As early as 1885, Hawaiian princes were reported to have ridden waves at the San Lorenzo River mouth on boards shaped from local redwood. The surfing craze reached Santa Cruz in the 1930s, and local teens soon took up the sport. In the late 1930s, eager young surfers built their boards in the high school workshop, but the 60-90 pound boards, known as “big sticks,” were difficult to transport and store. Local surfer David “Buster” Stewart invited his friends to keep their boards at his parents’ house near Cowell Beach, giving rise to the Santa Cruz Surfing Club. Since then, surfing has remained part of what makes Santa Cruz unique, with surfers of all ages paddling year-round in the chilly waters of Monterey Bay, while the sport is now enjoyed by millions around the world.