2020 is off to solid run of clean surf with offshore winds in the mornings and occasionally all day. Early January was pretty small size wise but later in the month the size picked up a bit. So far February has been really fun.
The footage in this video is from a small day and features lots of locals and visitors enjoying a beautiful day on the beach.
Pulling up to main beach… Guess who is under the shirt?Jayson from Get HookedIncoming missile… Duck!!!Mr. Rick Lambert CR Champ Dorian styling 10 on the noseNelson from Living Stoked cutting backFernie!!!!Chico Surf spreading good vibesMatteo putting his head into itMr. QuinnMiss ClementineMrs. Sullivan Marq figuring out which peak he is about to dominateJumbo enjoying his fishLouis ‘Deez’ Michael BOwen came back through townElisha and I finishing our session and heading to workRick Wilkins is an Olo Alaia staple most every morning
Carlos, Jayson, Prado, Rick L, Chico Surf, Costa Rican Longboard Champion Dorian, the Sullivans Little Quinn, Clementine, Heather, Brian, Fernie, Marq, Natalie, Jim, Alejandro, Luis ‘Deez,’ Owen, and a bunch more all make an appearance in this video. After surf is a quick walk through of Olo Alaia to see what Robbie and Team are up to.
Hope you enjoy this video and see you in the water!
A quick video of morning surf at Guiones in mid November plus people in the lineup
Why November is my favorite month
Nosara Music Festival is happening
Various pics and updates
This video is a quick glance into a mid November morning at Playa Guiones:
November is my favorite month because as the heavy rains fade away, the water clears up and the offshore winds start to kick in. Plus the trees are still green and the foliage is pretty amazing so we get to enjoy both seasons.
As you can see in the video above, the water is getting more clear and the winds are starting to turn offshore. We haven’t had epic surf just yet but we know it is on the way.
The crowds are on their way in too as of Thanksgiving… But it has been a pretty good month so far except for the dust.
Remember to get to the Nosara Music Festival this Friday! This is going to be a good one plus it is a community benefit show so please spread the word.
December 3rd 9:30am at Marlin Bill’s is the annual community meeting for the Nosara Security Association. Please attend if you’re in town because this is an election year. I’m resigning as president and am nominating Mariju Rovira as my replacement. She is the best person for this job and I hope you will vote for her on December 3rd.
Lots of podcasts coming out soon and all kinds of good things going on. Be careful everyone if you’re traveling over the holidays and I’m looking forward to seeing you in the water. Here’s some various pictures from throughout this month:
La versión corta de este podcast tiene subtítulos en español disponibles.
Growth brings pain but pleasure all at the same time. As you will hear in this podcast, Diego Cruz knows this well.
Diego is an entrepreneur from San Jose who made Nosara his home 11 years ago. He claims to suffer from a self described affliction called ‘little guy syndrome’ and believes you reap what you sow while describing karma as a motivating force in his overall, highly pleasant demeanor.
In years past, Diego used to be fiery and argue frequently. He still does sometimes, but now as a business owner and constant local at main break Guiones he’s decidedly more generous with smiles and wave-sharing capacity.
In this podcast Diego explains how this happened and why. He candidly explains how both Guiones Brew Co. and his restaurant Olivia’s came about as well and it is an interesting story.
As you will hear, he states living in Guiones has changed him from a boy into a man and he is forever grateful for his current life and surroundings. However, it was not always this way.
Check out the podcast and give his businesses a try. He’s a good man and I’m happy to call him a friend!
Most everyone around Guiones has already noticed the influx of a new brand of surfboard many of the locals are starting to ride… Storm Surfboards shaped by ‘Wild Bill’ who is originally from Florida. Bill is not someone you automatically assume to be a talented shaper when you first talk to him. He is actually pretty shy at the very first part of your relationship, but once you get to know him and he finds out your passionate about surfboards then he completely opens up. Bill is not your ordinary shaper by any means. He does not care about aesthetics or looking ‘cool’ per se or following the latest cutting edge board off some major manufacturer. Bill 100% understands functionality and fun are the main focus and builds boards for people accordingly.
Bill moved to Costa Rica full time a couple years ago but stayed very quiet about his shaping prowess until he learned the town, it’s people and the waves. Over the past 6 months or so he’s been dropping boards in the hands of local Tico’s in Guiones then on over to some of us gringos. The proof is in the waves as some locals like Chico Lopez have seen significant improvement since becoming a Storm board rider.
Several other folks are joining as well:
Luigi from Nosara Tico Surf School
Steven N is always ripping
Mr. Federico Prisco all the way from Italy is on a Storm now!
After becoming friends with Bill he asked me why he only saw me riding longboards in Guiones. I explained to him how I truly love riding shortboards but I have an extreme dislike of sinking or riding a shortboard in waves which you can not actually perform (AKA Guiones 90+% of the time if you’re 6’3″ and well over 200 pounds). Bill asked me if I’d try one of his boards out if he shaped me one and explained how he had a shape in mind he thought would work for me. Of course I happily obliged and jokingly said I’d love to find a ‘daily’ shortboard for Guiones style waves (soft and crowded). This is especially applicable for Guiones’ rainy season (May – Oct) when the waves are too choppy and not clean enough to really enjoy noseriding but they do have some more power and with the right timing and equipment some good wakata’s (Guiones slang for off the lip) and turns can be had.
At this point I thought Bill was a nice guy and all but by no means did I expect to truly love the board and ride it the majority of the time. As I type this towards the end of October 2018 I’ve only been riding my Storm for the past 60 days or so. Bill shaped me a fish with a quad fin set up I 100% did not expect to work… But it did.
This was my first real turn on a Storm
I love 360’s. I only land them some of the time, but I always have fun trying.
If you’re interested in getting a custom shaped board from Bill I strongly recommend it. He is truly doing it for the love of it and enjoys the happiness his shapes bring far more than any monetary value. That being said… Always support your local shapers!!!
You can check out a couple waves from Chico Lopez, Nelson Acosta, and myself riding a Storm from a rare sunny day early October 2018:
Marco Pacheco is a Costa Rican surfer and shaper based out of Tamarindo. He’s made a couple different boards for me and I know he shapes for some of the other guys around here in Nosara like Seekret Spot Gelato Steffano, Secret Spot Fishing & Surf tours Vibert & Prove Nothing Zacc. The first board he made me is the green SUP in the lead in photo which I’ve ridden lots of different places in Costa Rica. I wanted something I could paddle to the outer reefs in our area with but still turn and noseride some. Marco didn’t want to put in a ‘sissy handle’ as he calls it and, to my initial surprise, wanted to utilize a quad setup. I quickly learned Marco has a very interesting take on fins, boards, and life in general.
Marco moves to his own rhythm and makes cool stuff happen. This is my favorite photo of him. He’s riding switchstance on a nice little Right at Boca Barranca… Which happens to be very, very long Left and Marco’s a goofy foot. Marco’s never been one for conformity 🙂
The great thing about having a local shaper who knows the specific wave(s) you surf is they can build it specifically for you and what you need. Furthermore, if you’re like me and you fluctuate in weight a bunch it makes things very different for board performance. I’m pretty heavy at the moment so I asked Marco to make me my ‘Fat guy Guiones’ board and the only thing I asked was that it fit the wave style at Guiones… That’s just what Marco did for me on this one. This one ended up being a 10’9 with Marco’s hatchet fin system.
Marco is putting the finishing touches on ‘Big Red’
Here’s a couple of Rich giving Big Red a go at Playa Guiones:
Sorry for the leash Marco, it was crowded and I’m out of shape right now 🙂
I spend a good amount of time on Red dodging crowds while looking for noseride opportunities and linking up the outside to inside sections in Playa Guiones.
I’ve actually taken this one into some barrels too and ridden a bit. I don’t have pictures of many but I remember riding in this one for a little while. I was very surprised how it handled in the tube. It can handle speed and hold a rail pretty good.
A rare Guiones section big enough to fit Big Red for a little cover up
One of my favorite things about Marco is he’s always trying to help people out when he can. The lastest example of this is his project “Building Cundino’s Wall” which you can contribute to at Go Fund Me. Cundino is one of the original Costa Rican surfers who lives right at the point at Boca Barranca. If you’ve been there you probably have already met him. He is a classic guy and his location is worthy of being honored especially after all it has given to Costa Rica and those of us who surf here. Costa Rican surfing was born right in front of his house and Marco is trying to help keep this spot alive for Cundino and future generations.
One section of the wall needing repair
Although our backgrounds and life experiences are extremely different, both Marco and I share a love for surfing and experimentation in riding waves. For this I am extremely grateful. Hopefully you get a chance to connect with him at some point and enjoy his wealth of knowledge not only in surfboards but participating in the ocean and giving back to others.
