How Surf Squad Came to Be
I started surfing just 4 short years ago. Technically I’d taken a few surf lessons prior, but a lesson every 6 months or so does not a surfer make. Long story short, I realized I needed to make a commitment to surfing if I was going to progress. I decided to take a lesson and then commit to surfing once a week for the following 3 weeks. Somehow the universe aligned and what was supposed to be a mixed group turned out to be all women (the dudes who signed up were a no show). The vibe was noticeably different, and the ladies quickly befriended each other in the water. After class I asked them if they wanted to exchange numbers to have someone to surf with. They did, and then showed up the following 3 weeks to surf. We were hooked. Even better, these women remain my surf sisters to this day.
Photo: Cassie Wegeng Photography
5 months later, my partner gifted me a women’s surf retreat in Costa Rica. (Shout out to Surf Bikini Retreat!) It was an amazing week of surfing with a diverse group of women. I came back to the States wanting more of that, and, after not finding active women’s surf groups in Santa Cruz, I decided to build my own.
We started small, a little band of beginners fumbling along trying to figure out where to surf, how to read a surf report, how not to get smashed by waves or that guy we didn’t see as we dropped in on them. We made mistakes. We made friends.
As we grew as surfers and as a community, I wanted more support for myself as well as the influx of newbies to our group. I searched for, and found, an instructor who could teach us more than the basics. I wanted clinics that were topic specific, classes that focused on a single skill or skill group at a time. Enter Katy Collins, then new owner of Capitola Surf and Paddle. Together we developed a series of 4 clinics for the women in our community. Little did we know, these clinics would end up taking on a life of their own. Over a dozen topic based clinics are now offered, along with an annual local retreat.
We also began taking surf trips up and down the coast and abroad, braving new breaks and new waves. (More trips are in the works, including one where I bring a group of Florida women to surf Santa Cruz!)
Today our WhatsApp community is over 400 members strong and continues to grow. Come surf with us!