Legendary big-wave surfer Archie Kalepa has turned his home in Lahaina into a well-orchestrated supply depot for survivors of the devastating Maui fire.
Surfing
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I left my board with a Malagasy surfer: How I learned to let go of what I cherished
Santa Cruz native Evan Quarnstrom left his favorite surfboard halfway around the world — on purpose. He gifted it to a surfer in Madagascar he had met who needed it more than he did. But he misses it. Here, he reflects on the bond between a surfer and board and the memories and surfer friends he made from Brazil to Indonesia to Madagascar during his almost two-year travel adventure.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
When is it not safe to surf? My experience surfing in the world’s shark-attack capital
Nowhere in the world has been more dangerous for surfers than Reunion Island, a French department in the Indian Ocean. The isle has gained global notoriety for its disproportionate amount of shark attacks. Santa Cruz native Evan Quarnstrom, who has called the island home for the past three months, details his experience becoming part of a unique surf community that has been forever altered by sharks. “Everyone seems connected to someone who was attacked,” he writes.
Posted inCoast Life, Events
The last wave: Ambitious and locally rooted publication Santa Cruz Waves closes up shop
Santa Cruz Waves, the glossy periodical devoted to covering surfing and its influence on Monterey Bay culture and environmental issues, has ceased publication. “To put it quite bluntly,” CEO and founder Tyler Fox told Lookout, “I was just not getting enough financial return to make it worthwhile for me, personally.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
On Jack O’Neill’s 100th birthday, let’s celebrate ocean protection and education
People associate Jack O’Neill, who died in 2017 at the age of 94, with inventing the wetsuit, which allowed him and other surfers to spend more time in cold water. As we approach what would have been his 100th birthday on Monday, Tracey Weiss, executive director of O’Neill Sea Odyssey, encourages us to celebrate Jack’s role in ocean protection and education. Jack called the program, which focuses on educating youth about the ocean, his “greatest achievement.”
Posted inCoast Life
Kitesurfing Californians found the perfect beach in Baja. Then they gentrified it
A quirk of geography has created a spot in southern Baja with nearly perfect winds for kitesurfing. In the past few years, Californians have built a thriving outpost there. Is the growth sustainable?
Posted inCoast Life
Black in blue: Surfers of color look to assert their rights to find joy in the water
On Friday, the Museum of Art & History hosts an in-person discussion on how far surf culture has come in the realm of inclusiveness, with particular focus on Santa Cruz culture, and how far it has yet to go. “It’s a time to explore these things,” one panelist says. “It’s a time to ask what may be uncomfortable questions.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Skimboarding might be surfing’s little brother in Santa Cruz, but it’s given me family across the world
Santa Cruz’s skimboarding community “might be relatively small,” writes Evan Quarnstrom, “but our small town plays an outsized role in the history and culture of the sport.” Quarnstrom grew up skimboarding in Santa Cruz and he’s used his passion and skill to meet fellow skimmers across the world. He explains how, and offers a primer on why skimming is harder than surfing.
Posted inCoast Life
Riders on the storm: Santa Cruz surfers’ yin-yang relationship with historic megaswell events
There is much cleanup and rebuilding to be done after the storms battering Santa Cruz County, damage that hadn’t been seen for decades. There is also an epic sandbar building up off the San Lorenzo rivermouth. It’s a complex equation for those who live their best Santa Cruz lives tapping into the ocean’s energy and often risking their own personal safety for reasons few others could understand.
Posted inCoast Life
How a blind surfer got over his fear of wiping out (and you can too)
Pete Gustin proudly wears a “blind surfer” rash guard. His YouTube fans embrace his adventurous spirit, but he’s still sometimes hounded by haters in the water.