Surfing Etiquette: What To Do When You Ding Someone Else's Surfboard

Ironically, just last week I posted the "How To Fix A Ding On The Rail Of Your Surfboard" video, and then today I got run over by someone surfing in the water and now I have a nice big ding in the rail of my board. It was just tragic. There were plenty of waves, I had only been out for about 45 minutes and I was going to make it one of those 3+ hour surf-until-sunset afternoons. That was until I was paddling out and this guy I didn't know falls on a wave in front of me and almost takes my head off. I ducked out of the way, but my board received a huge gash in the rail. What a bummer!

The worst part was the guy's attitude about the whole thing. He was like "oh well that's your problem" while I was more like "buddy, you need to throw down some cash to help pay to fix this board." He was a tourist and probably just passing through town. He definitely didn't seem to believe in karma. Maybe he didn't know what the "rule" was. Is there a rule? Well, if there isn't, it could goes something like this:

SURFING ETIQUETTE: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DING SOMEONE ELSE'S SURFBOARD

Its your fault, you must pay for the repair.

- you ran someone over because you were out of control

- your leash broke and the board subsequently ran somebody over and damaged their board

- you ditched your board when a big set came and it hit the person behind you

- you ran over someone's surfboard in the parking lot

Both of us are to blame, we should share the cost of the repair.

- If we're both surfing and we run into each other, oops.

- If I was caught inside but trying to get out of the way and you accidentally ran me over (or vice versa), oops.

You get the idea. Accidents do happen. Don't just paddle away and tell the other person to go screw themselves. That is bad karma. The surfing world is very small, and chances are that we share some of the same friends. Help pay to fix the surfboard and consider it an investment in your surfing karma future. Most dings normally only cost around $30-$40, a little more if they are on the nose or tail, or if fins are involved.

How To Fix A Ding On Your Surfboard - a WRSC How-To Video Series

Many people think that fixing a surfboard ding is rocket science, but it isn't. Ding repair is a craft that many surfers should learn at some point in their life. What if you're surfing on a remote tropical island and the reef puts big dings in your favorite board? Or the airline drives their luggage car over your surfboard bag? Don't worry, with some basic materials and tools you can do your own board repairs!

Watch this video to learn how to fix a ding in your surfboard:

Ding Repair Supplies:

- resin

- catalyst

- acetone

- fiberglass cloth

- sandpaper

- scissors

- tape

- mixing sticks

- mixing cups

- razor blades

- paint brush

- respirator mask

Fixing your surfboard isn't a race, unless its your only surfboard and the waves are firing! Enjoy the opportunity working with your hands to fix the single item that gives you so much joy in the water. Let us know how your surfboard repairs are going. If you have any photos you can post them on the WRSC facebook page.

Witch's Rock Pirate Radio is now LIVE!

Witch's Rock Pirate Radio

BOOKMARK THIS LINK:

http://www.loudcaster.com/channels/381-witch-s-rock-pirate-radio-surf

This Internet radio station is brought to you by your good friends at Witch's Rock Surf Camp. Let us help you make it through your stack of cubicle TPS Reports or daily traffic jam grind!

Right now you can tune in by clicking here and the audio player will stream in a separate browser window. Good music and updated surf reports from Tamarindo, Costa Rica will play 24/7, all you need is a PC or a Mac. You can even tune in on your iPhone, Droid, or other smart phone with any internet connection!

GREAT MUSIC

Witch's Rock Pirate Radio is a collection of good songs from various WRSC staff and guests. I started by uploading tons of tracks that I always listen to with my headphones, others did the same. Music genres span old school punk, alternative, reggae, classic rock, folk, hip hop, blues and more. It really is a great mix and is getting better every day. Do you have a song/album you'd like us to play? Let us know and we'll add it to the playlist.

SURF REPORTS

I will be posting daily surf reports keeping you connected to whats happening in the water. For now I'm running a daily surf report message, but starting this next week we will go on-air with live "Man On The Sand" reports from out in front of Witch's Rock Surf Camp. This will get other surfers like Carlos Arias, Flash, Andres, and Rigo involved by giving more frequent updates and surf reports from multiple spots north and south of Tamarindo.

WHATS NEXT?

So far, we have a few hundred songs in rotation, but by the end of October we play on having a few thousand. We are working with Loudcaster to build an audio player that embeds in our website. We are in talks with 91.1 to host a Witch's Rock Pirate Radio weekly radio show on 91.1 FM in Costa Rica.

Since broadcasting live from Tamarindo, Costa Rica over the internet is technologically challenging, and since Costa Rica's internet is not predictable, there will be some bugs. We appreciate any feedback, simply put it in a blog comment, on facebook, or on the Witch's Rock Pirate Radio comment form: http://www.loudcaster.com/channels/381-witch-s-rock-pirate-radio-surf

Witch's Rock Pirate Radio: BLAST IT!

Intermediate Surfer - Guided Coaching - New Program at WRSC

If you're like most surfers, you don't fantasize about riding giants, you'd just like to surf better (or suck less). Let's face it, most of us are intermediates, happy to rip ripples.

Here at WRSC, we've helped turn scores of beginners into intermediate surfers through our surf school, much of the staff included. I fall squarely into that category myself; just trying to suck less. My goals are pretty earthbound--I'll be happy to improve my "old-man style", and judging by most of the folks in the lineup, I'm hardly alone.

Those of us lucky enough to live and work here get to surf with great instructors all the time, and the little tips they give us make a big difference. Knowing how valuable that coaching can be, we've created a new program for all of our guests who are at that level--somewhere in the middle.

Intermediate Guided Coaching:

This new program combines some elements of our more advanced surf tours, but offers coaching in and out of the water. With Guided Coaching, the group size remains small (three surfers with a guide) and travels to breaks outside Tamarindo by boat and van. The guideswork closely with each individual guest on the skills they need to move to a new level.

Go better right than left (or vice versa)? Want to improve your ability to read waves and pop up on steeper faces? Ready to try a smaller board? Or maybe you're ready for tips on landing a small floater or carving a big turn on the face of a wave?

Through a combination of in-water evaluation, video analysis, and seminars--not to mention all the natural advantages of warm tropical water and some of the most consistent waves in the world--we can help you progress to a whole new point in your surfing. Ready to get shacked in the barrel? Maybe you're closer than you think! Call us today at 1-888-318-SURF and inquire about dates for your next surfing vacation.

Pura Vida,

Yana

Green Season Means Cheap Flights to Costa Rica

When we get notified of cheap flights to Costa Rica we like to share the love!

www.spiritair.com

Currently Spirit Air is offering roundtrip flights for $201 (including tax!) for travelers during the rest of September. Guests must fly on the following dates: September 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 30. On the Spiritair.com website you'll find their "$36 + tax" one-way fare special, which is valid through today...

- click here to HEAR THE WRSC RADIO COMMERCIAL -

If you miss the Spirit Air special, we are finding plenty of $300 priced tickets to/from San Jose, Costa Rica for this month and through the month of October. $300 roundtrip to fly to Costa Rica is cheap! Plus, WRSC is offering 25% off of our normal rates if you book during the Green Season. And on top of that, if you book a large group trip to San Jose, Costa Rica, we can arrange for free shuttle transportation to/from Tamarindo (on select dates).

Call us with any questions at 1-888-318-SURF, we can tell you how the weather has been or what the surf is doing. Or feel free to use the comment form on this blog. Waves have been fun, the rainy season is a great time of year to experience a mellow Tamarindo with hardly anyone around, we hope to see you at Witch's Rock Surf Camp.

pura vida

Joe

Switchfoot Concert in San Jose, Costa Rica - Friday, September 10th

The surf is pretty small, and although it will hopefully be a little bigger this afternoon and tomorrow, by Sunday its probably going to only be about waist high. So.... with small surf... one considers what else one might want to spend one's time doing. I've got a suggestion.

Check out the band Switchfoot Friday, September 10th at Torre Gecko in San Jose, Costa Rica. You can buy tickets online at www.todoticketcr.com. If you haven't heard of Switchfoot before, they are a multi-platinum band from San Diego, California. I went to college with Chad Butler and brothers John and Tim Foreman, the founding members. We all surfed Blacks Beach and Chad and I surfed on the UCSD Surf Team together. Switchfoot is SURF ROCK all the way, and not to mention they are really good guys.

Here is a song off of Switchfoot's new album titled "Hello Hurricane", the song is called "The Sound", and the guy killing it is San Diego's Sean Mattison on one of his Von Sol Surfboards.

WHAT: Switchfoot concert

WHERE: Torre Gecko, Heredia, Costa Rica

WHEN: Friday, September 10, 2010

HOW: www.todoticketcr.com

see you at the show,

Joe Walsh

Hurricane Earl Surf Report

As many of you know, I love to travel and surf good waves. I can do both if I'm willing to have a flexible schedule. My friends and family joke about how "last minute" I make travel plans, but for me this means I can go where and when the waves are good.

Hurricane season can mean excellent surf along the eastern coast of the US, but you have to be ready to move at the drop of a hat if you want to score. According to the National Hurricane Center, hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th. When a hurricane strengthens and is on the move, waves can get big, and it happens quickly. Staying on top of the weather news is crucial, so thankfully we have the ever-improving Internet to help us out with this. I've found a couple of iPhone apps that help make last-minute travel to good surf a reality.

#1 iMapStorm app, $3.99

Last Wednesday morning I woke up in San Diego, checked the iMapStorm hurricane forecast app on my iPhone, and realized that Hurricane Earl was about to pelt the US East Coast starting the next day (September 2, 2010). Knowing that there was going to be surf, I needed to decide where the waves would be best.

#2 SwellInfo app, $2.99

This app is great for digesting surf forecasts quickly. You can save up to any five surf breaks and then scroll between them to see what surf break should be biggest and which ones will have the best wind. Its a great way to compare multiple spots and make the best decision on where to surf. I use this app all of the time while I'm in Costa Rica, Panama, and both US coasts.

My friends Patrick McNulty and David Levy (of LSD Surfboards) live in Narragansett, and since Rhode Island was supposed to get the swell the best I bought a $200 ticket to Providence. By Thursday morning I was surfing the increasing head-high swell that was caused by Hurricane Earl. Thank you iPhone apps! (yes I may be a nerd but I'm a surfing nerd)

A few weeks earlier David Levy had helped me shape my first board, a retro 6'4 single fin. I wanted a board for when the waves got bigger, something that held when it was really hollow or just plain big. Check out the early 80's template-

By Friday September 3rd the swell had filled in completely and Point Judith, Rhode Island was breaking a solid double overhead on the sets. It was my birthday, and as my present I got to wax up the single fin and paddle out and into some bombs. It had been a while since I had felt those "elevator drops" associated with dropping into a wave and watching the top of it jump up over your head and out of your peripheral vision. Even on my single fin I was a bit undergunned, but I had a handful of great waves with huge drops and fast sections that made my session.

Here's a video clip showing an average set. It got bigger than this later in the morning.

After 3 days the waves went flat. I flew out the next morning and almost felt bad like I just had a one night stand with Point Judith. The good news is that I can keep an eye on the storms and fly up there to visit her when the next BOMBING swell rolls through. I'm also stoked because I'm back in Tamarindo now and the waves here were firing all day, and the forecast for the week looks pretty good...

pura vida

Joe Walsh

founder of WRSC