Surf Talk Guru

When the surf’s no good and you want to get out in the water, a fun option is to rent a sit-on-top ocean kayak. You can take the kayak in the ocean, of course, but only on a calm day. During the winter, or on stormy days, you can explore up the bays, sloughs, creeks, and rivers.

It’s a great activity for people of all ages and athletic abilities. Kayaking gets you more up close and personal with wildlife in their natural habitat than most people ever get. Renting ocean kayaks and exploring is a cheap activity for entertaining out-of-town guests or for a date! It’s definitely something your friends will never forget!

There aren’t too many surf camps available for beginners in Oregon. Here is a run-down of what we do have in the way of surf schools.

Oregon Surf Adventures in Seaside, OR–provides Surf camps for Women, Co-ed Adults, Teens and Kids. 2 day camps $299, 4 day camps $575, Camps run June through September

Northwest Women’s Surf Camps in Seaside, OR–offers Day and Weekend Surf Camp options to experience surfing. Day camps run $225-$250, Weekend camps are $398 + lodging. Camps run June through September.

Oregon Surf School in Newport, OR–specializes in group classes, schools & lessons. Surf school includes 3 days of surfing w/instruction ONLY $99.00! and runs March-September.

The upcoming forecast is for big surf and big wind. No good for paddle or tow surfing. But a 6 hour drive will put you in completely different conditions. Northern California surf will be cleaner and smaller further away from the storm. Santa Cruz, especially, will have peelers off their many points.

A good book to guide you on Northern California excursions is Surfing California by Bank Wright. It’s a comprehensive list of surf spots, what they require, and what to watch out for from border to border.

The ever-popular and ever-improving line of Xcel wetsuits and surf accessories will be coming out with a new Spring 2010 line soon. That means that the current stock of Fall 2009 will be going on sale to make room for new inventory.

The latest versions of Infinitis, Drylocks, and X-Zips will be interesting to check out. Keep an eye out for price drops at your local surf shop and take advantage of a good price on a great wetsuit.

If know of a beginning surfer, let them know about Surf School. They can buy a session in advance to reserve their spot in the spring or summer session. They’ll have something to look forward to all winter and they’ll treasure the memories forever.

Each session of “Oregon Surf School” includes 3 surf lessons with instruction and all the equipment you need included! Ossies will select the equipment for you from a full size run of mens, womens & kids high quality rental wetsuit, boots, and surfboards. All you need to do is show up with a positive attitude and be ready to have a great time learning how to surf in Oregon.

Each Oregon Surf School Session will be made up of groups of 8 – 15 beginning surfers from ages 9 to 99. All surf instructors are first aid/CPR certified and ready to help you have a great time learning to surf this summer! $99 per person includes use of wetsuit, boots, hood, surfboard and instructors in group setting of 8-15 students for 2 hours per day, for three days. Classes run from 10:30am-12:30pm daily unless otherwise noted.

Sign your recpient up for either a Spring Break session in March or one of 12 sessions running June through September!

Part of the reason for Xcel wetsuits’ popularity is their 100% stretch status. When your suit is stretchier, your surfing performance and ease of use of the suit is better.

Many other wetsuits only have stretch panels in the shoulders, back, underarms, arms, crotch, and knee areas. Wetsuit manufacturers focus on these panels as the stretchy parts, and use standard not-as-stretchy neoprene for the rest of the suit. But Xcel puts the stretch in all areas of the suit, making easier to put on, take off, and surf in.