Dave has a great eye for catching wildlife and he pointed out a few grey whales, and elephant seals that were hanging out. I also say a harbour seal, California sea lion, and a sea otter. After a few hours, I was wiped out and Dave had to get back, so we called it a day. So, if you're a kayak surfer and looking to rent a boat in Santa Cruz, give Dave a call or check out his website @ http://www.kayaksantacruz.com/index.html

After heading back into town, I gave my Uncle Terry a call and met him for a couple hours at the Seabright Brewery, where I had fish & chips and a great IPA.

Uncle Terry

Not a bad day in Santa Cruz.