Richard Schmidt Surf School — Local services in Santa Cruz

Highly recommend! Richard answered my 6:45 AM call and got me into a 7:30 AM group lesson with Richie. (And since the experience is going to be HIGHLY dependent on the instructor, and since Ritchie is the king of helpful tips, watching and giving personal feedback, sharing random knowledge while waiting for waves, and just being a friendly and cool guy, this review is specific in that way).

Meet by their equipment van in your swimsuit and they give you everything and lock your car keys or bag in their van. Seemed like they had a variety of boards. As the tallest and oldest of the three of us, I got a 10' board. The two twenty-somethings also got boards appropriate to their size and experience.

Quick but complete basics lesson (I'm sure teens would say it's too long, but it's like 10 minutes). How to paddle across waves, how to stand up in the beginning, how to "pop" up later, some useful etiquette.

Cowell itself is a nice place to learn, as there weren't other waves besides the ones to try to surf on. Not very crowded, but might be at other times.

So then after getting exhausted, you just go back with the group, give back the stuff, and you are on your way. Easy...

Richard Schmidt Surf School partnered with First Descents to provide 4 days of surf lessons to young adults who have had cancer. I feel very fortunate for the experience. Richard Schmidt, his sons, and other employees were fabulous. They were kind and patient and encouraging and knowledgeable and overall amazing instructors. I read a description of Richard Schmidt as a soft-spoken and methodical surfer. I agree with this whole-heartedly. His calm guidance and great attention to safety made me feel capable. At the end of our weeklong adventure and as I've returned home, I've been asked what was my favorite part of the week--It was feeling like I knew what I was doing despite the power of the ocean. Also, the marine-life (dolphins, sea otters, seals) that you are able to see up close while on a surfboard is a close second. If you are nervous about surfing, Richard and his team will take care of you. If you want to push yourself, they can help with that too. Go to Santa Cruz, CA. Go surfing with Richard Schmidt Surf School. And as Seagull said when helping us catch waves, "paddle, paddle,...

My daughter and I took a semi-private lesson this summer with this surf school. It was a fantastic experience and laid the framework for the resort of our week of surfing in the area.

In spite of very little surf experience between us (it was my daughter’s very first time to see the ocean), our instructor, Z, had us surfing in no time. Z built an excellent foundation of fundamentals that we relied on each time we went surfing, while still keeping our lesson very fun and easy. A lifelong surfer and the first person to successfully complete a surfboard kick flip, his passion for the sport and for instruction was obvious. He also gave us great intel on the area surf breaks for our skill level.

Later on in the week, after surfing a wave, I heard a “woooo!” in the distance and there was Z, waving and giving a big thumbs up. He was so proud and happy to see my daughter and me out surfing on our own.

Thank you Z and Richard Schmidt for teaching us to surf. We will never forget it and can’t...