Surf Lessons in Falassarna, Crete
Last day of this particular western swell this morning in Falassarna. Afterwards the swell direction will change to north and after a couple of days a new swell will arrive West again. It never gets boring doing wave forecasting in the Mediterranean sea! Of course we try to surf every swell that arrives on the island!
Today our surf lesson started with a warm up in a big circle. Then we separated the groups into two, surf instructor Sevi taking on the ones surfing the first time in Crete, while surf coach Andy moved forward with the ones who have surfed with us for more days already. Each group individually got their theory and safety explanations, as well as the dry runs on the beach. Sevi's group learned how to catch the wave by pushing & jumping, how to find the correct position on the board and how to ride on their bellies with the so called prawn position. It is important to find the right balance on the board, so it can keep up the speed. All the while Andy moved on with his group to learn paddling. The correct paddling technique is key to put the maximum power in the paddle stroke; they learned how to overcome waves while paddling, how to sit & turn around quickly and how to go for the wave.
After a fair amount of practice time, we took a break and Andy joined Sevi's group to demonstrate the pop up. Back in the water Sevi's group rode many waves, some succeeded in popping up on the board and some took a step in between and were riding in the prawn position or on their knees. Goal of the first day well accomplished! The goal is to understand how to catch the wave and balance on the board.
Andy's group stayed further out and had great rides, turning the board backhand and/or fronthand. We were really impressed with the quick progress, especially regarding choice of wave and timing!
We look forward to surfing with you again! Click here for the photo album of 28 September 2019
