CAPITOLA — This charming seaside village was ravaged Thursday by ferocious ocean swells that destroyed a 40-foot section of the historic Capitola Wharf, inundated the once-lively beachfront restaurants and flooded the picturesque painted bungalows that line the beach, ripping off the facade of one of them.
In the nearby beach town of Rio del Mar, waves carrying logs and debris crashed over a sea wall and bashed into a string of beachfront homes. Roiling waves swallowed up more of the landmark cement ship and the pier leading to it, chronic victims of past storms. And at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk just up the coast, the raging San Lorenzo River that spills into the Pacific exposed the base of the Logger’s Revenge flume ride, washing away boulders that had protected it.
In Capitola, the gaping hole in the 855-foot pier completely cut off from shore the popular Wharf House restaurant perched at the end of it. Its fate remained perilous Thursday as powerful waves blasted fountains of whitewater between the timbers holding it up.
“They’re just such iconic places for all of us,” said Scott Cheney, who ventured out from his Seacliff home Thursday morning to survey the damage along the coast. “It’s sad to see them ruined and wonder if they’ll ever be rebuilt.”
The damage was wrought by near record-breaking waves that pounded the coast Thursday morning, coinciding with fierce onshore winds and a high 5.7 foot tide. The waves, many measuring a stunning 25 feet from crest to trough, were created by sea swells produced hundreds of miles out to sea by storm winds.
“They’re some of the largest waves I’ve ever seen to break along our shoreline,” said UC Santa Cruz oceanography professor Gary Griggs, who has been studying the coastal region for 55 years.
The winds are so strong and the swell is so large, he said, that the waves are pushing up against the bluffs.
“As sea level gets higher, the waves hit the base of those cliffs and bluffs more often, and with more energy,” he said.
All of Capitola Village’s waterfront restaurants, including local landmark Zelda’s, were inundated by the raging ocean, Capitola police Capt. Sarah Ryan said.
At The Sand Bar, waves were still pounding into the restaurant and pushing up the floorboards when owners Minna and Jeff Lantis arrived Thursday.
“The floor literally went up like you’re on a trampoline,” Minna Lantis said. Their seaside seating was torn away, and the building appeared to have suffered severe structural damage.
“We used to have music here five nights a week,” she said, choking up. “It’s the worst thing I’ve seen in my life.”
Just up the beach, many of the historic Venetian Court bungalows — built in 1924 and painted bright colors from fuchsia to canary yellow — also suffered tremendous damage. Waterborne logs bludgeoned the front of a beachfront teal blue home, leaving the living room completely open to the elements.
Joan Downey, whose family has owned a bright pink home next door since 1972, said it appeared to have been rammed by a couple of logs, but with storm windows put up on Tuesday, they were hoping for the best inside. The row of houses hasn’t suffered this kind of trauma since the storms of 1982, when Downey remembers cleaning up and finding a dead seal in the back of the house.
“I can’t believe what this is going to do with the wharf. So many people fish there — this is going to be devastating for the restaurants,” Downey said. “This isn’t something you just piece back together quickly. It just breaks my heart.”
In Santa Cruz, parts of the popular sidewalk along West Cliff Drive collapsed as waves pummeled the manmade rocky riprap below. The scenic 3-mile walking and biking route was cordoned off for safety.
Despite images of the San Lorenzo River washing past the log ride at the Beach Boardwalk, amusement park spokeswoman Kris Reyes said there did not appear to be significant damage.
“There’s a little bit of wear and tear, things getting knocked over,” Reyes said. “But nothing structurally. None of the rides are impacted. None of the facilities are impacted.”
In Rio del Mar, four of the dozen or so vacation homes along the beach that are managed by Bailey Property Management received severe damage from seawater, debris including patio barbecues, and large amounts of sand sweeping in through smashed windows and doors, said Lisa Bailey, hospitality coordinator for the company.
In Capitola, Bay Bar and Grill owner Patrick Lynn, who moved from Oakland 12 years ago to pursue his restaurant dreams, watched from across the street Thursday as giant waves crashed into the windows.
“I walked into my bar for two seconds to take some video, and I got so scared I walked right out,” he said.
The floor is destroyed, and possibly the pilings that hold up the restaurant over the water, he said. He has eight years left on his lease and fears he’ll never be able to re-open.
“I’ve lost everything,” Lynn said. “What do you do when you’ve lost your purpose?”
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