Ain't that swell? Photo by Dominick Lemarie & Stormick Photography.
The lineup of surfers anxiously awaiting a clean drop at Steamer Lane this weekend will have to wait a little longer. Here come three days of competitive surfing with a twist—the best paddle-powered wave riders the world over are set to take the beach by storm. After whipping wind and hail cut short the quarter-century-old competition last year, the Santa Cruz PaddleFest is back.
“This is the largest and longest-running event of its kind, with some of the best waves in the world,” says Dennis Judson, who has organized and competed in the contest every year since he first launched it in 1987. “I wouldn’t do this if I couldn’t play too,” says the 67-year-old owner of Adventure Sports Unlimited.
Formerly known as the Kayak Surf Festival, the competition has grown to include waveskis and stand-up paddle (SUP) boards. Saturday at 9am will see another recent addition called the Surf & Sand Duel-Athlon, a flatwater race of stand-up paddlers at Cowell’s Beach followed by a beach run. All surfing events, including Sunday’s finals, will take place at Steamer Lane. The clifftop park along West Cliff Drive overlooking the point is the best spot for front-row viewing and promises to be packed with spectators, judges, food booths and music.
The history of surf kayaking is shrouded in mist. Some attribute its origins to Santa Cruz, as early as the 1950s. Others say it began in the British Isles in the early ’60s, where the sport quickly caught on—a boon in such cold-water climates, as the craft allows a kayaker to stay slightly less steeped in icy surf.
As far as Judson is concerned, “We kind of invented this thing.” He attributes the variations of paddle surfing around the world to convergent evolution. “Wherever we’ve gone, we find people that are doing this,” he says. “In Brazil, they were already surfing on boats when we showed up. There’s been a lot of sharing of ideas and designs for decades.”
The sport has gradually gained more of the world’s attention in the last quarter of a century, thanks in large part to this weekend’s competition. The local festival certainly played a defining role in the world competitions that have followed. Six years after Judson’s Kayak Surf Festival began, he helped launch the first World Championship event, which was held in Santa Cruz as well.
Dave Johnston, a current world champion surf kayaker and local who has been competing in the Kayak Surf Festival here since it started, can’t wait for the weekend to begin. “Here at the Lane, the takeoff is very concentrated. This competition gives us the chance to ride one of the best breaks in the world,” he says. “I’m just hoping for some good waves, and to see some clean spins, cartwheels, whatever new tricks the best paddlers in the world will bring.”
Santa Cruz PaddleFest
Friday–Sunday at Steamer Lane
