It’s Tuesday at 1 p.m., and only three people are in the ocean at Cowell’s Beach in Santa Cruz. I turn to watch new friends Francine and Cynthia, both women in their late 50s, follow me across the beach: Cynthia navigating the wind with her surfboard, Francine managing the beach bags.
The foam-topped boards are awkward to carry even without the wind. You’ve got to stretch your arm across the thick midsection and grasp the bottom. We snake past a group of kids on a field trip and the blue, iconic lifeguard stand. Closer to the water, we plop down our towels, water bottles, snacks, and boards. Already, we’ve gotten a full-body workout, and we haven’t even hit the waves.
There’s nothing like taking newbies surfing to remind me how much I fumbled when learning the sport. I never took a formal lesson. Instead, I adopted a gonzo approach that relied on hurling myself into waves I wasn’t ready for, which makes it all the more satisfying to help others do it differently today.
Cowell’s Beach, with its sandy, shallow floor, is a great place to learn. Nearby surf shops offer gear rental and lessons, as they do at Pleasure Point and Capitola Beach, a few miles south. Today, my goal is to get Francine and Cynthia into the water, not drive to multiple spots in search of the perfect beginner wave. After equipping Francine and Cynthia at Cowell’s Surf Shop, we change into wetsuits there, leave the car in the lot and simply walk across the street to the beach.
Most people don’t realize how accessible a beginner surf day can be.
Having surfed for 30 years, I’ve often heard, “I’ve always wanted to surf!” To which I reply, “You should try it!” I say this whether the person lives near the beach or not. Whether they will go just once or will end up taking it on as a new sport. Whether they will pop up and ride that first time or not.
No matter what, getting in the water with a surfboard will give you a new understanding of the ocean and yourself. After wrestling with the board and the waves, washed clean of the static of everyday life, you will emerge anew. That night, you will drop blissfully to sleep in a way that harks back to childhood. Perhaps most importantly, you will have done something scary and come out the other side.
When I texted Francine and Cynthia, whom I’d just met at a social mixer, to see if they’d be interested in trying surfing, Francine, 58, replied, “100% down for that!” and Cynthia, 57, “Wow! What a lovely invite!” Cynthia’s son surfs, and she’d always wanted to try it, as had Francine. Both had done stand-up paddleboarding. Having struggled with her balance on a paddleboard, Cynthia wondered if she would be suited to surfing. I assured her that balancing is easier on a surfboard because a board in motion is more stable.
Standing in front of Francine, I gently push her backward. She catches herself with her right foot. This is the foot she naturally stabilizes herself with and is the one she’ll place behind her on the board, making her a “regular” foot. Right is “regular”; left is “goofy.” It doesn’t really matter which you are, but you need to know which foot gets the surfboard leash before paddling out.
Now for the pop-up. I lie down on one of the boards on the sand. With hands in push-up position, clasping the outer edges of the board, known as the rails, I rise up into a plank position and then jump my feet beneath me — not something you should do on the beach on anything but a soft- top; otherwise, your knees or feet may dent the board. I have them try it. They catch on quickly.
Next, I have them lie down again on the boards centered vertically with a bit more room above their heads than below their feet. If you’re too far forward on the board, the nose will dip; too far back, the tail will drag. There’s a sweet spot you can sense in the water; I want them to have a good starting point before getting in.
The biggest tip — as general and obvious as it may sound — is to keep yourself oceanside from your board. When you fall, you want to fall away from it toward the ocean, not the beach. This applies even when wading out. Waves treat surfboards like play toys. You don’t want to get hit as they bandy them about.
Today, the lesson will be more about handling the board, paddling and reading the ocean. The waves aren’t cooperating. They’re breaking right on shore in only a foot of water. Though they look promising a ways out, they roll by us as messy lumps. I demonstrate how to sit up on the board and pivot. Cynthia and Francine practice. I explain that waves come in sets. They study the waves. The wind sweeps us toward the pier and further out to sea. We paddle back in. Cynthia remarks on how much spray hits her face. I’m reminded how much cardio is needed.
As a pod of four men passes us on an endurance paddle, I realize that we’re the only women in the water, and besides that, we’re women “of a certain age.” I smile at this. I’m 63 and used to being an outlier, which is one reason I like surfing. It’s less a sport than a tribe of non-conformists seeking freedom and a unique relationship to nature.
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I started surfing at 32 after a divorce. There weren’t many women who surfed, but there was room for me in the lineup, the area in the water where surfers wait for waves. Over the years, I’ve noticed more and more women in the water. The popularity of surfing has been rising for years, and lately, women aged 40 to 60 make up the largest demographic adopting it.
Attempting to ride the white water of a broken wave, even if just belly down on the board, we creep close to shore until getting taken by one that twists us around. It’s a full-body takedown. I surface to see Francine collecting her board and Cynthia shaking water from her hair. Despite an hour and a half in the chilly, 53-degree water and our own endurance paddle to battle the off-shore winds, Cynthia and Francine would keep going, but we’ve done enough. Our muscles are taxed. We trek back to our towels.
“I feel so relaxed,” Francine says, eyes closed, taking in the sun.
We sit silently on the beach, shivering and sunning.
“I surprised myself. How brave I was,” Cynthia says.
We rinse off at the outdoor showers and return the gear, then scoot downtown to one of my favorite spots, El Palomar restaurant. Under the skylights of the atrium, we order guacamole, fish tacos, and beer, not realizing how hungry we are until we sit down. Afterward, we wander down Santa Cruz’s Pacific Avenue, stopping in The Hat Company and the Sock Shop, which have been anchored on the main drag for decades. I’m grateful they’re still here. Driving back to the East Bay, we talk non-stop about exes, dating apps and solo travel: the conversations of women who’ve stopped pretending that life unrolls in a straight line. And how spending time in the unpredictable, immensely powerful and ever-changing sea is so oddly grounding.
If you go
Cowell’s Surf Shop: Open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. daily. 30 Front St., Santa Cruz, 831-427-2355; surfcowells.com
Traveler Surf Club & Coastal Outpost: Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 747F 41st Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-621-2106; travelersurfclub.com
Capitola Beach Company: Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily through Labor Day. 131 Monterey Ave., Capitola, 831-462-5222; capitolabeachcompany.com
Capitola Surf and Paddle: Lessons by appointment; book through the website, phone, or text. Capitola Beach, 831-435-6503; capitolasurfandpaddle.com
El Palomar Restaurant: Open 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays. 1336 Pacific Ave., 831-425-7575; elpalomarsantacruz.com
The Hat Company: Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. 1346 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-458-9585; hatcompanysantacruz.com
Sock Shop & Shoe Company: Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays. 1515 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-429-6101; sockshopandshoeco.com
Heather Hiett is a Bay Area writer, photographer, and surfer. Her forthcoming memoir, “Dancing on Water,” explores reinvention, instinct, and the lessons she found through surfing. Follow her on Instagram: @h2heatherhiett.
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