All Part of the Ecosystem

I was catching waves during a big south swell last week at Sewer Peak. A ginormous set rolled in; I made it through the first wave, but I wasn’t so lucky with the second. I felt my leash snap as the wave detonated on top of me and sent me swimming.

Realizing I had an appointment to get to, I made the decision to ditch the board and swim in from outside of Sewer Peak.  As I kicked my way to shore—and thank God for fins, a major plus of being a body boarder—I thought, “I don’t even like that board very much, and I have a meeting in about half an hour, so I really need to go.”

As I made the sidewalk towel change from my wetsuit to a dress, my dear friend who’s house I was parked in front of said “Where’s your board?” I laughed and said, “I have no idea, but I have to go. I’ve got to meet a client.”

A few hours later, after the meeting (which went very well), I was at my nephew’s baseball game when my phone rang. It was my friend Shay, calling to say she had my board. “The boys saw it happen and brought it to me,” she said.

“The boys” is a term of endearment for the men who’ve spent their lives in the Santa Cruz lineup and now love to hang on the cliff, watching everyone surf after their own sessions. They’d given me high fives (I am sort of an honorary “boy” after all my years in the lineup) and watched me paddle out earlier, so when my board washed in without me, they knew exactly whose it was.

A few minutes after Shay called, my brother rang too. She had passed my board off to him, and although he didn’t want to drive it all the way to Aptos—the opposite direction of my house—he said, “I’ll leave it in Kevin’s yard.” Kevin, of course, was the same friend who had asked where my board was when I first came in without it.

Five hours after I’d scrambled out of the water empty-handed, I was standing in that same yard, reunited with my board and laughing with my friends about how deeply this community looks out for one another.  

To me, this little surf saga captures the heart of Santa Cruz—not just the surfers, but the entire ecosystem of people who quietly take care of each other. It also reflects how I approach my work. I’ll ditch my board, swim in from the outside, and make sure I show up prepared and on time for my clients.

Whether it’s out in the water, or taking care of your real estate needs, you can rest assured I like to pay it forward. So whatever comes up, I’ve got your back.

Kim Clary is an agent at Main Street Realtors with a tireless work ethic and a penchant for treating each client’s project as if it were her own.

She can be reached at (831)227-4204 kim@mainstrealtors.com.