surfing and wave sailing
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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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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It's great to see every one jumping in on this thread. |
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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. |
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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! |
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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. |
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can you also include a little sound-bite-link of ocean background sounds too please thank you |
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hey nice avatard, the squirt & scram |
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Captian Zero is a great book!! |
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Mark Nelson wrote:Here's one to tickle yer fancy or better yet, a melody hey nice avatard, the squirt & scramthanks mark.... hmmm these 2 links just blew-up my desktop anyone else got a sound bite |
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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 didnt 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 dont regret that decision. Since I have been injured Im 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. |
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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 |
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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... |
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"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 |
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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. |
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So we have yet another climber with a surfing problem posting on Mountain Project! |
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Be careful out there... |
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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! |
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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 |