Davenport (Santa Cruz Coast)
North of Santa Cruz · near Davenport / Santa Cruz · SF Bay Area
Wind Sports
At a glance
- Difficulty
- expert
- Best season
- Spring–fall
- Water temperature
- Cold (mid-50s°F) — 4/3 + boots/hood
What is here
- Amenities
- Quality wave riding · Strong reliable wind · Uncrowded, wild coast · Advanced swell spot
- Best for
- Serious wave riding for experts
- Features
- Quality NorCal wave sailing · Strong cross-shore wind · Wild, uncrowded coast · For expert wave riders
Worth knowing
- Hazards
- Powerful waves & shore break · White shark territory · Bluff/rock hazards · Strong rips & current
- Good for a first timer
- No
Guides, rentals and operators
- Lessons
- No
Wind Sports detail
- Discipline
- kite · windsurf · wing
- Conditions
- waves
- Venue
- ocean
- Wind kt
- 22
- Wind
- NW, 18–30 kt afternoons — strong cross-shore over quality swell
- Intl tip
- Serious EXPERT wave riding — strong cross-shore NW (18–30 kt) over powerful swell, north of Santa Cruz. Heavy shore break, strong rips, bluff/rock hazards, white shark territory. Cold water (4/3 + boots/hood). No beginner option (use Waddell's lagoon). Wild and uncrowded. For accomplished wave riders only. Respect the ocean's power.
The guide
Davenport, a wild stretch of coast just north of Santa Cruz, offers some of Northern California's best and most serious wave ri…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Davenport (Santa Cruz Coast) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.013, -122.188