How will you celebrate California Surfing Day? Here’s six ideas to get you stoked – OCRegister

Posted On: September 18, 2019

It’s a day to get out in the water, catch a few waves and be grateful for what the state’s coastline provides for surfers who enjoy the ocean.

But make sure you take a longboard — it doesn’t look like there’s going to much wave action happening on California Surfing Day.

The quasi-holiday, approved by state legislators in 2018, lands on Friday, Sept. 20, a day Surfline.com forecasters are calling for a measly 1- to 2-foot swell, maybe a few 3-footers if you’re lucky, for the Southern California area.

So if the dismal surf isn’t enough to entice you to paddle out, we have a few ideas on how you can still feel stoked on California Surfing Day.

Chris Espitia takes out Naeem Orraca-tetteh into the waves for his first surf lesson as part of the Youth Mentoring Connections program Sunday, July 7, 2019 in Playa Del Rey. (Photo by Tracey Roman, Contributing Photographer)

1. Take out a newbie: Maybe your mom or uncle has always wanted to try to catch waves. Perhaps you’re reading this and it will entice you to sign up for that surf lesson you’ve always wanted to try. The small waves will make for perfect learning conditions, and with the water temps sticking around the upper 60s, it’s nice and balmy. You’ll have no trouble finding surf schools up and down the coast, from the South Bay to Seal Beach, Bolsa Chica, Newport Pier and down to Doheny State Beach.

2. Try a new spot: We can get stuck in our routines, often going to the same spots to ride waves. But exploring is one of the fun things about surfing: a reason to go to a new stretch of coast, a way to discover waves you’ve never ridden before. Maybe take a short staycation up to Ventura, or down south to San Diego. Or maybe just the neighboring beach that is just out of your comfort zone.

Team Brazil’s Silvana Lima celebrates exiting out of a barrel competing in the final round during the WSL Founders’ Cup of Surfing at the WSL Surf Ranch in Lemoore, Calif. on Sunday May 6, 2018. (Photo by Raul Romero Jr, Contributing Photographer)

3. Road trip to Lemoore: Waves set in the middle of the state’s agricultural mecca, the scent of cows and farmland surrounding world-class surfing? It’s a strange sight, but something every surf fan should see first-hand. With the three-day Freshwater Pro kicking off with Round 1 on Thursday, and the public able to witness the world’s best competitors go at it on Friday and Saturday, it’s a great chance to see this futuristic wave up close. In addition to the surf competition, there’s a Grom Zone for kids and a concert by Raconteurs on Saturday, Sept. 21. Tickets for adults are $55 for a one-day general admission pass, with options for VIP packages for the event. If you can’t make the four-hour trek up to Lemoore, near Fresno, watch live online at: wslfreshwaterpro.com

4. Clean up the coast: California Surfing Day happens to come just one day before California Coastal Clean Up Day, and if you love the ocean you should help take care of it. Take waves on Friday, give thanks on Saturday. There are groups gathering at nearly every beach in Southern California, ready to pluck trash and junk off the sand and inland along parks and waterways that sometimes ends up in the ocean.Click here to find a clean up near you.

A statue of iconic surfer Phil Edwards is unveiled during a ceremony at Waterman’s Plaza in Dana Point on Friday, June 7, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

5. Celebrate your local legends: It’s important to give thanks to those who have shaped the culture we enjoy, so take a moment to visit areas such as the Surfer’s Walk of Fame on the Hermosa Pier, or down in Huntington Beach where there’s the Surfing Walk of Fame in front of Jack’s Surfboards, or across the street the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, all which have given tribute to icons of the surfing tribe. Stop by the new statue of filmmaker Bruce Brown being unveiled Thursday, Sept. 19, in Dana Point, which will join others of Hobie Alter and Phil Edwards. Or swing by the Dale Velzy Surf Contest and Luau on Saturday at Doheny State Beach, which pays homage to the South Bay boardmaker who later moved to south Orange County.

A packed crowd showed up for the launch of the new “Temples of Stoke” exhibit at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente on Aug. 9, 2019. TK Surf Shop in Newport Beach always keeps the tone fun, putting a shark on the wall at the exhibit. (Photo by Laylan Connelly/SCNG)

6. Stop by your local surf shop or learn their history: It’s where we go to find the latest trends in surfwear, the innovations, the newest board designs. Surf shops have changed through the years, once a gathering place where people stopped to talk about the morning waves or chatted with shapers about their latest designs. The Surfing Heritage and Culture Center has a great exhibit up at the moment called the “Temples of Stoke” that pays tribute to iconic surf shops from up and down the California coast. Stop in to the San Clemente museum, it is free to visit. More info: shacc.org