Category: Baleal Surf Camp

We are the people from the best ever Baleal Surf Camp.

• Baleal Surfing Camp: Day 5
• Weather: 65 degrees, windy overcast becoming blue skies with white clouds

Morning Lesson: Right and left turning.

The winds bring complications. Each time I tumble in the water, I wrestle to turn the board nose-to-wave. If not, the wind lifts the board and slams it into me broadside. I tug harder to pull/push the board to deeper water. My elementary skills are showing less success. My body feels the effects of five days of double lessons.

Mid-Morning Lesson: A 30-minute break between lessons, while sitting wet in the chilly breeze, continues to deplete my energy. I shiver wrapped in a towel.

“Know when to fold’ em. Know when to walk away.” from Kenny Roger’s The Gambler. For the final class, every movement seemed tumultuous. Junior asked if I was tired. If it shows that clearly, I can’t fool myself into making the most of the last hour of class. Pressing myself isn’t worth possible injury. Having managed to drag my surf board to the beach, I walked away.

• Baleal Surfing Camp: Day 4
• Weather: 73 degrees, sunny with blue skies

Morning Lesson: Right and left turning.

Surfers speak of the energy of the water. It’s power of two forces that simultaneously propelling the surf board. It’s the outward pull of the tide returning to the sea. The angles change but the direction is always deeper. It’s the inward pull of waves rushing to shore. The velocity and frequency of waves amaze me. In water as shallow as 8-inches, I’ve been knocked off my feet. The sand beds change the depth of the water adding to the energy. When lease expected, feet jarringly drop into deeper sand beds as if stepping in a hole.

Afternoon Lesson: Review

“Paddle, paddle, paddle” we find ourselves repeating it like a song chorus. Outstretched arms paddle water backwards until the wave begins to lift the board. Now the wave carries the board. It is the moment to pop-up. Feet are parallel and center on the board. Eyes focused on where you want to go. The lead hand, with the deliberation of a magician casting a spell, point the direction. Torso and knees adjusts for balance. Voilá you are surfing.

Green water is where the “real” surfers hang out. They appear like seals straddling on surf boards rolling on the waves. Here the water is calmer and patient is needed until the right wave comes. Meike is in this group. The good waves are great and it’s a long ride to shore. Caught in a bad wave is being in the “washing machine” tumbling, turning, twisting until you can surface. In turbulence the leash which attaches the board to ankle violently yanks the leg. The board can shoot straight into the air. Meike’s ankle is bruised from her time in the washing machine.

After class: party

It’s not all about learning to surf, it’s about making friends and tonight we party! Music, Sangria, Piña Coladas, Mojitos, Port shots, dancing, ocean sunset, toes in sand, and endless good cheer. Dorian is the DJ mixing the most amazing music. We are Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Polish, Chinese, German, Luxenbourger, Indian, Russian, and American. Collectively we believe we are the best class of surfing students Baleal Surf Camp has ever had. When I share this with the receptionist Ulysses, he says all groups at surfing camp feel they are the most fabulous. This truly is a magical place.

• Baleal Surfing Camp: Day 3
• Weather: 71 degrees, blue skies with white clouds

Morning Lesson: Cleaning up pop-up techniques. Video taping students.

Begin surfing by choosing the right wave, a wave with time before the next wave. Time to paddle, feel the wave carry the board, pop-up, and ride. Happy times are when belly-on-board you gently roll over the oncoming waves in anticipation for the right wave.

My learning zone is the white water where oncoming waves crash and rumble towards you at face level. It’s a speeding train of water. It’s a Hollywood film where the waves destroy everything in its path. At the brink of a white wave, place palms on the board and arch your back. You and the board go straight up and crash down the back side of the wave. I feel as if I’m a carved figurehead on an old wooden ship taking the brunt of each wave in my face and arms.

Afternoon Lesson: Review in slow-motion video of morning surfing. Dorian critiqued the best and worse we had to offer. He demonstrated how to take our skills to the next level.

Instructor Kaby from Africa tells me the abrasions on the top of my feet are because I don’t lift my feet when I pop-up. I’m dragging them on the board. My latest VISA opportunity is a $35 pair Neoprene booties. It makes walking on the beach, in the surf and on the board much more comfortable. Putting them on is a bit like like Cinderella’s step-sister trying to squeeze into the glass slippers. The same can be said about squeezing into a wetsuit.

Though inspired by the video critique of morning surfing, I am too played out to do much more than tumble off the board. There is the occasional ride. Progress is being made by all. We show as much enthusiasm for other’s success as our own.

• Baleal Surfing Camp: Day 2
• Weather: 72 degrees, blue skies with clouds

Morning Lesson: After practicing pop-ups on our boards, albeit boards resting on the sand, we took to the water.

The three instructors are amazing. Each instructor has his style of communicating. No sooner do you return from one ride then they position you for the next wave. Head teacher Dorion speaks with facial and hand expression as only the French can do. He requests, “Would you please hop on.” French civility. His coaching style reminds me of an MBA coach on the sideline. He is openly thrilled with our successes and openly crushed with our failures. He reminds us we must ride waves over and over to create muscle memory. Failures lead to success. New Zealander Jimmy always says, “Get on the board.” In his casual and relaxed attitude, his positive coaching tips are appreciated. Brazilian Junior has the shortest one-liner, “Let’s go” and we pop-up on the board. All agree Junior is the most enthusiastic of our successes. He whistles and shouts like a cowboy at a championship rodeo at our successes.

Yesterday’s failures have been mended by today’s successes. My right leg no longer seems paralyzed. I can lift the right leg forward. I got up and rode the waves a few times…albeit for a few seconds. I mostly tumbles off the board. It’s amazing how much fun failures can be.

Afternoon Lesson: More pop-ups. Eyes forward and not on feet.

With better surfing conditions on the other side of the small peninsula, we made the 15-minutes walk to a new beach. Surf boards can be unwieldy and heavy to carry. An ocean breezes can catch the nose of the board causing it to turn and twist. Jimmy and Junior often carried my board. Students quickly learned two people in tandem can more easily carry two surf boards, one carrying the nose and the other the tail. For me, I could help carry one board in tandem.

My initial thoughts of buying a surf board are absolutely ludicrous.

• Baleal Surfing Camp: Day 1
• Weather: 70 degrees, overcast with a short rain sprinkle while surfing

Baleal Surfing Camp is in the heart of Peniche, Portugal’s world famous surfing beaches. Our instructors come from France, New Zealand, Brazil, and Africa. The 15 students from Luxembourg, Germany, India, China, Ukraine, Poland, Russia, USA.

Morning Lesson: Safety, centering on board, straight arm position, paddling, pop-up (standing on board).

Moans and groans were the collective sound as we squirmed into our wetsuits. It felt like putting a square peg in round hole. With top halves of our suits dangling from hips, the instructors moved about helping us. Their exposed arms and shoulders spoke of the strength needed for surfing. These men were ripped.

Stressing the importance of waterproof sunscreen can’t be overstated. Instructor Dorian had his face totally masked in vivid blue appearing like a character from Braveheart. He held up EQ Stick Soliare waterproof sunscreen, an essential under intense Portugal sun. The vivid blue color was optional.

Morning classes went so well I contemplated where I could keep my own surf board…in basement, in the garage.

Afternoon Lesson: Pop-up

Like Geisha women, Elsa and Yuchen arrived for afternoon class with their faces completely masked white with sunscreen. Each cheek was finished with whimsical turquoise circles. They could have easily passed as mime entertainers.

Afternoon class dissolved all the successes of morning’s class. How hard could a three step to pop-up be? First, hands on board. Second, łeft foot on board. Three, swing right foot forward on board. My right leg would not move forward onto the board. Mentally I could isolate the hip flexor but it wasn’t receiving the brain waves to move. It was as if the leg became paralyzed. With each attempt to get on the board, I tumbled in the water.

All thoughts of a surf board standing in my basement dissolved. Have I peeked out after the first lesson?

PS

I literally ran into Radoslav in LIsbon. I recognized his profile from his surfing past me so many times. Serendipity.