Cabarete, Dominican Republic

[kookRachelle]

I finally discovered how it feels to paddle out far enough to get a ride that's longer than 5 seconds! DR was fun, and apparently even better in February. I woke up at 6:00 every morning for dawn patrol and it was beautiful! Encuentro (Cabarete/Sosua area) has a lot of different points suitable for beginners, intermediates and advanced surfers (Coco Pipe!) alike. I also checked out Playa Grande in Rio San Juan which has a nasty shore dump that I was not going near on a board (I did body surf it which was fun). Overall it improved my confidence as the reef and point breaks gave me more time to get up and actually ride down the line. I also turned (like a spaz) which was great! Feeling the wave's energy and getting back into a section when you start to slow down has got to be one of the best feelings in the world! I've still got a lot to work on, but a lot to be proud of as well.

Encuentro:

[kookRachelle]

Look at this pro!:

(be kind, I know my legs are a little wide here)

[kookRachelle]

a few others...

(this is La Playa Grande - looked fun but nasty shore dump)

(lots of kites in Cabarete because the wind really picks up on the shore in the afternoon)

(so many random dogs, chickens, ducks and yes, peacocks on the beach)

(went on a little scooter adventure to explore some other local spots)

[oldmansurfer]

Awesome! DR looks just like Kauai except for the thatched roof house which we haven't had in a long long time. longer rides are better for learning to surf. Shorter rides are better for learning the waves.

[kookRachelle]

longer rides are better for learning to surf. Shorter rides are better for learning the waves.

I get that 100% now, absolutely!

[RinkyDink]

Looks like you're surfing well to me. It really helps to go out in uncrowded waves where you don't really have to worry about who is on your right or left, and you can focus on nailing your popups, looking where you want to go, angling your takeoffs, etc. Congrats! How was the island as far as the effects of the hurricanes? Did you see a lot of signs of damage?

[kookRachelle]

Looks like you're surfing well to me. It really helps to go out in uncrowded waves where you don't really have to worry about who is on your right or left, and you can focus on nailing your popups, looking where you want to go, angling your takeoffs, etc. Congrats! How was the island as far as the effects of the hurricanes? Did you see a lot of signs of damage?

yep, Encuentro is huge and people were spaced apart very well. they had a peak for locals only that we stayed away from which I appreciated (and they did too I'm sure). just that guy on the boogie board near me - he was my biggest fan!

no damage whatsoever from what I could tell! It's definitely a third world country, even in the more touristy built up spots on the north coast, so it's hard to tell what is baseline and what is left over. I didn't see any ruined infrastructure though, and I ventured out of the touristy areas a bit too.

[jaffa1949]

Nice and thank you for sharing , improving each time

[oldmansurfer]

The width of your stance looks ok to me but maybe should have your shoulders rotated so you are facing more forward

[RinkyDink]

Look at this pro!:

(be kind, I know my legs are a little wide here)

Picture 1: Looks like you slid down the ramp of the wave and now you're in the flat water of the trough. The energy of the wave is behind you so you're essentially waiting for the wave's energy to catch up to you.

Picture 2: The front of your board is rising up out of the water because you're basically standing on flat water now (no gravity to slide you in a specific direction). In other words, you're no longer on the slope of the wave and your forward momentum is dying down. The front of your board is rising because most of your weight is on your back foot. (I think that's normal for anybody standing on the flats of water.)

Picture 3: The wave is catching up to you again. The first part of your board that the wave is going to make contact with is the tail. As the ramp/slope of the wave (I think of waves as ramps that move across water) reaches your board's tail it will lift it up. So now you can see that the nose of your board is lowering back down to the waterline.

Picture 4: Looks like you're trying to trim into a turn. You can see you're shifting your weight (trimming your board) so the rail behind you is dunking down in the water and the other rail is rising up out of the water.

Picture 5: The wave is catching up to you again.

Picture 6: The splash of water you threw with that turn has caught the eye of a boogie boarder.

Picture 7: The boogie boarder behind you is thinking, "I wish I could pull off a layback hack like that."

By the way, lucky you . . . you're a goofy footer. (I think there are better waves out in the world for goofy footers than there are for regular footers, but that's just my opinion.) You might want to think about making your next surf trip to Chicama.

[kookRachelle]

Amazing, thank you so much for the frame by frame analysis! That was helpful and so spot on... not to mention hilarious

The very last pic which I didn’t post showed me putting too much pressure on the backside rail and it slowed me down again. I sort of recovered by shifting back but never quite got in that sweet spot again. Oh well. It was still a nice long Christmas wave for me!

[dtc]

My quick tips: (along the lines of old man) - when going straight (ie not turning), try to keep your front hand on the right side of your body ie don’t have both hands sticking out in front of you. If you stick them both out, then to balance yourself you need to stick your butt out further, and you aren’t really balanced, just wobbling between two wide spread points (hands and butt). Hands stay on the side of the board they started on when you were laying down. This will rotate your shoulders around more to the front and even out your stance

Other tip: I think you are trying to turn to your right (backside turn). However your front hand is still pointing to the left. Point to where you want to go.

Both of these are very standard ‘errors’ at your level so don’t feel too kooky You just need to keep them in mind.

I saw your other post re everyone else at the camp being a beginner. I heard an interview with the guy who founded the surf simply camp, who said the motivation for his camp was to deal with the huge gap between absolute beginners and high level competition surfers. For some reason surfers in ‘the middle’ aren’t coached and at times don’t even seem to think they need coaching - they will learn through doing

Anyway, given how popular his camp is, he is probably right about targeting that gap

[saltydog]

Seems like you had a blast there! As a goofy footer myself I can say that it really helps to learn to shift your weight along the stringer and not let the butt stick out too far from the middle of the body.

[Big H]

Now you just need to go up to Washington Heights for a little cultural refresher......did you go around outside the resort at all? I was there for two weeks as a teenager building housing during the day (volunteer) and dancing merengue at night (non voluntarily at first but had some strong persuading) and had the time of my life.

[kookRachelle]

My quick tips: (along the lines of old man) - when going straight (ie not turning), try to keep your front hand on the right side of your body ie don’t have both hands sticking out in front of you. If you stick them both out, then to balance yourself you need to stick your butt out further, and you aren’t really balanced, just wobbling between two wide spread points (hands and butt). Hands stay on the side of the board they started on when you were laying down. This will rotate your shoulders around more to the front and even out your stance

Other tip: I think you are trying to turn to your right (backside turn). However your front hand is still pointing to the left. Point to where you want to go.

Both of these are very standard ‘errors’ at your level so don’t feel too kooky You just need to keep them in mind.

I saw your other post re everyone else at the camp being a beginner. I heard an interview with the guy who founded the surf simply camp, who said the motivation for his camp was to deal with the huge gap between absolute beginners and high level competition surfers. For some reason surfers in ‘the middle’ aren’t coached and at times don’t even seem to think they need coaching - they will learn through doing

Anyway, given how popular his camp is, he is probably right about targeting that gap

Point well taken regarding the shoulders! I was landing my take offs and pop ups fine (well, more often than not) so I started trying to turn, if even in the white water just to turn the board around and lay on it to paddle back out. I definitely had my hands in front and butt sticking out a bit.

my hands never stayed to the sides and my shoulders were never forward, but I can see how it helps with balance when you're not turning!

I was really trying to throw my hands and shoulders to turn, but it makes sense that that approach is way more effective when starting out in a more neutral position.

really cool, thank you all!

I didn't even consider Costa Rica this time because of the length of the flight, but I poked around looking at Simply Surf and really really appreciate the teaching approach! It's more of what I was expecting and then some, so exactly what I'm looking for, thanks! It's really pricey but I'd definitely be open to it, considering the focus on very specific teaching tailored to the level of surfer you are.

I don't want to sound like an @ss, especially since this one instructor was super cool and nice, but I found out he became an instructor via a 12 week course in Morocco just this past spring sooo..... that was a little strange. Thankfully I had a local guy who actually competes and definitely knew what he was talking about.

[kookRachelle]

Seems like you had a blast there! As a goofy footer myself I can say that it really helps to learn to shift your weight along the stringer and not let the butt stick out too far from the middle of the body.

yeah, for sure! the best piece of advice I got was to shift the weight of my back foot to the arch - that helped me tremendously in balancing and adjusting my stance in time!

[kookRachelle]

Now you just need to go up to Washington Heights for a little cultural refresher......did you go around outside the resort at all? I was there for two weeks as a teenager building housing during the day (volunteer) and dancing merengue at night (non voluntarily at first but had some strong persuading) and had the time of my life.

I live on the Upper West Side and work in Washington Heights so no cultural refresher needed!

Yeah, I'm a big explorer when I travel, I can't just sit next to the pool. The first day I was there I explored Cabarete completely by foot for about 3 hours. The second day we (went with a friend) walked about 5K down the beach to a "secret" cove we found and swam and body surfed. On Saturday we rented a scooter and explored Sosua to the west, and on Sunday we ventured further out with the scooter about an hour east to Rio San Juan which was great!

Your experience sounds fun - were you on the north coast or more near the capital? I wanted to go out almost every night but was always fast asleep by 9pm due to being thoroughly wiped and having to wake up early for the first session! But like I told my friend, I live in NYC so the nightlife everywhere else is just bound to be a disappointment (not really, but I tell myself that to feel better)! The latest night was dinner and drinks until about 11pm and I even paid for that the next morning.

[kookRachelle]

You might want to think about making your next surf trip to Chicama.

The point I was at on Encuentro had a lot of A frames and strangely enough, I felt equally (un)comfortable on rights as I did on lefts! I don't know if it's because I snowboard and am more comfortable on my heel edge or what. But yeah, I'd love to check out Chicama regardless!! Have you been?

[dtc]

I think surf simply is booked out until 2019 so you have time to save ...

But check out their ‘poo stance’ video - that first photo (of your 5.34 post) you can see your knees are pointing away from each other. That’s another ‘symptom’ of both hands being in front - it’s much harder to do with one hand on either side

Or this article

https://kookbitches.com/2016/04/03/push-the-bush/

[RinkyDink]

But yeah, I'd love to check out Chicama regardless!! Have you been?

I've never been there. I'd love to spend a week there improving my backside surfing. It doesn't matter though because I'd exchange my Chicama ticket for a Lance's Right ticket if I had the choice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_iGk9JcBWQ