New Brighton for Fun

January 19, 2016 ~ tomadaonline ~ 2 Comments

Remember New Brighton? We’ve had so much fun there, but that was in summer with warm water and small surf.

Yesterday the surf was unruly up and down my coast, but there were hints that it might settle down in the afternoon. It was a play day and my gills were dry so I gathered my gear and hit the road. Every beach had monster waves, but I was not going to any beach, I was going to the one that might be small enough for me.

Santa Cruz was on fire with wild waves from the west side to Capitola. When I arrived at New Brighton the tide was low, and there were no fewer than 40 surfers riding smallish fast waves, with not A SUP in sight.

(SUP is an abbreviation for Stand Up Paddleboard.)

So I waited until the tide started to rise, and watched the surfers leave one by one until it was my size, and uncrowded. I caught a couple of waves and had plenty of paddling. Good thing too, since the storm is back today with heavy wind, strong surf, and sideways rain.

Twenty-Nine and Counting

September 22, 2015December 21, 2015 ~ tomadaonline ~ Leave a comment

What SUP? 29 years, that’s what. We spent our anniversary in a quiet Aptos AirBnB retreat. A stunning little jewel tucked away in the woods. Cora’s of California. Sunday morning we got to the ocean with our SUPs and energy to paddle. The tide was high, so we paddled from New Brighton up toward the Hook. Donna had enough enthusiasm to push us both forward. Keeping us company were sea otters, dolphins, murres, caspian terns, brown pelicans, harbor seals, and kids on the Capitola shore who sounded like they were at an amusement park.

Donna dropped me off at Sharks and continued to Pleasure Point where she stayed well outside the surf zone. She was a spec on the horizon when I lost track of her. But hey. I found waves. Little bitty things. Just right for a newbie riding his bright white F-One Manawa.