Steamer Lane is a world-class wave. It’s one of the best places there is to watch a surf contest. Some of the top surfers from across the globe competed in this year’s O’Neill Coldwater Classic. But none of that matters if the swell doesn’t deliver.
Articles by Matt Skenazy
Cliffgawking at The Coldwater Classic
Steamer Lane is one of the best venues for a surf contest there is. The amphitheater-like cliffs allow spectators to watch the action from angles usually reserved for helicopters. O’Neill is kind enough each year to set up bleachers right on the cliff, facing straight into the action. This is a wonderful, if singular, view. Take advantage of the surroundings; watch one heat from the bleachers, another from the point and a third from midway between the two.
The New Santa Cruz Shredders
The Coldwater Classic is Santa Cruz’s biggest surf contest of the year. Each fall an international contingent of surfers descend on the town to show off their talent, earn a few ratings points and, if all goes as they want it to, take home a bit of Jack O’Neill’s sweet prize money. Surfers packing international fame and six-figure contracts have been known to show up, names that are all too familiar to the average surfing fan: Jordy Smith, Joel Parkinson, Bobby Martinez and Adriano de Souza, to name a few.
