Greetings from Shaka, I just wanted to take a moment to talk about what we are doing and hope to be doing in the comming months leading to 2012.
Its currently the rainy season so its nice to have a slow down. It lets us refresh ourselves, reflect on the past year and do some maintenance, as well as dream and imagine possible new things and ideas that we would like to implement in the near future. Here is a summary of things recently or in the near future
1. First off we had a good year so far. It was ou busiest year even in this down economy. Shaka as well as OHG is maturing and improving. We are excited to head into the new season right around the corner.
2. In August We started fixing and repairing surfboards, Our surfboard fleet was getting a bit dinged up and a our broken board pile was adding up. Shaka invested in the proper equipment and material to do proffesional board repair. The hassle, expense and delay of paying board fixers is now behind us. We now have Alejandro who has shown an instinctive talent in board repair and painting keeping us sharp
3. Ted a Volunteer with OHG has launched a campaign to get Shaka a SWIMMING POOL. You told me to hold you to it Ted, so here it is. I hear that he has already raised over half the money, so hopefully any one who visits shaka in 2012 will be able to enjoy this addition.
4. We plan on launching a project to turn the Rancho common area into a work of art incorporating Mayan, Polynesian and tribal style artwork. Headed By Chris. More info on this comming soon.
5. Our next OHG group is planned to take place in November just before the upcomming 2011 season.
6. Krista is putting together a yoga adventure package. All inclusive 7 day packages based at Shaka but daily yoga excursions to all the world class studios in the Montezuma, Mal Pais, Santa Teresa and Hermosa areas.
Its official! We at Shaka are now doing P90X. I was not expecting it to be such an ass whooping program. I can see now how and why P90X has become a complete social phenomenon. Today marks the end to week #2 .The first week was pretty much complete head to toe muscle soreness. I can already feel the improvements in my surfing.
A lot of people come to Shaka unprepared for the physical demand of surfing and dealing with the oncoming waves/ocean conditions. What makes surfing the hardest board sport in the world, is exactly that.
So here is my recommendation if you want to get the absolute most out of your surf vacation, get a hold of P90X and do it before you arrive. Its a 90 day program but even just 2-3 weeks of it would make the world of a difference.
A little prep work will make your surfing experience a lot easier for you and more importantly your surf instructor, me.
I may offer a substantial Shaka discount for any one of our packages to anyone who gets on p90x or one of their similar programs prior to arrival, so look for that in a further post.
Well its been a while since our last blog. I thought i would mention the latest thing we have been experimenting with. Recently someone turned us on to the website www.fiverr.com . Basically its a website where you bid off something you would do for $5 such as video a short skit or taking a personalized photo as well as a variety of odd and crazy ideas. Its hard to explain so you’ll have to just check it out.
So as a kind of fun experiment we put up 2 gigs on fiverr.
The first one is write your message in the sand then we take a picture of it and send it to you. This idea actually came from one of our guests about 5 weeks ago.
The second one is we film ourselves on a whitewater wave and announce your message or whatever and film it then send the short 12-15sec video.
Well the reaction has been far greater then we could have imagined. Almost every day now we are filling orders at the beach. It’s not that much money since since fiverr takes a dollar off every order, so we only get 4 bucks per surf video or writing in sand, but it pays the weekly beer bill. We actually got enough orders of writing your message in the sand that we decided to make it its own website.
You can check it out at writing in sand You never know, it could end up being a good little side business.
It seems nowadays everybody wants to learn or try surfing. Stock traders, lawyers, doctors, business owners, college students and celebrities are all coming to Costa Rica surf camps to learn to surf. Even if you have never surfed you have probably worn surf clothing at one time. Does Quicksilver, Bilabong, Hurley, or Volcom sound familiar?
When we first opened “Shaka Surf Camp” in Costa Rica we weren’t sure what would be our main clientele type. Everybody we talked to said we should be targeting surf magazines, other surf communities and surfer related organizations. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
The majority of guests that show up at Shaka are business professionals who have very little or no surfing experience. They basically are looking for a fun, new, unique and exciting way to spend their vacation time. Something different then your typical boring commercial spa resort. And with Costa Rica’s tropical rainforests, abundant wildlife, and pristine beaches you cant go wrong. A common statement we hear is, “I’ve always wanted to try surfing”, and then a couple days later they say, “wow! it’s a lot of fun, but harder than I thought it would be”.
So why surf camp retreats? Because if your on vacation you don’t want to have to worry about all the logistics, like surfboard transportation, equipment selection, knowing where and when to surf and most important understanding ocean safety. At a reputable surf camp retreat they provide everything you need, so you can relax, make yourself at home, and get the most out of you surfing adventure.
The Balance board is a great way to gain core strength in the lower body. It simulates the rotation of weight from the back and front legs while surfing. It usually starts off with one of us crouching really low (as if we were inside of a barrel), and then doing a one-footed stance, and then escalates to using one foot and one hand to balance. I recommend balance boards at all surf camps because they are a great when the waves are not ideal or at night.
Moe, Jed, Drew(2 guests here at Shaka), and I traveled to the hardware store yesterday to buy PVC pipe to create homemade surfboard racks for our bicycles. We got enough supplies for three racks (plus some extras) and the cost was around $15 per rack. The racks only took about 20 minutes to make and are expected to withstand the rain and mud from the rainy season. I would reccomend checking out this website for easy, step-by-step instructions! http://www.surfing-waves.com/howto/make_bike_rack.htm .
Helllooooooo! It’s Brian, the new volunteer At Shaka Costa Rica
Well…. I’m on my 5th day here at Shaka Surf Camp and i couldn’t be more impressed with the waves, hospitality and presence of nature. On my first day, Chris and i surfed for a couple hours, (great waves, with not a soul in sight) walked up to our beautiful camp and were suddenly surprised by a 5.1 earthquake!!! It was my first encounter with an earthquake, so i didn’t realize exactly what had just happened! i looked around to see the expression of Chris’ face. He knew right away what was going on. We came to the realization that no tsunami was on the way and carried on our day as if nothing happened. We later took a ride to Cobano, which reminded me of Orlando or some other busy city. i couldn’t wait to get back to Shaka, where time slows and we are surrounded by the peaceful sound of the ocean.
As of day five, i have been able to get in the ‘GROOVE’ of things and i couldn’t be happier!!! In my opinion, pure joy is listening to great music, catching great waves with a good friend, great comida (pizza), and just existing. I really enjoy the vibe that Shaka emits. Its a vibe of simplicity and can only be experienced by actually coming and realizing that life is much more simple than we are all conditioned to think so!
Why do we say surfing is the hardest board sport in the world? In actuality it doesn’t take any longer to learn to ride a surfboard than any other board sport, but in surfing because of the elements of the ocean the amount of stand up time you get in an average surf session is miniscule compared to say snowboarding or skateboarding. For example I’ve been surfing for over 15 years and am pretty efficient with my time in the water but still in a 3 hour surf session with perfect conditions and no crowds i might still only get 5 minutes total on my feet.
Point#2 Learning the ocean. Before you even get to practice surfing you have to learn about the ocean, tides swings, currents, how to deal with endless oncoming whitewater or waves, and to top it off you need the strength and endurance to paddle back out then catch a wave over and over. To make things even more confusing every surf spot will have a huge range of changing characteristics such as ,reef break, point break, sand bar beach break, high tide wave, low tide wave, onshore wind, off-shore wind, rip currents, channel or no channel and the list goes on. One of the first things people realize when they take their very first surf lesson is how difficult it is to balance just lying down on a surfboard with the motion of the ocean.
Point#3 The hunter element. In surfing we essentially become wave hunters. A. First you have to find a good hunting ground or as we call it beach. B. Then you have to watch carefully to see where the waves are running, how long the set intervals are and where there are not already to many other hunters getting in your way or stealing your catches. C. You then need to make sure you have the proper equipment to catch the waves. D. Finally you need paddle out, wait in the line-up, identify an incoming wave, position yourself at the peak, pick the proper direction left or right then finally the chase is on.
All of this makes surfing the hardest board sport, but the challenge, the ocean medium, and the lifestyle makes surfing the most addictive board sport as well.
Well, as head surf instructor for Shaka beach retreat talking about and explaining the tides has become an everyday task for me. Many people come to the beach and they don’t understand why certain times of the day are good for surfing and other times are considered bad. The beach is the beach, so what difference does it make when i go surfing? So anyway the purpose of this blog is to explain how the tides affect our beaches here in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica.
1. High tide & low tide. About every 6 hours the tide switches from low to high and vice-versa. The tide goes out for 6 hours then the tide comes in for 6 hours. So if low tide is 6am and rising, then mid tide is around 9am, and high tide is 12noon then it turns around and goes back out. An interesting thing to note is when the tide switches directions the waves can go completely flat for 15-20 minutes. This can give a false impression of wave size and conditions to someone who arrives to surf right at that moment. I always advise beginners to watch the waves for 10-15 to get an accurate assesment before jumping in.
2. Here in Costa Rica the tide swing is pretty big around 8-9 feet difference between low and high tide. An interesting thing is every coastal area around the globe has different levels or measurements of tide swings, some ranging to less then a foot to over 20 feet. Variables such as the the moon phase, time of year, and geographical location greatly affect day to day tide levels. On any given day here the low or high tide can vary 2-3 feet so its important to check the local tide chart as well as a visual check.
3. Every day the tides move up about 1 hour. If high tide comming in Monday is 8am, then Tuesday high tide will be 9am then wednesday 10am and so on. So the 2 things to think about are that tides switches aproximately every 6 hours from either low or to high and roughly every 6 days the time of a high or low tide will completely switch.
Here is a tide chart for July 2010 to show the changes
Day
High
Low
High
Low
High
Phase
Fri 01
02:36 AM 9.60 ft
08:52 AM −0.47 ft
03:11 PM 9.25 ft
09:10 PM 0.02 ft
Sat 02
03:27 AM 9.91 ft
09:40 AM −0.85 ft
03:59 PM 9.73 ft
10:02 PM −0.32 ft
Sun 03
04:17 AM 10.03 ft
10:28 AM −1.04 ft
04:48 PM 10.04 ft
10:53 PM −0.47 ft
Mon 04
05:06 AM 9.95 ft
11:16 AM −1.00 ft
05:38 PM 10.12 ft
11:44 PM −0.42 ft
Tue 05
05:57 AM 9.64 ft
12:04 PM −0.75 ft
06:27 PM 9.98 ft
Wed 06
12:36 AM −0.16 ft
06:49 AM 9.16 ft
12:54 PM −0.29 ft
07:19 PM 9.65 ft
Thu 07
01:31 AM 0.25 ft
07:43 AM 8.57 ft
01:46 PM 0.29 ft
08:14 PM 9.20 ft
Last Quarter
Fri 08
02:29 AM 0.71 ft
08:42 AM 7.96 ft
02:42 PM 0.92 ft
09:13 PM 8.73 ft
Sat 09
03:32 AM 1.12 ft
09:46 AM 7.47 ft
03:44 PM 1.48 ft
10:15 PM 8.34 ft
Sun 10
04:38 AM 1.38 ft
10:55 AM 7.18 ft
04:50 PM 1.86 ft
11:19 PM 8.10 ft
Mon 11
05:45 AM 1.43 ft
12:02 PM 7.14 ft
05:57 PM 2.01 ft
Tue 12
12:20 AM 8.04 ft
06:46 AM 1.30 ft
01:02 PM 7.32 ft
06:58 PM 1.95 ft
Wed 13
01:14 AM 8.11 ft
07:38 AM 1.07 ft
01:54 PM 7.60 ft
07:51 PM 1.76 ft
Thu 14
02:03 AM 8.26 ft
08:23 AM 0.80 ft
02:39 PM 7.93 ft
08:36 PM 1.51 ft
Fri 15
02:46 AM 8.42 ft
09:02 AM 0.55 ft
03:19 PM 8.24 ft
09:16 PM 1.25 ft
New Moon
Sat 16
03:26 AM 8.56 ft
09:38 AM 0.36 ft
03:56 PM 8.49 ft
09:54 PM 1.04 ft
Sun 17
04:04 AM 8.62 ft
10:12 AM 0.26 ft
04:32 PM 8.66 ft
10:31 PM 0.89 ft
Mon 18
04:40 AM 8.58 ft
10:46 AM 0.26 ft
05:06 PM 8.73 ft
11:06 PM 0.83 ft
Tue 19
05:16 AM 8.43 ft
11:19 AM 0.37 ft
05:41 PM 8.70 ft
11:43 PM 0.87 ft
Wed 20
05:52 AM 8.18 ft
11:53 AM 0.58 ft
06:15 PM 8.58 ft
Thu 21
12:20 AM 1.00 ft
06:29 AM 7.84 ft
12:27 PM 0.86 ft
06:51 PM 8.40 ft
Fri 22
12:59 AM 1.19 ft
07:08 AM 7.46 ft
01:04 PM 1.18 ft
07:30 PM 8.18 ft
Sat 23
01:42 AM 1.41 ft
07:51 AM 7.09 ft
01:46 PM 1.50 ft
08:15 PM 7.97 ft
First Quarter
Sun 24
02:31 AM 1.60 ft
08:43 AM 6.80 ft
02:36 PM 1.77 ft
09:09 PM 7.80 ft
Mon 25
03:29 AM 1.70 ft
09:46 AM 6.66 ft
03:37 PM 1.94 ft
10:12 PM 7.77 ft
Tue 26
04:35 AM 1.60 ft
10:56 AM 6.79 ft
04:47 PM 1.88 ft
11:20 PM 7.94 ft
Wed 27
05:42 AM 1.27 ft
12:05 PM 7.23 ft
05:58 PM 1.53 ft
Thu 28
12:26 AM 8.34 ft
06:45 AM 0.71 ft
01:06 PM 7.92 ft
07:04 PM 0.95 ft
Fri 29
01:26 AM 8.88 ft
07:41 AM 0.06 ft
02:02 PM 8.71 ft
08:03 PM 0.27 ft
Sat 30
02:21 AM 9.42 ft
08:33 AM −0.58 ft
02:53 PM 9.46 ft
08:57 PM −0.37 ft
Full Moon
Sun 31
03:12 AM 9.85 ft
09:22 AM −1.08 ft
03:42 PM 10.06 ft
09:47 PM −0.83 ft
Many beaches here are categorized as tide optimal breaks; for example Playa Carmen is a mid/high to high tide break, Santa teresa, La lora is mid to mid/low break.
Depending on what time a particular tide is, what the current wind direction is, as well as the swell direction and size will completely dictate the schedule for an entire day or even week in the eyes of a surf instructor or experienced surfer.
Over the past 4 years i have noticed butterflies flutter by me when I’m surfing out in the lineup, and not until the other day did i make an interesting connection. I had to watch the butterflies for a couple of days while surfing before i made this conclusion, but apparently about 25-30 minutes before the wind changes directions to on-shore in the morning you will see an occasional butterfly flying toward the shore/beach from outside.
surfing with butterflies
Surfing conditions here in Mal Pais, Costa Rica are always best in the morning when the wind is gentle and offshore, then usually around 9-11 a.m. the wind switches to on-shore making the surf choppy and crumbling. The ideal conditions for surfing are3 glassy peaking waves with a subtle off-shore breeze which helps hold up the face of the waves creating a nice shape and barrel.
I have no idea how the butterflies got out there in the first place, but if you are out surfing and you start to see an occasional butterfly fly by you heading to shore know that your surf session will turn to crappy in about half an hour. So if you see somebody cursing the butterflies out in the line-up, now you will know why.
