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ocean

September 20 2017

How to read waves?

Zoltán Bakró Costa da Caparica, Portugal, Sports, Surfing Costa da Caparica, guesthouse, Lisbon, ocean, surf guiding, surf lesson, surf lessons, surf teaching, surfhouse, surfing, szörf oktatás, themagnetprojects

Reading the ocean

Today’s blog entry is with the aim of helping you reading waves and have good orientation in the water.

After spending our first summer in Portugal and teaching all levels in the waves of Caparica, I can tell that the biggest challenge for my students has been the reading of waves.

If you know the feeling of nosediving because the wave broke on you or you just couldn’t manage to catch a wave because you were sitting too far out, this article is for you.

Nosedive — Nosediiiiiive… Happened to you as well before, right?

Here are the major points to become a better wave-reader:

Initial tips:

-> Look at the horizon
-> When you see a set approaching, compare the horizon with the wave’s line.
-> Find the highest point of the wave, this is where the wave starts breaking.
-> The side with the steepest angle/slope down is the direction of the breaking wave.
-> The direction of the breaking wave is the direction of your ride.

Set — Waves come in sets… Try not to take the first one, the ones after usually have better potential.

Personal advice:

– Practice makes perfect, so be patient. You will learn by trial and error, you’ll make mistakes, misread waves but don’t give up, progress will come.

– Observe: Before you get in the water, watch some sets from the beach, so you can identify which are the biggest waves on the given day. Also watch, how far left/right and how far in/out the waves are breaking. Imagine an X-Y axis along which you will be moving – pretty much all the time.

– Try to be in motion all the time. The first couple of times you will feel like that your arms are falling off, it is going to be really tiring, but after a while you will get used to it and you can get to the breaking point of the wave at the right time.

– Find a landmark -> pick a fixed orientation point at the beach (buildings, poles, trashcans, trees), anything that will still be there in 1 hour. Compare this point with the position of the breaking waves and try to position yourself at the same line.

– Watch and learn: try to follow more experienced surfers to get a faster reaction. Start moving when they start paddling, he probably sees that a new set is approaching.

– Again, be patient! Try not to take the first wave of the set, because it is always smaller than the others after. 3 is the magic number, in my experience the 3rd wave of the set is almost always a really good choice.

– And the most important: smile and be grateful – if you catch one at the right place and time, you’ll be the happiest person on Earth after your ride.

Here’s a little video on the subject – Source: 110% Surfing Techniques

Get out there and learn!

The Magnet Projects

June 19 2017

How to deal with currents?

Zoltán Bakró Costa da Caparica, Nature, Sports, Surf spots, Surfing Costa da Caparica, ocean, safety, surf lesson, surf teaching, szörf oktatás, themagnetprojects

Coming from a landlocked country, it can be quite a strange phenomenon to befriend the ocean. In order to have fun in the waves it is essential to know about currents.

What is a current?

The biggest danger that we’re facing is the so called rip current which is water in motion, pulling you out to the open ocean.

On the above picture we can see two black arrows pointing down – towards the sandbanks, where the breaking waves are. Here we find shallow water that is how waves can break and can safely take us to shore.

Between the two sandbanks (red arrows pointing towards open ocean) we find the area of rip current.

How to identify the rip current?

If you go to the beach and look at the ocean, at certain parts of the beach you see waves breaking.

The area in between sandbanks, where there are no waves breaking, is the area of the rip current.
Water here has different color
Waves are choppy, unorganized
Trash, driftwood is floating around

Know before you go

The best way to go before entering the water for a surf or a swim is to check the specifics of the beach. Feel free to ask local lifeguards and surfers, they will be happy to help you.
As a swimmer you have a lot less flotation than with a surf-or bodyboard so if you want to go swimming do it only in the secured area – between yellow-red flags where the lifeguards patrol the beach.
If you would get stuck in the current, don’t panic, stay calm.
Don’t try to swim directly to shore but parallel to the beach, towards the breaking waves.
If you can’t manage on your own, put a fist in the air and shout for help.
Again, if you stay calm, you will end up at the shore

In the below video you find a detailed description what to do in case of getting stuck in the rip.

Be safe and have fun in the water!

The Magnet Projects