More than 300 athletes gathered at Capitola Beach for the 30th anniversary of Women on Waves, an all-female surf and swim festival celebrating women in the water. The weekend also featured a paddle-out in solidarity with survivors of sexual violence, highlighting the festival’s broader mission of supporting women and building community.
Surfing
Posted inRecreation & Sports
Santa Cruz surf club helps girls build confidence and find their place in the lineup
Girl Grom Surf Club brings girls ages 6 to 16 together for free monthly surf sessions at Capitola Beach, helping them build skills, confidence and friendships in a sport where they often feel outnumbered. Founded in San Diego in 2024, the nonprofit now has four California chapters and aims to foster confidence and stronger mental health through surfing.
Posted inLatest News
A century of sand debt comes due in Malibu
A new study finds the world’s great surf breaks are vulnerable to climate change. In Malibu, the problem is more specific: a coast with few defenses, with a record El Niño winter closing in.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is turning 40 – and celebrating with a newly restored lighthouse beacon
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum will celebrate its 40th anniversary Saturday with music, Hawaiian cultural performances and the unveiling of a newly restored beacon at the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse. The restoration was made possible by more than $90,000 raised by the community.
Posted inRecreation & Sports
Aptos surfer recounts great white shark encounter caught on viral drone video
An Aptos surfer whose close encounter with a great white shark went viral is sharing what happened from his perspective, including the moment he realized a drone hovering overhead was trying to warn him of danger.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
To honor the women of the water, Santa Cruz needs a female surf statue
Santa Cruz’s iconic surfer statue has long celebrated the city’s surf culture – but it tells only half the story, write two veteran Santa Cruz surfers, Kaila Pearson and Sarah Gerhardt, the first woman to surf Mavericks in 1999. From Antoinette Swan and the Hawaiian princes to generations of pioneering women who challenged barriers in the lineup, women have helped shape Santa Cruz surfing from the beginning, they argue. A companion statue honoring the women of the water would, they write, recognize women’s often-overlooked contributions and reflect the full history of our surf town. If Santa Cruz values its surfing heritage, they believe, it should make that legacy visible for future generations.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Why a female surfer statue matters: Two Santa Cruz surfers share their stories
Local female surfers Kaila Pearson and Sarah Gerhardt explain why the statue project matters to the Santa Cruz County community and to them personally.
Posted inLatest News
Black Surf Santa Cruz to hold annual Liberation Paddle-Out to commemorate Juneteenth
Black Surf Santa Cruz is hosting its sixth annual Liberation Paddle-Out to commemorate the Juneteenth holiday. The paddle-out is scheduled at 3 p.m. Friday, with the festivities beginning at noon at Cowell Beach in Santa Cruz.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Shaun Burns: Lessons from my six-month sabbatical from the sea
Professional surfer and Santa Cruz native Shaun Burns just spent six months out of the water after a recent surfing injury. He learned something many Santa Cruz County locals forget: The ocean is a gift, not a guarantee. Here, he reminds us that Saturday is International Surfing Day and argues that surfing is about far more than catching waves — it also provides mental relief, community and a deeper connection to the coast.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
We don’t need a female surf statue; we need to make surfing safer for women in Santa Cruz
Longtime Santa Cruz surfer Alaya Vautier has spent three decades in the water and says sexism, racism and exclusion remain deeply embedded in local surf culture. While she respects the intentions behind a female surf statue – now proposed for Capitola – she believes symbolism alone cannot address those problems and might even reinforce narrow ideas about who belongs in the lineup.
