patrick.net

Bap33 says

nah … it has a much higher per-cap of freaky folks than any place on earth, including Frisco. Felton is like a witches and demons camp or something. Santa Cruz gives me the willies. Watsonville, Freedom, Parajo, and Aromas are pretty heavy with non-Americans that speak spanish (see there, PC all the way!! lol)

I bet you heard about gang member who killed a surfer recently. Yes, its different now compared to the days i surfed. No one is singing kumbayah around SC anymore.

if you look at the SC surf scene, you may agree, they operated as a type of gang .. but not for drug turf, just wave turf. I never wanted to dress like a seal and play "here sharky sharky", so I never had any beef with those crazy dudes riding the waves. I stayed on the sand and played "here girly girly", but that's a different blog. lol

When I wrote that I didn't consider Santa Cruz County part of the Bay Area, it was not meant to be a comment about anything except that Santa Cruz County does not border the bay.

That's all.

Bap33 says

if you look at the SC surf scene, you may agree, they operated as a type of gang .. but not for drug turf, just wave turf. I never wanted to dress like a seal and play “here sharky sharky”, so I never had any beef with those crazy dudes riding the waves. I stayed on the sand and played “here girly girly”, but that’s a different blog. lol

I've been surfing Monterey/Seaside, Asilomar, Carmel, La Selva and the Santa Cruz area (Steamers and 41st) for the past year without any problems. You'll find that all the whiny "surf gangs" pretty much shut up when the surf gets well over double overhead. At that point, it's only the dedicated who are out - and all the crap talking stops.

Funny, because when it gets HUGE out in the bay, the hardcore surfers are in the 20 foot breaks, while the surf gangs hang out in the smaller stuff. They really aren't as tough as they'd like you to think they are... at that point it's a numbers game.

Dressing up like a seal may not sound appealing, but surfing has been one of the best activities in my life. It eliminates stress, an excellent core body workout, you get to see dolphins/whales/otters daily, and you get to experience God's beauty - especially when you watch the sun rise over the mountains in the morning. It can be freezing cold outside, but you're nice and warm in a wetsuit. That's why people get hooked on it.

joshuatrio says

It eliminates stress, an excellent core body workout, you get to see dolphins/whales/otters daily...

And don't you get to see great white sharks this time of year while you paddle on your flimsy board in a suit that makes you look like a seal?

sybrib says

When I wrote that I didn’t consider Santa Cruz County part of the Bay Area, it was not meant to be a comment about anything except that Santa Cruz County does not border the bay.
That’s all.

It goes beyond just borders, different type of economy, character, and other demographics.

simchaland says

joshuatrio says

It eliminates stress, an excellent core body workout, you get to see dolphins/whales/otters daily…

And don’t you get to see great white sharks this time of year while you paddle on your flimsy board in a suit that makes you look like a seal?

Seen a leopard shark... that's about it. Most of the people who surf in this area have been doing it 20-30 years and have never seen a shark.

I also met the guy who got bit by a great white in Marina a few years back... he's still surfing.

You're odds of getting food poisoning are greater than getting attacked by a shark.

robertoaribas says

You are more likely to die from a farm machinery accident then surfing. [i find this odd, because I do surf, and will never operate farm machinery in my life. Any of you surfers been attacked by a combine or a plower?]

Lol - nice post.

Question, where do you surf ? It looks like you're in Arizona so other than a wave pool, you don't have many options...

this is good news for those who wait, right?