Y-Quad Fish Surfboard and Winter Frost

Woke up on Sunday morning for the first NorCal session of the year.  Surfing in beautiful Northern California has its own special appeal.  The thermometer says 28 degrees F, my lawn is white with frost and my windshield is covered with ice.  

Driving over Highway 17, my nine year old son stares at the frost-covered hills on both sides of the road and says two words, "looks grim."  Well, it could be worse.  At least we plan to go in after the sun comes up.  Maybe the air will be in the high 40s by the time we hit the water.  Yea, maybe.

We get down to the normally hideously crowded Cowells beach in Santa Cruz and see a bunch of nice, easy rolling waves coming in.  Conditions look great.  Something is strange.  There's only one other person out there and the guy is on a stand up paddle surfboard.

My son takes out his brand new four-fin fish surfboard.  It glistens in the sun.  We charge in.  He's getting into waves by himself and carving up and down the face.  

The tide starts to drop, the waves die down, the sun heats up the air, and the crowd thickens.   We head in for a fantastic lunch on Santa Cruz Wharf with a panoramic view of the surf lineup all the way from Steamer Lane to Cowells.  It's another beautiful morning in NorCal paradise, just takes a certain perspective to see it.