SANTA CRUZ — Forget a White Christmas, some of the region’s more established surfers were essentially were gifted a Whitewater Christmas by Mother Nature on Monday, when a massive swell bombarded the Central Coast.
With it came some clean sets, epic rides, massive spills, and plenty of whitewater. The swell delivered both merriment and mayhem. The massive water flow not only wreaked havoc on the historic Santa Cruz Wharf, it sent dozens of accomplished, board riding thrill seekers tumbling into the abyss.
“I took one (wave) on the head,” said Santa Cruz’s Adam Bartlett, a member of the U18 U.S. Junior National Team. “I don’t know how big it was, but it felt like a 10-story building landing on me.”
The swell delivered waves in the 20 to 25-foot range to more than half the notable surf breaks from Steamer Lane to equally iconic Maverick’s, off Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay.
Bartlett surfed at Swift Street with close to 10 other daredevils, including local legend and former Championship Tour (CT) surfer Nat Young, fellow U.S. Junior National Team member Rex Hennings of San Clemente, as well as former CT surfer Kolohe Andino and Hayden Rodgers, also of San Clemente.
“The biggest beating I took, people said it had like a 20-foot back of the wave, so like a 40-foot face of the wave,” Bartlett said.
It was big everywhere, one day after the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational was held in Hawaii for just the 11th time in the past 40 years.
Surfline posted video on Instagram of Santa Cruz’s Alessandro “Alo” Slebir taming a massive bomb at Maverick’s.
Ghost Tree in Monterey was also going off.
Over the course of the day on Santa Cruz’s Westside, thousands of pedestrians watched the carnage in awe from the dozens of bluffs located along West Cliff Drive.
Bartlett said he spoke with Swift Street legend Richard Schmidt before heading out and was told a swell of this magnitude is “very, very rare.”
Another Santa Cruz icon, Howard “Boots” McGhee, an illustrious longboarder and surf photographer, was also among the spectators. Conditions were so big, McGhee took to Facebook and declared: “I call it the biggest swell since 1969 in Santa Cruz.”
Steamer Lane turned out double and triple overhead sets before noon, but it was a washing machine of whitewater in the afternoon, creeping toward high tide.
“I think the swell was too big for all those other spots,” Bartlett said.
One surfer got towed into solid waves at Third Reef, which rarely emerges.
Weasel Reef and Stockton Avenue were also going off.
Some spectators at Stockton Avenue went bonkers when they witnessed a break they’d never seen before emerge roughly a 1/2 mile offshore.
“That’s a new break. I need to name it,” one exclaimed, after telling others he has four decades of knowledge on the breaks in that spot.
Dozens of recreational surfers left their boards inside or atop their cars and watched the action unfold.
Only a select few braved the epic conditions.
Andino didn’t want to miss it. He said he had church, dinner, and Christmas Eve festivities on Tuesday, so he and Rodgers drove up from San Clemente so they could experience nature’s gift.
“It was special,” Andino said. “It was pretty rare to get that much swell, conditions like that, and not too many people out. I was just excited about the conditions because there was no wind forecasted.”
Rodgers, who earned his first World Surf League Qualifying Series victory at Pacifico Surf Open Puerto Escondido last week, paddled out at Swift Street at 11 a.m. and stayed in the water until nearly 4 p.m.
“It was pretty giant,” he said. “Really big waves. It was fun. Super long rights. And there was kinda no one else.”
Rodgers said there were a couple of waves with 25-foot faces. “The biggest wave probably landed right on my head,” he said. “It broke my leash. … I rode some fun waves, not that big. Fun times, super fun. It was worth the drive. We scored for sure. It’ll be memorable, for sure. I think they were some of the biggest waves I’ve ever surfed. And there was like no one out, it was dreamy.”
Bartlett said he watched the break all morning, before finally being coerced into surfing by Young.
“I didn’t want to get destroyed and sent to Cowell’s,” he said of the powerful water flow.
Bartlett said he waited, board in hand, between 30 minutes and an hour on the rocks before he jumped in the water to paddle out. Glorious, but ferocious, sets were coming in every 19 seconds.
“If you timed it wrong, you’re going to get slammed straight into the rocks, or get sucked under the rocks,” he said. “There was big consequence.”
Santa Cruz’s Edward Thorp, who lives at The Lane in his van, paddled out from the stairs near Steamer Lane on his bodyboard and learned quickly that it was going to be a rough go. He got one run in.
“I paddled out in the stairs here and immediately got stuck in the river, and kinda got a wave in Cowell’s,” Thorp said. “I got a backwash wave off the stairs here at the memorial and that pushed me back out. … I didn’t want to do The Point because it was too terrifying. The waves are too unreasonable there to try and make it out. But I wanted to get wet and I need exercise. I can’t sleep without surf.
“I was hoping to ride the biggest wave I’d ever ridden today, but it didn’t work out. What I should’ve done is go to Swift Street.”
Some of the spectators along West Cliff were victims of the swell, too. Santa Cruz’s Bonnie Keeshan and her young friends, Betsy and Mary Hayes, ages 7 and 5, respectively, were drenched by the water flow after it smashed against the rocks at It’s Beach and rained down on them in the splash zone. Another spectator lent them a towel to dry off.
“We got a little wet,” said Keeshan, noting that she didn’t expect so much water displacement. “I thought maybe a little spray. … I’ve been a longtime resident of Santa Cruz — I’ve been here almost 50 years — and the winter is my favorite time to be here — just for this. It’s just awesome.”
It wasn’t until 4:20 p.m. that the Santa Cruz County Offense of Response, Recovery & Resilience sent out a public safety alert, warning people to stay off the beaches and coastal overlook areas.
Surfline’s forecast called 8 to 12-foot waves at Steamer Lane for much of Tuesday, and 8 to 10-foot waves on Christmas.