Operation Surf kicks off in Santa Cruz, helping wounded military veterans

Former members of the military are hitting the waves for Operation Surf this week in Santa Cruz. About 20 military veterans are learning to paddle out and ride some of the best waves on the Central Coast.

Operation Surf is part of Amazing Surf Adventures, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching wounded military veterans how to surf. Marine Corp. Veteran Bobby Lane suffered traumatic brain injuries from roadside bombs in Iraq. He said Operation Surf helped him put those challenges behind him.

“So I was going to go surfing and then go home and, commit suicide, but you know after that first wave, it saved and changed my life,” said Lane.

Also known as Bobby “Steamer” Lane, he claimed the ocean has been calling him since he was a kid.

“It’s so gentle yet so fierce at the same time. You know it’s kind of like you go out there and you see the energy and the energy of these surfers, it’s kind of like, ‘whoa, I want that’,” said Lane.

For many of these men and women who have struggled through so much, the simple sport of surfing changed their lives’. And for Lane, it saved his.

“My past life, or the life I once knew, it’s kind of like it got washed away in the ocean. And it’s like, I came to the person I am now,” said Lane.

Now surfing for 5 years, Lane has been bit by the surfing bug real hard and wants to spread the word about the positive impact of operation surf.

“You know after my first time out and catching my first wave, I’ve dedicated the rest of my life to helping and serving other veterans,” said Lane.

Operation Surf will be at Cowells Beach in Santa Cruz until Friday the 15th, and then at Capitola Beach the 16th and 17th.