Lynda Crain had a vision while practicing her medical assistant job. Her vision was to one day own a surf shop. There really wasn't much selection of clothes in Petaluma for young adults, nor was there a surf shop in the near vicinity. Lynda has always been a people person and loves to treat people the way she would like to be treated. A store was in the making. Outfitting High Tide required a trip to Hawaii, and numerous surf shows in San Diego. Though never experiencing the running of a retail store, Lynda has succeeded in accomplishing her vision. With the help of her surfer family, husband-Len, sons-Ross and Tony, the Crain's have been running High Tide for 5 years and have lived in Petaluma for over 20 years.

In addition to men's clothing and wet suits, Lynda carries a full line selection of women's wet suits, from XS-XXL in the 2mm to the 5mm thickness (a necessity for entering the Northern California waters). She also carries her own name brand tee-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats, Hawaiian shifts, dresses, swimsuits, board wax, stickers and surfboards. Len and Ross work on repairing damaged surf boards. They have fixed broken boards and damaged ones from shark bites, rocks, etc.

Tom Carroll, three time world surfing champion came to High Tide to pick up some wet suits he was trying out. "Surfing Magazine" came along with him. He enjoyed a quiet breakfast with the Crain's and promised to bring his family back to Petaluma to enjoy the town's uniqueness as he did.

The Crain's have added character to their store, a pet tortoise named "Buddy". Buddy came into the picture to temporarily replace Ross when he broke his leg. Buddy is now a main fixture to their front window display. He eats dandelions, lettuce and vegetables. Ross would like to train him further so he could go out doing what he enjoys doing most, surfing...