Menu

surf teaching

Jordy_barrel

Hungasurf x The Magnet Projects | October Sessions

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Last week we had our first edition of the Hungasurf Sessions. The week was blessed with decent swell, clean conditions and great weather. We also had a chance to watch the Surfing World Champs.

Sunny days and good waves

Our guesthouse in Costa da Caparica welcomed the Hungarian surfers. This week was for intermediate surfers. They improved a lot on their wave selection, take-off technique and riding sideways on the wave. Dawn patrol and sunset sessions made our days so after dinner everyone was easily falling in their beds for a good night’s rest.

Hunga_Crew
Happy faces in the water

RipCurl Pro Peniche

We also had the chance to have a look at the World Championship Tour event in Peniche, the RipCurl Pro Portugal.

After watching the opening and closing days live at the beach, we’ve seen all the pros getting barrelled and doing some great surfing. First day was about huge barrels, finals day was more about progressive surfing. Julian Wilson and Gabriel Medina were having a really tight final. Eventually Medina came out as the winner with a buzzer beater. This result keeps the Brazilian’s World Title dreams alive:  http://www.worldsurfleague.com/athletes/tour/mct?year=2017

Medina_getting_ready
Medina getting ready for his quarter final heat. He was on fire!

Surfing Safari

Besides the drive to Peniche we also searched around for spots in the area. We found some nice waves in Caparica, Riviera, Carcavelos, Guincho and Praia Grande. Highlight of the trip though was the world famous right hand point-break of Coxos. At the peak of the swell the 3 of us paddled out to be a bit intimidated, watch the pros getting pitted but also to test our braveness in bigger surf. We all had some ‘smaller’ waves so at the end of the session came out happy from the water.

Crew_CoxosPeiman and Matyi are getting ready to jump in while Zoli is on the first wave of the day.

 

It was a great week with Hungarian surfers, we will continue with these type of events and intermediate weeks in the future. We’ll keep you updated about the next Hungasurf Sessions. See you next year!

 

Waiting for Waves

How to read waves?

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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

danger-current

How to deal with currents?

, , , , , , , , , ,

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.

rip current

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

 

Introducing

Introducing The Magnet Projects

, , , , , , , , , ,

Want to enjoy the sunniest capital city of Europe and combine it with surfing? From April 2017 we offer surf and city trips in the area of Lisbon, Portugal. Enjoy our first teaser about The Magnet Projects.

Our team and our mission

Eva, Zoltán and Joao decided to start a new adventure together from the spring of 2017. They want to create a place where people can combine nature and culture and return home with positive experiences and a big smile on their faces. They found the perfect combination in Costa da Caparica, the closest beach town to the Portuguese capital.

The guesthouse is located about 10 minutes walk from the ocean and only 15 kilometers away from the city center of Lisbon. This gives you the possibility for the perfect nature & culture combination, all in the same holiday. About types of accomodation and prices you will find more information on our website.

Questions? E-mail us at: info@themagnetprojects.com

Social:

Preparing your adventure. Please wait while we load.

0