iRide
Zaskoda’s Snowboarding Journal

I took off for a week to surf in Sayulita, Mexico. I had a great time and vastly improved my surf skills. It’s not hard to improve when you’re a noob like me. I now better understand the proper technique for paddling and can stay out in the water much longer than I could before. I also learned that I was popping up onto the board entirely wrong. I was popping up way too late and not very smoothly. I practiced popping up long and hard, but still need to work on it a lot. Some day, I think I might actually become a surfer.

I arrived back in Colorado late yesterday afternoon. The weather was reporting snow in the mountains so I was stoked about riding today. However, much to my surprise, the A-Basin website isn’t reporting any new snow. With everything I need to get done now that I’m back in town, I decided to pass on boarding today. I think more snow is suppose to fall tonight, but I’ve got a 2:00 conference call tomorrow. No matter how hard I try, life still gets in the way of living.

While checking the snow report, I noticed that A-Basin closed their back bowls. I suppose it is getting late in the season, but it still made me sad. It really is coming to an end. I learned so much this season and I was just starting to figure some things out. I suppose there’s always next season!

I’ve noticed a lot of referrals in my logs coming from folks searching Google for “When is the Sayulita Surf Season” or similar text. I haven’t been there a full year myself, but I asked the locals about it while I was there. The season starts around early October and ends around late May. That’s the window when the best waves are likely to happen. They tell me that smaller waves still continue to kick up year round and there’s potentially good surf in the summer months. Post spring break (mid to late May) is a good time to go as the winter-only residents have left to avoid the spring break rush, the spring breakers have all gone home, and the waves are still ridable. In fact, the photo attached was from our trip taken at the end of last May. Thanks to Velzy for snapping a picture of me attempting to catch a little roller. =D

A little while back I talked about my surfing history. There’s not much to it. This last trip was my third real surf trip. I only rode a few waves on my first trip, which was also to Sayulita. I didn’t completely stand on any waves my second trip. That second trip was to Santa Cruz, which is far more challenging than Sayulita. Going back to Sayulita, my confidence was strong because not only were the waves easier to ride - but I was also familiar with them.

In just two days, I got a lot of good rides in. I rode a 10′ board most of the first day and an 8′ 6″ board most of the second day. The 10′ was much easier to sit on and to paddle on; but the 8′ 6″ was easier to control once I was standing up and generally speaking - more fun to ride.

For the first time, I kind of feel like a ‘real’ surfer! I’m not sure how to describe the difference. In a nutshell, I know I can catch a wave now. I’ve got so much to learn, but I’ve got a handle on the basics now. I have no idea how long it will be before I can ride again, hopefully not long.

Beyond surfing, Sayulita was a good time. Good friends, good food, and lots to see and do. I see lots of trips to Sayulita in my future.

I’m slowly starting to like surfing. So much so, I’ve created a surfing category here on iRide. I’m about to go on my third ‘real’ trip. Tomorrow I get on a plane headed for Sayulita Mexico. We’ll only get two good days of surfing in before we have to come back. We will, however, be right on the beach. Last time we went, it was just before the season started. The place was under populated and the waves were just starting to kick up. This time, we’re going late in the season. I’ve read that by now, most of the summer sitters have gone home to avoid spring breakers and most of the spring breakers have come and gone… making this a great time to vacation there. It’s also still the surf season so we should get even better waves than we got before. Honestly, that spooks me a bit. I’m still not very good at this surfing thing so I like the little tiny baby waves! Sure, laugh at me now… Unless you’ve tried surfing, I can almost guarantee that you underestimate the amount of weight and force behind those waves. The big wave surfing you see on television is simply insane. Anyway, I can’t wait to get back to Sayulita. It was blowing up (in terms of growth) when we were there before. I’m curious how much it’s grown. Since I have so many great photos from the last trip, I posted a bit of a montage. If you wanna see more, I’ve got a photo album posted here… (that is, until we redesign the site and break all the urls)

I think it was about 2003. I was at a friend’s house when her sister from California arrived. I was a snowboarder. She was a surfer girl from Santa Cruz. I didn’t realize it, but I’d just met my surf instructor.

We’ve gone on surfing trips together a total of four times now. The first trip was to South Padre Island. We brought a dog and camped on the beach. The waves were small, but I managed to stand on one and ride it. Our second trip was to the same location; only this time, it was during hurricane Katrina. The waves were very sloppy and I was never able to catch one. Still, I had a lot of fun splashing around in the water. These two trips taught me an important lesson about surfing - paddling is a lot of work.

I want to talk about paddling for just a moment. First of all, it’s about technique - just like snowboarding. Before you learn to properly carve, you spend a lot of time fighting the mountain. Even once you have the technique, you’ll tire yourself if you’re afraid to ride at high speeds. Once you develop a better technique, you can ride much longer without wearing out. That’s exactly how paddling is. The more you learn to keep your balance, not fight the ocean, and steady your pace - the longer you can keep paddling. And if you’re learning to surf, you will be doing a lot of paddling.

Back to the story… My teacher decided I was ready for a real surf trip, so we filled a couple of backpacks and headed to Sayulita, Mexico. This was my first ‘good waves’ experience. Mind you, the waves were no more than a couple of feet high. I struggled with my paddling. I couldn’t keep a good balance on a glass board and I could barely push through incoming waves on a floaty soft top. Somehow, I managed to ride a few waves before the trip came to an end. My favorite was a wave that rolled me without losing me; I managed to get back onto the board while still being pushed by the wave. I even stood up. You’d be surprised how hard standing up can be!

Most recently, my teacher took me to her home town of Santa Cruz. Suddenly, everything I thought I’d learned changed. First, the water was cold (~54 F) so I had to wear a wet suit. Between the cold water conditions and the extra weight of the suit, my paddling arms gave out easily. The first day she took me to the beginner’s break called Cowell’s. I was a newbie among many. I road her Velzy Surftech. It was huge (10′), like a small island; and it seemed unsinkable. The waves were good, but a bit mooshy and choppy. They were also bigger and meaner than anything I’d ever tried to catch. These puppies got up to three feet tall! I never stood up. I never successfully caught one. Mostly, I was pearling on that uber-floaty board. She was riding a smaller, lighter board - and I was trying to copy her. I should have been riding further back while trying to paddle in. Still, I had fun.

For our last two days in Santa Cruz, she took me to her favorite spot - Pleasure Point (38th street). This was not a beginner area. Some of these waves were being beautifully ridden. They were bumping up as much as six feet tall. Still, there were a handful of beginners there. We hung with them over on the shoulder, where the waves were much smaller. The waves were bigger and faster, but they were cleaner. I caught several, but stood on none. The first time I tried to stand, my arms gave out. They were so worn from paddling, I couldn’t lift my body. Another time I stood and was on my way up when my foot slipped. I laughed as I fell back into the water. Finally, my best ride of the trip came when I only managed to get to my knees while popping up. I went ahead and rode the wave for a while, kneeling down.

I’m finding learning to surf to be very challenging. I see my teacher catching wave after wave, and I start to get discouraged. However, catching a little bit of a ride is a huge rush and fills me with enough energy to paddle out for another attempt. I’m contemplating another trip back to Sayulita. It would be the first time I stepped down to a smaller wave. Maybe I’ll find myself more confident?

I can’t thank my teacher enough. I don’t see myself snowboarding forever. In fact, I can see another 10 years of good riding and then I’ll probably start to back off. By then, I should be just about finished with the hard landings and big bounces. From there, I see myself growing old in the ocean. Surfing requires a lot of physical fitness; however, it doesn’t tend to bruise you the same way. Getting worked in the ocean is rough, but at least your not landing head first on hard packed snow and ice. That’s the future I see; but who knows where life will take me.

Snowboarding is my first love. Somewhere behind that, I’ve found an appreciation in surfing; and that’s how I spent my Easter holiday. Me and Velzy flew out to San Fransisco, rented a car, and drove down to Santa Cruz. This is a special place to her. While it’s not the only place she’s lived; when someone asks her where she’s from, she says Santa Cruz. I know now why she loves it so much. It’s not just the breath taking views and fantastic weather. The people I met in Santa Cruz were wonderful. The vibe and energy are unlike any other place I’ve been. We surfed for three days - Cowells once and Pleasure Point twice. We saw the mystery spot. We ate sushi at Pink Godzilla. I bought a pair of sandals at O’Neill’s Surf Shop. We checked out the Santa Cruz Surf Museum. I saw an otter play and seals sunning on rocks. Our hotel made us fresh cookies and brownies. It was good times. I’ll be back.