Surfers hold paddle-out ceremony to mark 125th anniversary of the day surfing hit the mainland
SANTA CRUZ – Bobbing about 100 yards offshore under a blue sky dusted with fog, nearly two dozen surfers scooped their hands beneath their boards Monday afternoon and splashed water high up into the air, a time-honored Hawaiian tradition used to mark the defining moment in Surf City.
The splashing of water “is a Hawaiian tradition to celebrate either the passing of a loved one … or a celebration of an event like this, so it was an appropriate thing to do,” Boots McGhee, a Seacliff resident and member of the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society, said after they had paddled back to shore.
He was among the longboarders, shortboarders and a single standup paddle boarder who gathered near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River in Santa Cruz at noon to mark the 125th anniversary of the day surfing was introduced to the mainland of America   … Details