Living, Loving and a New Year's Resolution

Oh my! The north wind this week has blown out all the waves. While most surf reports indicated either incredibly small or no waves at all, I still depend quite a bit on first-hand reports. I know that the north wind can flatten things, but I also know that if a slight east wind gets tangled in with the north wind an occasional knee- to thigh-high wave will be generated. Surf Dude B said that it was flat Friday and Saturday, but he thought there might be enough of a wind for a knee-high wave to have some fun on Sunday mid-day. However, I never saw that wave form while watching all the webcams. Another friend of mine who recently purchased a home in G-town told me that he thought it might be surf-able on Saturday. Since buying his home in Galveston, he has purchased an SUP. He took it out Saturday after a fast bike ride. His assessment of the waves confirmed that there might be a few, small surfable waves for me and my longboard. However, the cold air temp coupled with the cool water temp made it quite easy for me to excuse myself from a surf session for and occasional, small wave. In fact, even the "dude" said it wasn't worth a drive from the mainland on Saturday. His optimistic opinion for Sunday afternoon however didn't prove true, and I'm glad I didn't bother packing the wetsuit and the board to get down there. I must admit, though, that I'm missing the surfing BAD. I'm dying to get out even if it means I'm in a 3-2 wetsuit. Maybe one day this week, I can squeeze in some wave time, although I'm not sure how or when. Busy week ahead for sure! But, despite the lack of surf time, I'm certain it will be filled with lots of fun, family and laughter.

A huge Costa Rican wave at sunset

I'm still thinking quite a bit about my fabulous trip to Costa Rica. I'm not sure I offered enough positive information in my last post. Surfing in Costa Rica is wonderful! They almost always have waves and it's warm all of the time. Hotel Casa Cecilia's break was a great experience. Even though the waves were bigger than I had expected, I still had the opportunity to push to the outside and watch the really good surfers take advantage of those fast waves.  I wish I hadn't pulled out of all the big ones, and taken my chances at being pounded into the bottom. I'm glad I had the opportunity to surf the outstanding, fast re-forms, but I sure hope to be able to surf the really big waves some day. Or, at least some bigger waves. I've surfed chest-high waves in Galveston, but the waves in Galveston are also a little more gentle. Sometimes I think that the only way to really get better is to surf the bigger, stronger waves of the west coast every day. However, I don't have the luxury to do that. I think I mentioned the book "Kook" by Peter Heller. He was determined to surf the big waves and lived in a van on the beaches of Baja and central Mexico so that he could get experience surfing the waves every day. And, it made a big difference. Within six months, he was able to surf some bigger waves on a short board. I don't think he was ready to compete, but he was able to get some decent rides. I don't have the luxury that Heller had, so I will just have to make do with the G-town waves and an occasional trip to the Pacific. I just hope it's enough to take me to the next level of surfing...to get me to stop pulling out of the big waves and going for it! Maybe I should make it a 2013 New Year's Resolution. I think I will.

Chica Brava Rocks ... Again!!!

Chica Brava Surf Camp in Nicaragua is fantastic! I just got home last night from a fourth Chica Brava trip in San Juan del Sur. It was a great week, with a fabulous group of gals and four outstanding surf instructors. On the first night at the camp, we, the campers, were asked to introduce ourselves and to state our goals for the week. The goals ranged from just standing on a surfboard to experiencing the drop. My goal was to catch waves consistently on the outside. In Galveston, I sometimes start on the outside, but often end up on the inside catching waves after they break. Nicaragua waves form and break much more often than the ones in Galveston, so I was sure that this would be a great place to practice. And, practice I did!

I surfed five of six days. During those surf sessions, I surfed approximately three to four hours. Our instructors took us to the best surf breaks in Nicaragua including Hermosa and Remanso. On my unscheduled "rest" day, I took a trip to one of the best and well-known beaches in Nicaragua -- Popoyo. At Popoyo, I got to watch some of the best surfers around rip through the waves, including Chica Brava leader Ashley. Watching them surf strengthened my determination to become a better surfer.

I will have to admit that I didn't have one of my best surf weeks, and I didn't meet my surf goals. I felt oddly out of place and out of sync for the first four days. By Friday, I felt a little more comfortable and had a decent day. However, I still missed waves ... many of them. This was through no fault of the fantastic Chica Brava instructors that included Candace, Sarah, "Boom Boom," and Elsi. Each one spent time with me (and Robin) during the week so that we could get the best experience possible. I learned secrets to paddling (moving arms in an "S" rotation) and to board positioning. I was also given tips to learning to judge the waves. However, I think that right now, I'm in a "place" where the only way I can get better is to do it over and over again. While looking at the pics that were taken of me, I noticed a lot of things I did wrong. For one thing, although I never do this at my home break, it looks as though that while I was in Nicaragua, I spent a lot of time popping up by going to my knees. I had some slight bruising to the knees that I hadn't had in a very long time. I'm not sure why. I guess I could have been nervous about being at a different beach or fighting an unusually strong wind, but, nevertheless, I did get to my knees several times. I had a couple of good rides too. Friday was my favorite day, because I was feeling more like myself, but I just didn't have enough time that day to correct all I needed to correct, even though I was in the water for most of the four hours we spent at the beach that day.

Wave judgment and my pop-up will continue to be my main focus. I was hoping to make it to G-town to surf today, but I just didn't have the time. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for one evening this week as well as next Friday and Sunday. I MUST keep practicing. Thanks to Chica Brava for giving me great advice!

Below are just three photos of the fabulous trip I took. I will add more in the weeks to come.

A sign on the beach at Popoyo

A mural on a wall in San Juan del Sur

A brief meeting with two of the Chica Brava instructors! :-)

Chica Brava Surf Camp Rocks!

I have had the privilege of attending Chica Brava Surf Camp for the third year in a row. I am having a ball. (I have been trying to type this post during my trip, but I haven't been able to because of technical difficulties. I will try not to switch tense, since I'm typing from notes in my head and on paper and, now, it's almost two weeks later.) I have fallen in love with Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is the perfect surfing town. It's small, convenient and, basically, dedicated to surfers.

A great group of gals went this time with me. Once again, I knew many of them. My cycling friends Cyndi and Marie, not to mention Cyndi's sister and my spin class buddy Michele. Of course, my friend Robin came as well as Steph (surfin' sistah from last year) and Marcia (surfin' sistah from two years ago and one of my surfing role models). Steph and Marcia each brought a friend -- two marvelous gals named Lori and Leslie.

I had the pleasure of tagging along with Marcia, Ashley and Robin for a couple of surf sessions. Robin and I watched the skilled surfing styles of Marcia and Ashley, and I can't speak for Robin, but I longed to have surf sessions like theirs.

Beaches I visited included the following:

1.) Madeiras

2.) Romanzo

3.)Hermosa

4.)Popoyo -- incredible waves -- How fun it was to watch the real surfers take those waves!

5.) Hermosa

6.) Romanzo

Each beach had its good and bad points, but, let's face it, they are all better beaches for surfing than Galveston. I love Galveston, but it will never be a surfing mecca. It's okay for beginners like me...and maybe even really good surfers who know what they are doing...but for consistent, fun surf, it, basically, sucks.

All in all, Ashley and her 2011 crew including the lovely and dynamic Anne, dynamo Stephanie, and pragmatic and yet very skillful Jessica, made this trip incredible, and, once again, left me wanting more.

I want to be better on the board! I had hoped to have an impressive trip. It was fun, but I was less than impressive. I was intimidated by some of the waves; however, I did manage at least once to ride down a wave (even if it was mostly whitewater). I probably only caught a couple on the outside, but the two I caught felt good! I just need to keep practicing.

Oh, and I fell in love...with a 8'4" Robert August board!

(I do not need another board. I do not need another board. I do not need another board...)