Wow! Doesn't anyone work day jobs anymore? I'm standing along the shoulder of East Cliff Drive watching an amazing sight. All the various lineups and takeoff spots in the water are occupied by separate groups of surfers. It's a salt-water city of wetsuits and surfboards I'm watching. The variety couldn't be more pronounced.

As far as I can see, from the west toward Santa Cruz and to the east toward Capitola, there are wave riders at the innumerable surf breaks collectively called "The East Side." There are long boards, short boards, fun boards, fish, even a few boogie boards in the water. There are older guys with pot bellies and grey hair, young turks doing impossible tricks on the waves, women surfing with grace, girls that are keeping pace with everyone else, and young groms learning their stoke. Seems as though not a single wave goes unridden.

For all the publicity that the West Side receives, with the world-class Steamer Lane as its hub, it's obvious to me that the real soul of Santa Cruz surfing is right here at Pleasure Point. The East Side rules, at least for today. As I watch, there is a constant stream of surfers arriving, entering the water, paddling to their chosen spot, and swapping places with another constant stream of people reaching the end of their session, riding to shore and changing into street clothes.

One shredder completely morphs himself from a surfer you might see in an advertisement in a major surf magazine into a business professional ready to go to work as an accountant, a lawyer, or the CEO of an emerging company. I speak briefly with him as he removes his soaking Quiksilver fullsuit, brushes his salty hair straight back from his forehead, and dons a crisp white dress shirt, navy blue pleated trousers, and black leather shoes polished to a keen sheen. He stows his shortboard in the back of his truck, pulls on a blazer that matches his pants, and drives away from the scene and on to work.

Of course one element that brings all the folks to play is the swell. It's late spring, which is not the prime season for surf. The sky is a bit overcast, but the ocean is oily smooth, and the swell is sweet. These people know that you have to take advantage of the situation when you can. We might all awaken tomorrow to a completely flat ocean, and there will time enough to work at respectability. For today the waves are the thing. Grab your board, ditch school, get out of work early or go late, and ride ride ride.

And when it is flat, the memories of this day at Pleasure will help get you through the times of no waves. It's not the same as surfing, but reliving past sessions can help a bit. Maybe you can see yourself in the pictures that illustrate this column. If you were there and riding a notable wave, there's a good chance I snapped the lens with you doing your thing. If not, then you can at least pretend. Put yourself into the picture; imagine that it's your wave, your board, your stoke, your memory. Maybe that can help get through the flat times that are inevitable as we approach summer.

So when it's blown, flat, ugly and inaccessible, just click back to this column to share a piece of the stoke. After all, that's what it's all about.

CU Out There,

DogMan