Crystal Clear Waters and Surfing in Crete
Swell from the West means surfing on the West coast. One of the surf spots that works with this conditions in Crete is Falassarna Beach. Praised for its breathtaking beauty, clean turquoise waters and sandy beach, we like to surf on this beach when the waves are half a meter to a meter high with a period of 5 seconds.
In the morning we arrived bright and early for the surf lessons, with a group of first time surfers and experienced surfers Moni and Christina. While the first timers were introduced to safety rules and board handling, Moni and Christina headed straight in the water to catch the first waves. Later, with the tips of Andy they practiced making turns with the surfboard. This is so important to be later able to follow the flow and surf the face of the wave! Then also the first timers jumped in the cooling water to do the first exercises. Jump and glide. This helps to understand the forward motion of catching the wave as well as with the correct balance on the surfboards. Especially the kids of Henri rocked today! They had no hesitations at all and tried everything with lots of joy - wipeouts included.
In the afternoon surf coach Andy headed one more time to Falassarna beach for a beginner lesson. This time we had 4 youngsters, again first time surfer. It is important to take the time to first introduce everyone to the safety rules. The board is the biggest hazard in the water. It could hit yourself or others around you. So we learn how to handle the board against the waves and how to protect ourselves in case we lose the board. Then Andy showed them on the beach the first exercise and then again in the water how to catch the wave. Once everyone got a hang of it, we moved on to the next step: popping up on the board. This was their first ever introduction to surfing. On the next lessons our participants gain much more confidence in the water and will be able to maneuver with ease. Then we like to tackle prolonging the ride and the turn. Our wave in Crete allow for many repetitions because we don't exhaust yourself fighting against the waves or current. And many repetitions means quick progress! Photo album of 20 August 2020 - morning
