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Posted by Rick Civelli | 11.22.2010 | WB Surf Camp News

The Search…for a bed

Not a bad view to wake up to…

 Part of the luxury of being a professional surfer and surf instructor is getting to go to amazing places, surf beautiful clear waters, and meet amazing people. I don’t lose sight of the fact that I am blessed by that. But often times, on a budget, and in order to make it work, you make small sacrifices and spend a small chunk of your time preparing and planning for the unseen. You assess the potential of each day and humbly depend on others for rides, among other things. So in my daypack I have a stash of dry goods, my pirate water bottle, a book, laptop, camera, wallet, phone, and surfboard. Oh yeah, and Scrat (the saber toothed squirrel from Ice Age to remind me of home and my beautiful incredible wife patiently waiting for me to return). At my home base I keep my extra clothes, boards, more books, power chargers, and camping pad in my board bag because I’m never quite sure where I’m going to be sleeping. And just like any surf trip sometimes it’s flat and you end up on the floor and sometimes you score and end up getting Mick Fanning’s (Current World Camp) room.      

Shredding

Shredding

 You see, the plan was to stay at this plush condo down in Rincon with some good friends from back home. They weren’t here when we (me and Brad Williams, the local Rip Curl rep) arrived, and so Rip Curl provided us a hotel room for our stay 15 minutes from the contest site and walking distance from another fun break. So I got a bed the first night. (Actually I slept on Kelly Richard’s (shaper of Perfection Surfboards) floor in Myrtle Beach the first night). Then another rep flew in and I put the sleeping pad to use for the second time. Unfortunately the AC blew 65 degrees and there was a lot of snoring involved.  

Much quieter

It’s much quieter here than at the Marriot, though I do miss the antics and fun of hanging out with the Rip Curl Office staff and the east coast surf shop contingency. They are a fun lively bunch, but it’s given some good down time for reading, thinking, contemplation about life, and the chance to dawn patrol on my alaia the past couple of mornings.   

 
 
 

Comida (food) on a budget!

My team manager then informed me he had a spot open because Mick had moved to the Marriot for one reason or another. So I packed up, moved down to the beach, once again had my own bed, a private break out front, breakfast with Fred Hemmings (Hawaiian State Senator) discussing gyres and Midway Atoll, and the rest of the Rip Curl team in the villas around me. AWESOME!! Frothing!!!

The surf here is pretty consistent with tons of breaks within about 15 or twenty minutes of each other. Some are hidden and some you drive by and see from the road. The northwest corner of Puerto Rico is pretty unique as it picks up swells from anywhere between NE and NW. The majority of swell we’ve seen has been NE and the trade winds are typically east so the more the west side gets swell, the more offshore and clean the conditions are. So in choosing a surf spot you weigh size and cleanliness. To make things more interesting Hurricane Tomas is currently spinning just south of us right now. So bands of thunderstorms have already been passing by periodically, the wind is howling and the swell is now coming from the SE…aka the other side of the island. To Search or not to Search…either way I’ve got a bed here and the ocean off my doorstep. If it goes flat, I’ve got my free diving gear!

Searching through the keyhole

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