Surf's Up

As I am moving from the mountains to the ocean, I thought that I should pack up the snowboard for the summer and try something new—surfing. Luckily, I had signed up for a surf trip before learning about my move to the Pacific—it was meant to be!

In June, I headed down to Mexico for a week-long women’s surf camp. Las Olas is based in Sayulita, a small fishing village north of Puerto Vallarta. I realized I was in for a treat when I was picked up at the airport by a smiling surfer girl and loaded with seven other women into a taxi. We headed away from the spring-break craziness of the city to Sayulita, with its dirt roads, friendly folks, and mellow beach break.

The week consisted of morning surf lessons, afternoon free surf, food, food, food, and afternoon siestas in our beautiful pad, the Villa Amor. The instructors began the week with an introduction to ocean safety, terminology, and surf etiquette. Throughout the week we paddled, played, and cheered for our friends. My experience there made me feel confident in the water, even though my skills are minimal. I would recommend Las Olas to any one who has the dough (it was a birthday present—lucky dog!). You can check out the camp at http://www.surflasolas.com/

On the home front, there are many options for learning to surf, provided you don’t live in a landlocked state. In the Bay Area, Surf Camp Pacifica (http://www.surfpacifica.com) offers private and group lessons, as well as summer camps for younger folks. There are also several outfits in the Santa Cruz area. In southern California, Surf Diva (whose instructors teach at Las Olas) provides another happy spot for girls and women who want to learn to surf. (Men are allowed in a few lessons, called “Boys on the Side”). Check out their site if you’re looking for some waves in La Jolla (http://www.surfdiva.com/).

Now, like me, you may be looking for some gear so that you can go play. So far, I haven’t made any purchases, but I’m still surfing (on the web, that is). At Las Olas, we started with foam longboards, which are generally considered easier to learn because they offer increased stability. The water down there was a pleasant 80 degrees—up here I’m in the market for a wetsuit. Some online gear sights for boards and accessories are geared towards women: Pink Lava (http://www.pinklava.com/) is based in southern California and has good links on the site, as well as products. Wahine magazine has a limited amount of gear, but good articles on women and board sports, as well as a bulletin board for girls looking for surf buddies, equipment, and advice (http://www.wahinemagazine.com). The wetsuit I used was a Ripcurl, and I’ve checked out their site but I’m also looking around for used suits, as well as drooling over the pretty Patagonia boards (maybe when I’m good. . . ).

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