Tag: Surfboards

Pao Barrera details purpose of the Triple Crown of Surf Nosara hosted by Asociacion de Surf Nosara + ideas on how to help

Long time friend Pao Barrera dropped in for her first Nosara Podcast episode to explain the purpose & intentions for Triple Crown of Surf Nosara contests plus explain how & why the Asociacion de Surf Nosara is asking for support from the local community & visitors.

Pao is pleasure to be around, and it is fun to see her growing family evolve while she continues to be a pillar in the community.

She serves as vice president for the Asociacion de Surf Nosara & their main objective is to unite people through surfing to make a difference in the community for a greater good.

They are paying prize $ to winners plus they are getting local children involved in the festivities. They are asking for people to come join in on the fun plus consider anything and everything from financial to gift donations which may help serve as prizes & or benefit local kids. Some local leaders of the surf community are assisting Dreamcatchers Foundation on a regular basis & overall the Asociacion is committed to uniting the community through surfing.

*There’s several ‘Rich rants’ in this episode pertaining to community items; especially about empowering the local Tico populace with the education and skill set systems to acquire higher end jobs and own their own successful businesses and become the future.

Personally I am growing quite tired of people directing anger & frustration about Nosara’s challenges without being part of a solution. Being upset or angry is OK, but direct it to the right direction… The Asociacion de Surf Nosara is doing this & it has my attention a great deal.

The Asociacion de Surf Nosara is happy for anyone & everyone to help any number of ways ranging from financial assistance to used surfboards, games for kids, and even just some ideas &/or helping local kids learn to surf are super appreciated as Pao explains in this episode.

Per usual, I ask 3 favorite restaurants question of Pao plus a bunch more.

If you’re in town get to the contest to participate or just cheer on the folks involved. Shout out to all sponsors and everyone involved looking to help for a greater good.

August 14, 2024
Alvaro ‘Medio Kilo’ Avila

Estamos muy felices por este episodio con un buen surfista y un buen hombre… ¡Disfruta este introducción a Medio Kilo!

September 18, 2023
A New Surfboard Shaper is in Playa Guiones, Nosara: Storm Surfboards

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:

October 23, 2018
Marco Pacheco – A Costa Rican Original

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.

August 17, 2018