Well, its been a stellar May for the surfers so far with weeks of pumping swell hitting our coast. I hope you holiday makers have made the most of it, getting out every morning for your session. It has dropped right off now though, down to less than 6 inches on the sets. When I grabbed my coffee this morning, it looked like you could walk on water to NZ it was so flat.
So what do we do now? Heal and work on your fitness I think. Healing in particular is a good idea if you have been surfing non stop for 3 weeks.
How do you heal after weeks of non-stop surfing? One of the techniques I recommend is yoga. There are quite a few sources now that offer yoga routines specifically optimised for surfers. Our favorite is the series of DVDs offered by Peggy Hall. She really was a pioneer in this arena. Her routines include pre surf warm ups and post surf cool downs that directly target the muscle groups that you overload in the water. She then has dedicated yoga routines that you do between sessions that help you lengthen, stretch, strengthen and limber up those muscle groups. The idea is to get your body working to its optimal level over time, despite the duress surfing puts it under.
It really is a mixture of dealing with post surf stress now, plus a long term development plan for your body, to set it up for longevity and optimal performance in the water.
Looking at the Hurley Surf Lite iphone app, for the Burleigh Heads, the swell is supposed to hit again later this afternoon. It doesn’t give a whole lot of time to heal 100% – but it certainly is enough time to lay the foundations for long term physical well-being.
School holidays are a great time to come to the Gold Coast. One thing we try ask parents is, do you really want to be running up to the shops every day to rent out a surfboard, so your children can ride and bring it back before the shop closes in the afternoon. Of course you don’t. A much easier solution is to hire a surfboard for your whole holiday. That way you only have to pay once, the surfboard is there when you need it, the kids can just take it to the beach whenever they want — which means no stress, no crazy daily surf shop rituals and happy children.
You can relax more as you get more time in your holiday when you are not running around hither thither, your kids can enjoy the surf more as they are not constrained by when the shops are open and you save money as long term hire is always cheaper than daily or hourly hire.
http://goldcoastsurfboardshapers.com.au/ Don’t you hate waiting weeks for your surfboard to be repaired? There is a Gold Coast shaper who repairs dings in days. Read the rest of this entry »
There is nothing better for a surfer than travelling the globe and finding great waves to ride. If you’re wondering where your next surfing holiday should be then prepare for some amazing cultures and get yourself on a plane to Europe’s finest surf spots.
To help you know where to start check out our top 5 spots, the best thing about all 5 is that each spot can suit beginner to expert surfers.
Ericeira, Portugal
You can be spoilt for choice in Ericeira. The town is close to more than 40 amazing surf break along it’s coast. So it is simply a matter of choosing the type of wave you are looking for and getting out there.
Peniche, Portugal
This Portuguese town hit headlines in 2009 when it became the location of Rip Curl’s The Search Pro contest. It’s barreling waves not only wowed spectators but convinced the pro surfers, and now it is returning in October 2010 as a permanent fixture on the world tour.
Hossegor, France
Home to Quiksilver’s Pro France each September, Hossegor is famous for its gnarly beach break “La Graviere”, its small town atmosphere and big party scene. Whether you enjoy taste testing all the French pastries or carving the waves, Hossegor is the destination of choice for the European surf crowd.
Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, Spain
The Spanish Canarian Island of Fuerteventura has become Europe’s equivalent to Hawaii. Although Spanish, Fuerteventura lies off the coast of Africa, and benefits from consistently warm weather and great waves created by the Atlantic Ocean. Fuerteventura offers a the perfect location to learn to surf.
Zarautz, Basque Country, Spain
Heard of powerhouse basque surfer Aritz Aranburu? If not, then you should have. Aranburu learnt to surf at his hometown of Zarautz. The Basque town’s beach break is one of the top spots for Basque surfers, and offers consistent swell especially during the Autumn to Spring months.
http://goldcoastlearntosurf.com.au/ Surf schools are not all the same. Learn what questions to ask to ensure you find and are only taught by the best. Read the rest of this entry »
Learning to surf is difficult. Learn the best way to learn with this amazing Gold Coast beginner surfers guide.
Getting a Gold Coast surfing lesson is only the start of your surfing journey. Unfortunately, too many surf schools will not give you anything that will help you after your lesson finishes. It is up to you. To learn to surf though, you need some knowledge and some things to focus on. So when getting your lesson, we recommend you:
Try to remember a small number of things from your lesson to take into practise
Get your instructor to speak to you about how the ocean works, on a practical and safety level
Get some local knowledge so you know the best places to learn to surf.
If you are learning on the Gold Coast, all this is covered in the FREE learn to surf guide. You can download your copy from the www.GoldCoastLearnToSurf.com.au website.
Download the most comprehensive guide to learning to surf on Australia’s Gold Coast, FREE of charge today
So many surf instructors will have you believe that if you go with them, you will learn to surf in a flash. If only it were that easy for the person learning.
Learning to surf is actually much more challenging than this. Before you book your lesson, you must:
Understand what makes a good and bad instructor
Find the ideal instructor for you
Work out what type of class suits you best
Understand what you will get out of the lesson
Once you finish your lesson, the learning really starts. To assist your learning you must:
Gold Coast Custom Surfboards – This video tries to help surfboard shapers and repairers understand what their clients are doing, when using the internet to find their services.
This video attempts to shed some light on the search behavior of surfers, who use the internet to find the products and services they are looking for. It takes the viewer through some of the things that surfers will not search for as well as the things they will search for.
Too often in this industry, proper use of the internet is seriously neglected. Either poor websites or none at all are used. Just do a Google search for a shaper or for surfboard repairs in your area to see what I mean. You will be amazed by the weird hodge podge of results you get. This means that the shapers who are looking for clients, cannot be found by them.
The intention of the video is to help surfboard shapers who are looking for new clients, use the internet to find them.
Gold Coast Surfboard Shapers - Surfboard shapers are difficult to find sometimes, they are too busy shaping or surfing. We try to help with resources like this video
Surfing is such a perfectionists sport, you need equipment which responds specifically to you. Only a surfboard shaper can design a surfboard for you in this manner. Further, if your surfboard is damaged, you really want to get a quality and professional ding repair to endure the shape and balance of your board is not compromised.
This video explains the difference between an off the rack surfboard and one designed by a shaper.
