Tamarindo. Costa Rica. My new favorite place in the world. I recently got back from a 12-day surf safari where I stayed at Witch’s Rock Surf Camp. Normally I would write a large entry on all of my adventures and thoughts. But this trip is beyond words. For once, I find it difficult to write about my experience there. In fact I would go so far to say that the experience transcends the written word. Much like seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time or being in love (corny, yes, but to hell with it).

What did I do on the trip? Surf. Surf my guts out. Surf till my arms, back, elbows, and shoulders groaned with pain. Surfed till my armpits were rubbed raw. Surfed till my lips blistered and my skin darkened and my eyes became dazed red pits of dryed-out sun-burned shells. Surfed, gloriously surfed.

Costa Rica, amazing. The waves, delicious. I can’t even begin to convey how many good waves were scored. El Golfo, Playa Grande, Little Hawaii, Ollie’s Point (more about that later), Casitas, Marbella, Avellanos, Tamarindo Rivermouth, Langosta. All surf spots which served up warm, clean, waves of joy.

Playa Grande. Offshores with 2-3’ overhead barreling surf perfection, racing beach break peaks running left and right.

El Golfo. A reef break accessible by boat with heavy A-frames. Shallow rocks just below the surface make this wave one that makes you think twice. And makes it twice the fun.

Marbella. Oh sweet Marbella. Heavy, pitching, overhead racing barrels of thumping deep water beach break.

Avellanas. Sometimes hot, sometimes cold. Fun with the right wind, swell, tide, and crowds. Fun, friendly beach/reef combo break that is user friendly.

Little Hawaii. My last surf session of the trip occurred there at sunset. A fast, boiling, ledgy right hander breaking off of a super shallow reef. Only works on low tide.

Casitas. The local break. Fun to play around on. A beach break that runs left and right.

Ollie’s Point. What can I say about our day at Ollie’s Point? One word: epic. Not the epic occasionally thrown around to describe a good day of surf on a nice day. The kind of epic that describes beautiful art. The Sistine Chapel. Mona Lisa. This is a world-class break located in a National Sanctuary. A deep cove focuses and organizes the open-ocean wave energy. The waves move towards the shallow northern reef rocks where they are thrust upward and outward into a singular breaking point. The wave breaks off the rocks then races right along the perfect sandbar created by the rivermouth. All of this takes place in untouched natural beauty.

By itself this wave is an extremely rare formation and rare combination of different elements not found in many places in the world. But the stars further aligned for us. Imagine: a weather system that delivers clear blue skies and strong offshore winds, a big and strong long period south swell, a Panga boat loaded with a small assortment of surfers…one of them being an East Coast boy who is on his first visit to Costa Rica, who only started surfing 6 years ago when he rolled the dice and moved to San Diego, who by chance now finds himself at the crossroads of all of these conditions. Conditions, combinations, fate, and perfection like this could only possibly occur every decade or so to a lucky surfer such as myself.

When we first arrived to Ollie’s, the waves were only chest high. As the morning went on, the lines of fate and nature crossed and diverged until they formed a perfect point of pure light. Double-overhead sets were standing up and delivering rights that raced as fast as you could go. Offshore spray trails were blowing up and off the waves like small tornados. The steep waves were perfect for hard turns of delight, the board spitting and chattering as it skipped across the water at top speed. I can’t even begin to tell you how many good waves I caught that day. I can still hardly believe it myself. Surf perfection in a perfect setting of idyllic nature. Like a knight standing in shining armor, the power and beauty of the ocean, sky, and rain forest presented itself that day in all of its royal glory. I’m a truly lucky man to have been there.

Pura Vida.

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     Due to a large storm spinning off of the California coast, San Diego gets slammed by massive surf. Waves were coming in consistently at 10′-12′ and the set waves were maxing at 18′. Last December I intrepidly tried to go out in similar sized surf and had to paddle back in without catching a single wave (unless you consider getting almost drowned on the way in “catching” a wave). This time though I was ready. I’ve been swimming laps regularly and practicing holding my breath, plus I was equipped with my 7′ gun. After a brutal paddle out I made it to the break and started dialing in the waves. Boards were getting broken all around and I took a few set waves on the head. But after about 3 hours I managed to catch 2 waves; one wave was in contention for being the biggest wave I’ve caught to date. Worth it? Of course!

Fing rocks Overload!

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     Local San Diego rock band Fing honored Overload this weekend by agreeing to play a show in conjunction with the monthly “Ray at Night” art festival occurring in North Park. I built 2 additional stages but unfortunately underestimated the amount of sound equipment the band had. So after some brainstorming and some quick thinking we were able to construct a multi-level stage that was able to fit all of their equipment. Although it was raining outside, that didn’t stop the crowds from showing up and when Fing started to play the shop was full. They played a great set and a good time was had by all! If you get a chance to see this band live or pick up their music I highly recommend it!

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     Well, after almost dying of hypothermia last winter I decided to upgrade my wetsuit and booties. I had been surfing in a Billabong 3/2 suit since I moved here. It was bought on Craigslist and served it’s purpose. However, the wetsuit now has about a hundred leaks in it and I don’t think I would have made it through this winter. We’re due for our first big northwest winter swell this weekend and the water temp has dropped quite a bit so I figured now was a good time to upgrade. I bought the O’Neill Psycho II 3/2 wetsuit and O’Neill 3mm Superfreak booties. I don’t think cold will be a problem this year! Muy bueno!!!

Post Update…
     I felt the need to update the post after some surf time in the new suit. All I can say is one word…amazing! This suit is, in my opinion, the best in the market and the difference was incredible. My surf sessions have been great since purchasing the suit; I don’t even think about being cold or care about the water temp. I wildly underestimated how a wetsuit can make a difference in surf enjoyment. My recommendation to anyone on the fence about buying a wetsuit: do yourself a favor, spend some extra cash, and invest in your happiness by buying a quality wetsuit. You won’t regret it!
     Another issue I saw a lot of questions on was the difference between a Psycho I and a Psycho II. Now, I’m not an expert and the best thing to do is go to a local surf shop (not to be confused with some chain store where the employees just want commission and don’t even surf) and ask them. But I will try to put as much of the differences I am aware of here. One of my best friends, Mike, has a Psycho I and he has had no problems with it to date and has been very pleased. The main differences that I saw between the 2 suits were the seam weldings and the internal firewall core system (an extra layer of material that wicks away moisture and keeps your body core insulated). So first, the seam welding: a Psycho I only has fluid seam welding material on the outside of the stitch, whereas the Psycho II has the fluid seam welding on both the inside and outside of the stitching. Does it matter? I’m not sure if this alone is worth the extra money to upgrade from a Psycho I to a Psycho II, but I figure extra seam welding equates to longer life, better water protection, better flexibility, and better warmth. The second major difference: the firewall core system. Here the Psycho II has a firewall system that covers both the back and the chest area, whereas the Psycho I only has firewall protection in the chest. Does this matter? I say yes since to stay warm in the water you need to keep your body core temp maintained. Here I think the Psycho II really starts to show a difference. So, hopefully this helps anyone out there trying to decide on a Psycho I or a Psycho II. Personally I would spend the extra money, but they are both amazing wetsuits.

This weekend Chief and I tackled the Surf Rack Project. After about 3 trips to Home Depot and $80, we managed to assemble a solid standing surf rack that holds 7 boards. The design was pretty simple; a basic L-shaped structure framed from 2×4’s with 1″ PVC pipes attached to the posts. Our only real challenge was designing the support systems and my new corded drill that apparently only has a single speed of insanely-fast-drill-through-your-hand-and-everything-else-in-it’s-way speed.

New scanned pictures of surfing at my favorite San Diego break, Black's Beach, and various other SD waves. On the other front I'm now an uncle for the first time. My older brother Adam and his wife Lindsay just had a baby girl named Amelia Grace. She looks beautiful and I'm excited to meet her. Here's some pictures courtesy of RodHough.com…