Surfer Mamas - Growing Up in Santa Cruz

Jane McKenzie

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:47:45 +0000

Jane McKenzie 57 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory There are so many with the amount of years I have been in the water. Now it is enjoying the next generation of surfers and trying to help them understand respect for themselves, other surfers, the ocean and environment and not to be entitled or reckless. Every time I surf there is another funny story or adventure! What is your occupation Financial advisor for individuals, family’s and small business owners Do you have any significant community involvement? Santa Cruz Longboard Union, President ; Stewardship Council Santa Cruz World Surfing Reserve; Board Member Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society, Ride-A-Wave lifetime volunteer Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I don’t think it is unique but I am so proud of my son and how he has become a well mannered and respected waterman. He has a unique style and is a good athlete. I get to have a great time with him when we are both in the water together. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? : When we get to go on surf trips or local camping surf trips and simply spend time together with friends. Many times on these trips I will notice a quantum leap in his skill set or introducing him to new and different things. Now, the tables have turned and he is introducing me to new things. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? I prefer “parenthood” and the only challenge I have allowed my self is time in the day to surf. Running a business, maintaining a household takes time and sometimes flexibility to surf during the right tide or swell pattern does not always work. Still, happy problems to have ! Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Adrienne Saxton

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:42:59 +0000

Adrienne Saxton 30 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory Traveling to islands and continents to surf and finding Santa Cruz friends in each place! Surfing in Tahiti with the fire dancer I had watched perform the night before. He was the prince in the performance and when I saw him surfing the next day it was like I was surfing with a god! Surfing at a spot up north alone with a whale nearby the entire session.Going for a quick surf in Bali before leaving for a boat trip to the Mentawais and getting an injury that required stitches!Missing my flight back home from Bali and getting to spend an extra heavenly week there.Surfing with friends in perfect conditions at my favorite spot. What is your occupation Collaborative Health and Human Services Field Practice Program Coordinator at CSUMB Do you have any significant community involvement? My work is about developing these opportunities for college students Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I preferred surfing without crowds until my kids and I started surfing at Cowell’s when they were little. Now, some of my best memories are party waves with my kids and the rest of Santa Cruz! What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? Surfing with my kids in places like Kauai, Tonga, Malibu, and Big Sur What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? Time! The changing priorities of motherhood made it difficult to get time to surf especially when they were young. Often our schedules are busy with other activities and surfing has to take a back seat. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Kathy Wiles

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:35:34 +0000

Kathy Wiles 25 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory My fondest surfing memories are probably from travel adventures I took with friends when I was in my 20’s, as well as memories from the year I lived on Maui with my closest buddies. We were really good at faking it till we made it in random line ups; and the carefree joy, laughter, surprises and bonding we shared during our time in the water and travels together is something I’ll always cherish and remember. My husband and I have also had some amazing kid-free surf trips to Mexico the last few summers which have been such a treat! What is your occupation Labor and Delivery RN at El Camino Hospital Do you have any significant community involvement? I volunteer at my kids’ schools and am part of a local women’s running team. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I don’t surf with my kids quite yet… they’re taking baby steps in that department and we try not to pressure them. I don’t know if this is unique about being a mom who surfs, but for me, its been an ongoing mental game settling into the new identity of a working mother who (sometimes) surfs. Time becomes so limited after having kids, and as priorities shift, I’ve grown to really appreciate time in the water (even though I complain about a lack of it, horrible crowds, and my declining coordination, haha). Although almost a decade later and still a work in progress, becoming a mom has helped me learn to let go, step back, and appreciate what I have, because otherwise it’ll always feel like something is lacking or being sacrificed. I feel so lucky to still have surfing as an option to escape from daily routines and responsibilities. And I love the unspoken respect and bond that’s formed with other moms or parents in the water, knowing we’re all going through this weird and wonderful experience together. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? My kids aren’t surfing much yet but any moments we share on the beach, in the forest, or anywhere in nature where we can have real play time together seems to turn on a magic switch… I love watching them look and laugh with each other when they catch a wave together on their boogie boards. Even when not surfing, they’ll spends hours in their wetsuits going in and out of the water, unknowingly learning about tides and the rhythm and power of the ocean. I hope these early lessons will lead to a lifelong appreciation of living near the beach and all the ocean has to offer us. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? Oh finding the time to surf, and dealing with the mom guilt of leaving the kids, of course! Between school, sports, music, work, social time & family time, our family’s schedule is non-stop. I struggle with the balance of continuing to live and grow in my own life while trying to be the best parent/wife/family member I can be. I want to set an example for them of pursuing what makes you happy and energizes your soul, but I find it takes a lot of childcare efforts and feelings of guilt to consistently make this happen. Yes, I need to let go of the guilt, but man its hard to shake! And I know they’ll be grown and independent in the blink of an eye, so always trying to remind myself to be mindful of the big picture. (Sidenote…I know I lived an extremely privileged life, so these are just my ridiculous, first world surf mom problems, lol). Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Erin Torr

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:29:47 +0000

Erin Torr 14 years Surfing What is your occupation Mental Health Counselor Do you have any significant community involvement? I work at a school as the mental health counselor for grades 6-12. I love it! I’ve also hosted exchange students for the last ten years which has been awesome. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I do not like surfing small waves and i really only surf the hook! What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? There are so many—I love our family surfs on holidays. Big Sur camp trips every summer are so fun because the waves vary so much from year to year. and surfing Costa Rica with my son and daughter was amazing! What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? I didn’t surf when my kids were little so I don’t have some of the challenges with time and freedom that younger moms do. I love when my kids can see that I’ve had a long day and they say, “go surf!” Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Jill Matthies

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:21:03 +0000

Jill Matthies 38 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory Well.. I have so many fun stories but since we are talking about surfing with family, I can tell you about our family trip to Costa Rica. Let’s see, the kids were 15, 13 and 12 and we took a ponga out to a spot called Ollie’s point and we all got some really amazing waves but it started to thunder and lightening and my youngest got a bit scared so we all paddled back to the boat and started back to the beach which was about a 30 minute ride up the coast. Well, the storm came in strong and the rain was coming down hard! It was getting really difficult to see! Our captain, had not set the correct coordinates on his compass and was talking out into the middle of the ocean! I was in total panic thinking we are all going to be lost at sea.. what Have I DONE! My family is lost at sea! We sat idle for about 30 minutes jsut floating out in the middle of the ocean! Luckily, my husband had his iphone in a secure dry location and he was able to help our captain find the correct coordinate and get us all safely back to shore! It was quite an adventure and thank GOD we made it back safely! All just wet, cold and hungry! What is your occupation I am a science teacher at Santa Cruz Montessori School Do you have any significant community involvement? My school program has adopt a beach from Save our Shores and we do beach clean up frequently. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I think that because I am an ocean and an avid surfer lover I have always supported my kids to be great swimmers and comfortable in the ocean. My son Luke is already a life guard for sc and my middle daughter just got hired to be a lifeguard for this summer. I have a great sense of adventure and fun and I liked to say I passed that on to my kids with their love of the ocean. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? I have so many but I can tell you about one recently.. In December last year the swell was big! I took my son Luke who is 19 out to Natural Bridges. It was breaking really far outside and I caught this set waves that i rode all the way to the beach. As i was paddling for the wave my son yells “Go Mom! GO” so i went and as i was paddling back out with him, this young guy paddles over to us and says ” Wow, Dude like that’s your MOM?” and my son is like “yeah, thats my mama!” He responded “That is so cool that you are charging the big surf with your mom! I would love to surf with my mom!” and we all laughed but it was really fun to share that experience with my son and he knows that MOM will GO! haha What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? I would say when the 3 kids were little and needed to be watched.. the challenging part was finding time to surf. But I had met this amazing group of women who also had the same problem so we started doing surf trades. Some of these women are still my best friends today, like Julie Malcom, and even through are kids are older and some surf more than others we still make time to try and surf as much as we can! We like to surf out of town so we still like to surf Moss, Waddell, 3 mile, and Davenport when we can! Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Mei-Li Restani

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:16:12 +0000

Mei-Li Restani 2 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory I went on a surf retreat in Morocco which is essentially where I learned to surf. The first day we went out into the water I was a bit overwhelmed, to say the least. Magic Bay is located in a small fishing village in Imsouane, Morocco and it opens up to one of the world’s largest breaks. The paddle out was intense and my arms started to burn immediately. I honestly did not know how I was going to get through this surf session and was worried that I was a lost cause. Lucky for me, I was with a really supportive group of awesome women! I specifically remember one of the instructions, Michelle, pushing me into my first “green wave” and all I could feel was pure bliss and excitement. I knew I was going to have to put in the work, but it would be well worth it! What is your occupation Dietitian and Photographer Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos Motherhood has definitely changed the way I see myself. Since having kids, one of my priorities is making sure that they know it’s okay to want something really badly, and not always be good at it. That sometimes we fail over and over again and that even the smallest success or “win” can make it all worth it. I really just enjoy having fun with my kids, and I don’t consider myself good at surfing, but I love it so so much and it’s important for them to see that I fall, make mistakes, and still have loads of fun! What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? I remember one specific time that my daughter wanted me to take her out to surf. We paddled out on the same board and when I got ready to get off the board to help push her into some waves, she told me to stop and admitted that she just wanted to sit on the board with me and hang out. I just found this to be one of the sweetest moments because it isn’t often I get one-on-one time with her. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being in the moment. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? Time! It’s always about finding the time within the daily schedule where I can carve out a solid surf sesh. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Joni Martin

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:11:23 +0000

Joni Martin 36 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory When my son was 3 months old and my daughter was five, our family went on an 11 month surf trip through Australia, Bali, Fiji, and New Zealand. For about six of those months we were living in campervans, homeschooling our daughter through kindergarten by teaching her about the cultures, insects, plants, birds and animals we encountered. Our son spent the first year of his life meeting friendly strangers almost every day. We had so many amazing waves on that trip, made lifelong friends in multiple countries, but also had some bizarre and awful moments, including hand-washing cloth diapers in scalding water in a campground laundry room and weeks of breastfeeding my son under a mosquito-netting outfit to keep out the mozzies and biting flies of Australian summer. What is your occupation Freelance writer, amateur food grower Do you have any significant community involvement? Volunteered in our schools for about 16 years; for 8 years have been helping run the surf club and surf team at San Lorenzo Valley High School. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I spent years stacking SO many surfboards on top and inside our vans, taking our kids and their friends surfing as often as they wanted. Also, for years my friend Susie Deutsch and I started our summers with a surf-camping road trip with our kids and their friends, hitting surf spots and skate parks from Santa Cruz to San Diego. Because we live in Felton – not right at the coast – our kids were dependent on us to get to the surf until they got their drivers licenses. We knew those were precious years because we got to surf with them anytime they wanted to go. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? Two of my most memorable moments were night surf sessions. The first was when I was pregnant with my daughter, April. I had surfed (very carefully!) throughout my pregnancy, and a week before she was born, a group of friends and I paddled out by moonlight to welcome her into the world. The waves were tiny, so I felt totally safe, and as we sat in a circle telling her all the reasons we were excited to meet her, an otter came and hung out right beside me for about ten minutes until finally a small wave came through, and I caught my last ride with her as my inner surf buddy. The second memory was when I took my son and a few of his friends out for a night surf in middle school. The waves were decent size, and I was super focused on keeping everyone safe when all of a sudden one of the kids said, “Joni, is it okay that a cloud is about to cover the moon?” I scurried to get them all in safely right as the sky got totally dark. We still sometimes talk about that session and how lucky we were that Max was so observant. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? When the kids were little, the biggest challenge was finding someone to be with the kids when I wanted to surf, but it was essential to my mental health. Planning ahead for a sitter wasn’t a great option because it was expensive, and sometimes we’d pay to spend our whole time driving around finding bad conditions everywhere. Luckily there was a whole cluster of women surfers who had babies at the same time, and we used to do trades at the beach. I remember running my breast pump off of my car cigarette lighter adapter as I got ready to hand off my daughter to Ginaia Kelly, and I remember laughing with Jill Matthies and Julie Malcolm about how our husbands were losing their patience while we made sure the sippy cups and diaper supplies were all ready before we paddled out. After a while we figured out to let the guys have the first session, and we would stretch on the beach and watch the peak while we played with the kids and waited. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Julie Malcolm

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:05:17 +0000

Julie Malcolm 35 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory A stand out was surfing Haapiti for hours with my husband Christmas morning with no one else out; it was epic! He ended up breaking his board after about 4 hours of mind blowing fun. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos I like to share waves and I like to get cold and shiver. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? We were all surfing Seascape on 4th of July and a white shark came up right next to us and was eating a fish. It was pretty funny because my older daughter kept asking me if that was a shark and I was looking off into the distance not seeing it. Finally she said right there mom next to you! Sure enough, I was eyeball to eyeball with a baby great white. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? Getting back in shape is challenging after you have a baby. I think having an awesome partner or husband alleviates most of the biggest hurdles. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Katie Loggins

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 22:00:36 +0000

Katie Loggins 20 years Surfing Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory With both of my children I surfed until I was 8 months pregnant. It was the most fun I have ever had in the water. I don’t think I have laughed that hard. It is so challenging, so every wave I caught was a triumph. And, I was so fortunate to have 2 of my now closest surf friends pregnant at the same time. As our bellies grew we played in the waves, laughing at how challenging it was to surf but having each other to share in the experience. Although some people found it surprising to see us out there, or shared concern, most people were so generous in offering us to share their waves or keeping an eye on us. Our surf community gathered around us protecting us and allowing us to keep surfing as a result. What is your occupation Covid Nurse. Do you have any significant community involvement? I am a Covid Nurse, the founder of Proud Nurses Coalition and the founder of Surf Mamas. Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos Over the last year I have been a full-time Covid Nurse and a full-time Distance Learning mom. I have always recognized that surfing has been like medicine to me however this past year it has served as so much more. To say it recharges and grounds me is to minimizes its vast importance in my life. My days have been full of overwhelming stress as I care for people and families around me who are struggling in a way that we have never seen before. Surfing is the one true thing that has allowed me to feel light in this extremely heavy time. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? Every moment is memorable. I felt truly amazed by watching my tiny people develop through the stages of simply dipping their tiny baby toes into the water, splashing in the salty waves, being pushed into whitewash and now paddling and catching waves on their own. The excitement of seeing the joy and pride on their faces is unparalleled. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? One of the most shocking moments of being a new surf mama is the hard realization that your daily uninterrupted surf time has now vanished. Just finding a “surf window” of time, even an hour a couple times a week feels like a blessing. But what used to be a social even where I never have to wear a watch has now became a short window of time where I’m checking my watch constantly. Also, finding any time to surf at all can be incredibly challenging. So a number of years ago a small group of us formed the Surf Mamas, which was essentially a time to surf swap and watch each others kids so that each mama could get a salty surf to reset themselves for the day. Covid has thrown a wrench in that however we are looking forward to the days were we can gather together as a community and get some much needed surf time again. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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Ashley Lloyd

growingupsc — Wed, 05 May 2021 21:56:08 +0000

Ashley Lloyd Starting Surfing Before 10 years old Tell us about an intense or fun surfing memory I can remember the first time I stood up on my Zuma Jay Twin fin in the 3rd point malibu reform. I don’t think it was long, but I still remember! What is your occupation Surfboard Shaper, founder of Unfurling, my new company Do you have any significant community involvement? I love my community Tell us something unique about you as a mother who surfs with/without your kiddos This year, my son, Odin, has really gotten into the ocean. I think the super warm wetsuit helps. He wasn’t all that excited to surf for a while. I have just tried to keep it fun and familiar to him. All of a sudden it clicked, and he’s pretty stoked. Which also means more water time for Mom! But really, its so sweet sharing the joys of the ocean with him and it re-kindles my stoke. What is your most memorable surf moment with your kids? snorkeling in the current yesterday with Odin. Pretty fun also going Tandem with his wave bandit on the front. He likes to jump off and catch the same wave next to me. What are some challenges of surfing related to motherhood? Learning to declare my time for it instead of happening into it. Return to Surfer Mamas Article

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