We’ve spring, sprang, sprung forward—which means that we’re officially into one of our favorite surf seasons. Before weak swells and fair weather crowds settle in for the summer, we’ll be spending as much time as we can in the water. As we ease into spring’s longer days and the sunset sessions we’ve been dreaming of all winter, here are our Seea top tips for spring surfing, and getting the most out of your spring surf gear. 

Spring (Surf) Cleaning

Clean Quivers + Clean Gear = Happy Sessions!  Photo - Luki O'keefe

Spring cleaning isn’t only for your closet—just like we dust off our summer wardrobe come April and May, we’ve also found that spring is the perfect time to take stock of our surf gear and make sure we’re ready for sun and warmer waters (for our Aussie Seeababes … we’re sorry you’re heading the opposite direction!). Here’s our Seea surfy version of a spring cleaning checklist—

1. Salty days are ... due for a rinse. There’s no time like the start of spring to take stock of the status of your gear. We like to inventory and revive the surf suits, spring suits, and rashguards that have been hiding in our bottom drawer all winter with a rinse of clean water and mild biodegradable soap (since everything ends up in the ocean!). It’s also a good chance to take a casual cruise through the surf accessories that usually fall to the wayside when we head to the beach—think: forgotten things like leash attachments, fin screws, and old board dings that might be due for a top-up patch.
2. Wax off, wax on. One of our favorite spring surf activities is buffing up our boards with a new coat of wax. There’s something therapeutic about seeing the biffs, hang fives, heel hangs (mostly failed, at least for most of us), wipeouts, near-misses, and perfect waves of last year peel and curl off the plane of our boards … and nothing quite calls to the feet to do it all again like a nice fresh layer of wax! (As an aside, have a listen to this Kookcast for hear Skip Frye’s take on the dirty wax phenomena; if it’s good enough for Skip, we figure it’s good enough for us).
3. Last, but not least: That surf bucket that we keep in the back of the car to wrangle wetsuits, leashes, and all our surf accessories? Now’s probably a good time to give ‘er a good scrub.

Spring Suits and Surf Gear

Spring sun bringing warmer waters.  Photo: Luki O'keefe

Don’t let the spring sunshine and longer days trick you into busting out the bikini just yet—in most of the Northern Hemisphere (and definitely along our California coastline), the water’s still cold (brrr). We’ve made the mistake of heading out into spring surf without a spring wetsuit more than once, so now we make sure our Seea spring suits are ready to go come March. Here are a few ways to repair, recycle, and replace your spring surf gear—

• Spring-ing for joy! Say what you will about Marie Kondo, we’re firm believers that surf suits should bring a real dose of happiness to your day. And boy, does our new spring lineup do just that! We’re especially loving our Mimi Surf Suit in Nile  and our Tofino One Piece in Torquay … and we have more spring colors, prints, and cuts heading your way over the next month.
• Plug any holes (literally): We build our Seea Yulex wetsuits to last, but it’s a law of the surf universe that well-used wetsuits inevitably hit a few snags. A good old wetsuit repair kit will do the trick for small nicks, and we always take bigger holes to our local tailor to be patched or resewn. In cases where wetsuit repair just won’t work, a couple of our favorite ways to recycle wetsuits is to send them over to Suga, who give old wetsuits new life in the form of yoga mats.
• Now, plug any holes (figuratively): If you do need to fill out some gaps in your spring suit lineup, take a gander at our newest Yulex wetsuits, spring suits, and wetsuit jackets. We love Yulex because it’s a natural, sustainable rubber alternative to neoprene—keeping us chemical- (and crude oil-) free in the surf. For spring water temps here in Southern California, we like to go with a spring long jane suit, topped with a Yulex jacket that’s easy to peel off come May.

Spring Surf Breaks … and Spring Break Surfing

Mele making the most of the local lineups.  Photo: Luki O'keefe

We’re still holding off on major travels, but that doesn’t mean we’re not *dreaming* of southern hemisphere storms that roll around this time of year. Until we’re back in flight, we’re taking advantage of short trips to our local(ish) breaks, many of which are just hitting their perfect stride in the springtime—take a look at our Seea guide to southern California for a few of our favorite haunts. (And, *spoiler alert*, keep your eyes peeled for some surf travel and retreat news from Seea ambassador Leah Dawson.)

Equinox Rituals 

Organic, Grounding, + Glow Inducing Oshan X Seea Rituals

Ok, ok, this admittedly has nothing to do with spring surfing. But—with the Vernal Equinox coming up on Saturday, we might just take advantage of the official change in season to do a little self care. Post-surf, we’ll be slathering away the dry, chilled air of winter with a warm cup of tea (with our latest favorite, monkfruit sugar) and a few dollops from our self care kit collab with Oshan.

Happy Spring Surfing, Seeababes! Keep us posted on your springtime adventures at @TheSeea x #MySeeaLife