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surfing and wave sailing

J. Thompson · · denver, co · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,425
Katy H wrote:Surfing is my passion in life but after moving out to Colorado, it seems that climbing is taking over! I grew up surfing in Florida - Cocoa Beach, Sebastian Inlet (monster hole)and Spanish House.Have also spent some time surfing near San Diego as well. In January I am going to Costa Rica for two months to surf at Pavones! Longest left in the Southern Hemisphere is what I hear! I've been interested in trying some river surf, but have no idea where you can find that kind of stuff in CO...any ideas?
Pavones for 2 months!!! Lucky bastard.
Have you read Weisbeckers stuff? Awesome writer...but his latest book made me want to stay away from Pavones.....don't worry though the surf is supposed to be good!

As far as surfing the rivers in CO I know of 2 spots.
There is a huge natural wave that forms on the colorado somewhere west of grand Junction. It's very rare but quite surfable.

the other one is the new whitewater park in Glenwood. Supposedly there is a man made wave there that is perfect.

josh
Katy H · · Kernville, CA · Joined Aug 2008 · Points: 710

Weisbecker?? He wrote the book In Search of Captain Zero, right? Haven't gotten around to reading it, but will probably get some stuff for the trek down there.

Man-made wave you say? I guess thats as good as its gonna get for being land-locked.

Andrew Gram · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,725

Costa Rica is in the northern Hemisphere. The longest left I know of in the southern hemisphere is Puerto Chicama in northern Peru. It is flat unless there is a big swell, but when it is working it is almost a mile long. It was flat when I was there and the area is a bit grim, but if it isn't working Huanchaco near Trujillo is generally still good.

If you have 2 months Katy, make sure to check out Nicaragua or Panama as well. I didn't like Costa Rica very much(too touristy), and both of those neighboring countries have wonderful surf.

Olaf Mitchell · · Paia, Maui, Hi, · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 4,190

It's great to see every one jumping in on this thread.
Katy,I am sure that you are aware but I am going to mention this again. S.U.P. Laird Hamilton started riding tandem boards 10-12' with a paddle around here a few years back.I have seen him ride the biggest waves on earth on one of these vehicles.(Jaws and Lanes at 20' Hawaiian) Now they are doing rivers on sup's.Grand Canyon for one. I saw some production models out at Larson's Ski and Sport on Kipling Blvd at I70 last time I was in Colorado. Some of the models are equipped with a mast track so you can wind surf as well.There real surfboards and they rip in the waves. The standing wave and man made wave sounds really cool as well.
Some of my good friends here on Maui got a chance to by beach front property in Nicaragua and the just rave about the surf down there.
There is a really good web site with lots of images and up dates Daly for Niqueragrian surfing.
I am wishing you a great and safe trip to Costa Rica this winter. Maybe we can keep this thread going and you can up date while your down there.
We have had several good swells so far this season and it just drives me crazy to be out of the game. Especially since I can see most of the north shore from my house. I really get in my pity pot and hard to be around.
Every one that lives around me is ether a surfer,wave sailor ,kite surfer and they are all just ripping everyday.
The last thing that I want to do is get back in the game too soon and re-injure myself.
I was hoping for Thanksgiving but Christmas is more realistic.

Andrew Gram · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,725

Do you fly fish Olaf? Pulling angry sea fish out of the surf is fun.



Where in Nicaragua did your friends buy property? Ortega scares me off from buying property there, but i've been thinking about getting a place on the beach in El Salvador. Hard to beat that place for concentration of uncrowded, great, and accessible waves.
Olaf Mitchell · · Paia, Maui, Hi, · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 4,190

Andrew, the fly fishing sounds like good fun. I know some places here on the north shore that might be fun to try it. We do have some beach brake but due to the os reef most surf is nocked down by the time it gets to the beach. I called Adam and left a message about his beach property in Nniqueraga. I really haven't heard of them having any problems other than tieing up money for a beach spot when there is a big world out there with great surfing. That is a super photo that you posted.WOW,What a right hander, 4ever down the line!

Andrew Gram · · Salt Lake City, UT · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 3,725

That wave is in Troncones Mexico. I love that area - a friendly scene and miles of surf like that. It can get huge too. A few of the days I was there it looked like Zicatela in Puerto Escondido, but with nobody(especially me - yikes!) on it.

kirra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 530

can you also include a little sound-bite-link of ocean background sounds too please thank you

Buff Johnson · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Dec 2005 · Points: 1,145

hey nice avatard, the squirt & scram

PNUT · · San Diego CA · Joined Jul 2008 · Points: 0

Captian Zero is a great book!!

kirra · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Feb 2006 · Points: 530
Mark Nelson wrote:Here's one to tickle yer fancy or better yet, a melody hey nice avatard, the squirt & scram
thanks mark.... hmmm these 2 links just blew-up my desktop

anyone else got a sound bite
Rick Witting · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Jul 2005 · Points: 80
Olaf Mitchell wrote:Rick, from that impressive list of spots that you have paddled out at, I would say that you have considerable surf experience. I feel that just paddling out with the intent to catch a wave while observing the universal rights of way (locals have all the rights), is surfing! Catching a wave is a bonus. Riding it? Well, that's the prize. We are all Kooks in the ocean. If you want to be humbled, watch the dolphins surf. The good surfers that I know live near the ocean and surf the same breaks often. The GREAT surfers that I know grew up at the beach and ditched a lot of classes in their youth. There are so many ever changing elements involved in surfing, tides, currents, bottom configuration, swell size,interval,and direction. Just to name a few. For years I traveled to surf destinations and found that unless I stayed for at least a month, my skills really didn’t improve. I also have used the assistance of area locals. They are respected and know the area.They will usually put you in the right spot and run interference so that you get some waves too. A while back I made the decision and moved to Hawaii so I could surf and wave sail all the time. I don’t regret that decision. Since I have been injured I’m spending a lot of time reminiscing my climbing days and following MP and Super Taco. Thanks for posting.
Olaf, thanks for the encouragement. I respect the rights of way of the locals and I have found most to be really supportive. They have probably saved my bacon a few times! I have seen dolphins riding the waves of my dive boat until they get bored. Pretty amazing. There is a lot to process while surfing, reading the wave, timing, balance. I'm comfortable in the water, but I've come close to puking from the exertion of paddling through the surf just to get beyond the break. My best to you on your recovery. That's always tough.
J. Thompson · · denver, co · Joined Jan 2001 · Points: 1,425
PNUT wrote:Captian Zero is a great book!!
You should read Cosmic bandito's!! Very little surfing...but holy shit is it good!

Also His newest book....Can't you get along with anyone....is good but has issue's with publisher's.

I happen to have an orginal copy...with my name in it since I pre-ordered(yeah i'm a goof)....but they ran into legal issue's and the publisher quit!

Weisbecker has his own publishing Co. now and will be releasing the controversial book on his own.

josh
kurt smith · · Unknown Hometown · Joined Aug 2007 · Points: 0

good post. I started surfing the year before i started climbing-Maui 1978. I have surfed on and off over the years and 2 years ago got back into it full bore. My wife and i have 3 boards and our closest surf to the New River Gorge (home) is Va. Beach. We also get to OBX twice a year as well as FL. I surfed LBI NJ last month and that was fun. I want to go to Mex in March for my 45th b day and surf a week or so...

Kurt Smith

Olaf Mitchell · · Paia, Maui, Hi, · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 4,190

"We should give thanks that there are waves, or else all the surfers would be rock climbers" Yvon Chouinard, told to me by Kevin Donald back in 1978

Smith - · · Central, NJ · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 50

Cool discussion Olaf, great to hear that others on MP ride waves. I'm a long-time surfer who started climbing to compensate for summer flat spells on the right coast. I soon found that climbing was as gratifying as surfing, and try to climb whenever there are no waves. I am lucky to have surfed many exceptional breaks throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Fiji,and New Zealand, but many outposts remain on my travel list. We have had a recent good run of swell here in NJ with some clean barreling days. I recently started riding a performance long board and like the challenge of riding it in overhead surf. Looking forward to the cold water of winter since it cuts down on the crowd.

Olaf Mitchell · · Paia, Maui, Hi, · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 4,190

So we have yet another climber with a surfing problem posting on Mountain Project!
Aloha Fat Paul,
WOW, You have definantly been hitting the destination surf spots.
I'll bet you have a whole bunch of great stories with all that traveling.Feel free to share a few if you get a chance. K?
I have been riding high performance long boards a lot myself since I have been here on Maui. I have three at the present. A lot of the best waves around here in the winter are on the outside reef and they are long (20min each way) paddles. The winter waves get pretty heavy and broken long boards are real common on the out side reef.In fact I have a buckled Dave Mell 9'0""aggro tanker"just waiting for some intensive care. My favorite board is the one that I just got a wave on. They're all soo different and do every thing great but in a different way.
With the stand up paddle craze in full swing. It can be hard to get a wave if there are a several of them out at the same time especially if they are all good surfers and wave hogs.I find that my Walden 9'0" magic model evens the odds quite well.I just have to sit a little deeper and closer to the peak.My other h.p.l.b. is a 8' 6" Doug Houtt and I can't say enough about how crisp and snappy that sporty little board is. It's an epoxy "Surftech" and seems to be the winter long board of choice by a lot of my bros as well.
Get somewaves for me I need a fix.if you check out the wave models for this part of the Pacific you'll notice that we have a substantial NW swell marching across the pacific aimed right at this rock that I live on.
I am on the bench indefinitely, but I'm going to try and be a good sport and take lots of photos of my amigos,RIPPING!

Nate Oakes · · Unknown Hometown · Joined May 2006 · Points: 235

Be careful out there...

Story here.

Olaf Mitchell · · Paia, Maui, Hi, · Joined Mar 2007 · Points: 4,190

Nate,It sounds like the kite boarder got smacked and that's what he deserved. I hope that the whale didn't get tangled in those kevlar kite lines!
It 's fairly common to be wave sailing around here and have a whale breach right in front of you. It seams to happen to me at least once a year. It is very cool when it happens.
That's one thing that I enjoy about windsurfing,you see so much sea life.
Often I launch at Hookipa Beach Park and wavesail all the breaks along the 7 mile stretch of coast to Kanaha Beach Park. You see a lot of sealife when you get off shore a ways.

Smith - · · Central, NJ · Joined Nov 2008 · Points: 50

Hey Olaf, checked out your photo's and saw that shot of Woody's was taken by Buzzy Kerbox - big wave, and islands tow surfing pioneer? You probably have some great stories if your keeping company with that crew. Peace

Guideline #1: Don't be a jerk.

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