# Big waves demolish end of Santa Cruz Wharf **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 23, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078 "2024-12-23T22:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/1 "2024-12-23T22:52:22Z")
Waves from an incoming storm tore off the section of the wharf that was damaged last year. Two workers have been pulled out of the floating wreckage. [Link to reddit post with drone footage](https://www.reddit.com/r/santacruz/comments/1hkxvny/drone_video_of_the_broken_pieces_of_the_santa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f5kRGMGab58/maxresdefault.jpg "Santa Cruz Pier Collapse 2024 Dec 23") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5kRGMGab58) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/2 "2024-12-24T01:00:30Z")
That is not where I would be standing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/3 "2024-12-24T01:21:40Z")
We watched the Santa Monica pier- or part of it - get washed away in a storm. We recovered parts washed up, but they are long gone. Like I had a part of the Hollywood sign when parts fells. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/4 "2024-12-24T02:03:39Z")
I love the two guys out their on boards looking to catch some tasty waves with that wheelloader still floating on a section of wharf. What, Mavericks isn’t life-threatening enough for you? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/5 "2024-12-24T02:04:34Z")
Is this the Santa Cruz wharf that had roller coasters and many restaurants, or am I thinking an entirely different place? ---
**Author:** ![llikewise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llikewise/32/8522_2.png) [@llikewise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/llikewise)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/6 "2024-12-24T02:11:41Z")
It’s the same city. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/7 "2024-12-24T02:13:03Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Is this the Santa Cruz wharf that had roller coasters and many restaurants, or am I thinking an entirely different place? That is the boardwalk up on the beach. The wharf is the pier sticking out into Santa Cruz Bay that fishing boats could offload onto, although it has mostly been taken over by tourist trap restaurants selling Alaskan and South American seafood and shitty beer. There is nothing to worry about on the boardwalk…[except for the vampires and sultry vixens](https://youtu.be/qJDo32kJuG0?si=YgCOaSZP8IdmHuh2). Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/8 "2024-12-24T02:13:37Z")
Ah, OK. I’d been to that boardwalk last year. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/9 "2024-12-24T07:20:04Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Is this the Santa Cruz wharf that had roller coasters and many restaurants, or am I thinking an entirely different place? Santa Monica and a few other places have also piers with all that, so you might be confused. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/10 "2024-12-24T07:33:06Z")
I’ve been to both Santa Monica and Santa Cruz piers, on separate occasions. The Cruz boardwalk is considerably larger. **Stranger** had it correct; I was confusing the term wharf with pier. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/11 "2024-12-24T09:30:12Z")
The roller coaster on the boardwalk just turned 100 years old, just an FYI. And up the coast a little, up at Mavericks, on the news they were saying the waves will be 40’ high. A strong, pounding surf yesterday, and sadly the Santa Cruz wharf just couldn’t withstand the beating. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/12 "2024-12-24T09:49:08Z")
On Instagram someone posted a video of it failing ➜ [KSBW on Instagram: "WHARF COLLAPSE | Video from a home near the wharf shows the moment the wharf collapsed into the ocean. Link in our bio."](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DD8HooFst_r) ■ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/13 "2024-12-24T14:28:43Z")
Even with the end of the wharf being washed away, it’s still the longest Pacific Ocean pier in California: 2,745 ft before collapse\*. They have a great car show the first weekend of summer “Woodies on the Wharf”, really worth checking out if you’re in the area. \*second longest is in Ocean Beach at 1,971 ft (also closed by storm damage) ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/14 "2024-12-24T14:29:05Z")
Floods, tornadoes, pier collapses, tourists… Santa Cruz just can’t catch a break, can it? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/15 "2024-12-24T14:41:15Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > I’ve been to both Santa Monica and Santa Cruz piers, _on separate occasions_. They’d kinda have to be, what with being 350 miles apart… ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/16 "2024-12-24T16:25:48Z")
This is a bummer, man. That’s a, that’s a bummer. I have had many fish-n-chips and beers out there at the end while on bike trips, from the window of the restaurant, which appears to no longer be there. The sea lion port holes are gone. Many years ago we took my cousin from Philadelphia out to the sea lion port holes. He was amazed seeing the wild animals there, not having a lot of outdoor experiences at home I guess, and asked if they were in cages. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/17 "2024-12-24T20:52:24Z")
I was walking on the beach yesterday near my home about 50 miles north of Santa Cruz. There were definitely unusually large waves here too, close to the biggest I’ve seen in the almost 30 years I’ve lived here. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/18 "2024-12-24T21:07:41Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Floods, tornadoes, pier collapses, tourists… Santa Cruz just can’t catch a break, can it? Santa Cruz wants tourists. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/19 "2024-12-25T16:16:34Z")
Piers in California (maybe, everywhere) are all ships of Theseus. There is a life cycle of safety closings, minor and major damage, and partial and complete collapses. The economic and cultural value of the piers are constantly being appraised locally to determine to what extent damage should be repaired, demolished or improved. The length of any given pier is highly variable over the years. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2024, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078/20 "2024-12-29T15:12:13Z")
Repairs were delayed because they weren’t allowed to disturb bird nests. [https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-santa-cruz-pier-collapse-seagulls-20004704.php](https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-santa-cruz-pier-collapse-seagulls-20004704.php) Those nests are pretty disturbed now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/big-waves-demolish-end-of-santa-cruz-wharf/1012078.md?page=2)