| Country | Currency | Safety |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Pesos | Organized crime, Banditos, Driving at Night |
| U. S. | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Costa Rica | Colones | Theft, use caution at night, driving hazards. |
| Barbados | Barbadian Dollars |
Safe, but getting more dangerous. |
| Dominican Republic |
Dominican Pesos |
Caution at night. Driving hazards. |
| Puerto Rico | U.S. Dollars | Violent crime, theft. |
| Place | Wetsuit | Wave Size |
|---|---|---|
| Baja | Full, Booties, Trunks | waist high to giant |
| California | Spring, Full, Booties |
waist high to giant |
| Florida | Trunks, Spring, Full |
waist high to overhead |
| Costa Rica | Trunks | waist high to double overhead |
| Barbados | Trunks, Top | waist high to double overhead |
| Dominican Republic |
Trunks, Top | waist high to triple overhead |
| Puerto Rico | Trunks | waist high to giant |
Surfing first came to the mainland at the San Lorenzo Rivermouth in Santa Cruz, California. Surfing remained a fairly obscure activity until the Gidget movies came out in the late 50’s early 60’s. Then the sport’s popularity exploded and California was the epicenter.
Surfing’s popularity in California is very understandable because there is a lot of places to surf, the water and the air never get that cold, and there’s a lot of people who live fairly close to the ocean. California also has a great variety of surf spots.
There are three distinct surf regions in California: Northern California, Central California, and Southern California. Although some Southern Californian’s may disagree, Northern California is basically the part of California north of San Francisco. San Francisco is often considered to be Northern California by many people, but is also considered to be part of Central California which goes all the way to Santa Barbara or Santa Barbara County depending on who you ask. Southern California is basically Santa Barbara on south until the Mexican border.
Northern and Central California have big waves, big sharks, scarily strong currents that can suck a person out to sea very quickly, surly locals, and cold water. The surfers in this part of the world are rugged individuals because surfing is not usually very easy to all but the most hardcore of surfers. It can be dangerous to surf in this area. Maverick’s is not the only dangerous wave in this part of California, there are many dangerous waves, although most are not as dangerous as Maverick’s. Use caution and respect the locals.
Southern California has a huge population in a small area, and many of those people surf. Many of them surf very well and more than a few become professional surfers. The water in Southern California is comfortable year round if you own a couple of good wetsuits and maybe a pair of booties. There is a variety of waves and if timed right can be scored with only a couple of other people in the water. Also, there is only a minimal shark threat.