Quick Take
The “To Honor the Women of the Water” project team is shifting to the Capitola Esplanade for its female surfer statue, rather than the East Cliff Dirt Farm in Pleasure Point, to be the home of the statue after it was appealed. The Capitola City Council is expected to vote on the project in the coming months.
A proposed 17-foot bronze female surfer statue could call the Capitola Esplanade its home in 2027, after the team behind the project shifted away from the original East Cliff Dirt Farm location in Pleasure Point.
According to a media release from the “To Honor the Women of the Water” project team, it has zoned in on the Capitola Esplanade for the statue’s new home, and says the City of Capitola has “expressed enthusiastic support.”
The statue depicting a female surfer wearing a wetsuit and holding a longboard is envisioned as a companion piece to the famous male surfer statue that has stood on West Cliff Drive since 1992.
The monument was originally proposed for an undeveloped section of coastal bluff near Pleasure Point referred to as the East Cliff Dirt Farm. While there were plenty in support of the project, some residents said that the area should remain undeveloped. A resident appealed Santa Cruz County’s approval of the statue at that site. Kari Lochhead, the founder of the project, who began the effort nearly two years ago, said the team was confident that the appeal would not be successful, but she connected with Capitola City Councilmember Gerry Jensen through a mutual friend, which led to a meeting among members of the project team, Jensen, Mayor Margaux Morgan and Capitola city staff last week. Lochhead said the project received “a really warm welcome.”
“It’s just gonna be in a super visible spot, and then we can be done with the negativity and just move forward with what we think is a huge gift to the community,” said Lochhead.
Jensen said that the project team reaching out to the city was “very touching,” and that he’s excited for the project to move forward in Capitola.
“Being a father of four daughters, it really kind of symbolizes their upbringing coming to the beach and surfing,” he said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to have things like this that will be so iconic in our village. It’s going to be another element of Capitola that stands out, and a place that people can come to appreciate.”
Lochhead said that, if everything goes as expected, the eventual location of the monument is envisioned to be near the entrance to Capitola Beach at the Esplanade, with the figure gazing over the water. She added that while she is sad that the monument won’t be in Pleasure Point, where she lives, the Esplanade location would still connect locals and visitors to the area’s rich surfing history, especially with Capitola Junior Guards and the Women on Waves community surf contest held in the same area each year.
Capitola’s surf breaks were also officially inducted into the Santa Cruz World Surfing Reserve in 2025, which recognizes the quality of its waves, community stewardship and surfing heritage. According to the project team’s release, the reserve runs 7 miles through three jurisdictions, and the female and male surfer statues will bookend that reserve.
“I think the whole team is feeling really excited. Excited about how visible this will be, and it’s only the third female surf statue in the world. We really feel like this is going to become a huge asset to Capitola and still to Santa Cruz,” said Lochhead. “We pride ourselves on being the birthplace of surfing, and now we can talk about the contributions women have made to that sport as well.”
Marisol Godinez, co-organizer of Women on Waves, referring to the statue as “Honor,” told Lookout that it aligns perfectly with the contest’s mission, which is “to build a strong, supportive community of water-women by creating a safe and welcoming space where women of all backgrounds can come together.”
“While Santa Cruz has long been celebrated for its surf culture, female surfers still face challenges such as localism and intimidation in the lineup, hence why the Women on Waves contest was born,” she said via text message. She added that women are still underrepresented in media coverage and leadership positions within the sport, and that the monument would be a strong affirmation that women belong in surfing.
“It would inspire young girls, strengthen community pride, and acknowledge that while meaningful progress has been made, there is still work to do to achieve true gender parity in the lineup and beyond,” she added.
Although the new proposed location appears promising, Lochhead said the project will still have to go through the Capitola city process for approval. However, she expects it to move more quickly through the city steps, as it is a more streamlined process. The team will submit an application to the city’s art commission, and then the city council can vote on the project, issue a coastal permit, and accept the monument as a donation in one go. If all goes as planned, the team is aiming to install the project in either spring or late fall 2027, to avoid the area’s summer events and large crowds.
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