Surfing Glassy Waves in Falassarna
Surf lesson with glassy waves this morning in western Crete. We met directly on the surf spot of the day, in Falassarna, and handed out the equipment. Then we found ourselves a place on the beach to do the theory part and the dry runs on land. In the theory Andy explained the safety rules and precautions in surfing as well as communication with signals and the most important terminology. On the beach we went through the exercises giving individual corrections and setting goals for the day: the first timer exercises, the pop up, paddling while looking at the wave, shifting the board during take-off in preparation for the turn, getting into the turn, getting into the cutback and finally how to correctly stop without ditching the surfboard. The the coach demonstrated a couple of wave in the water showing each individual maneuver.
Then we headed in the water together. Andy helped with choice of wave, positioning and catching waves. He also introduced the push & jump technique to those who have not tried this before. This is an energy saving way to catch waves, allowing you to last longer in one session. Our participants caught many many waves and were able to practice with many repetitions the moves that they wanted to improve. While in the beginning everyone spread out on the beach break in Falassarna, throughout the course it turned out where the best place is to catch the wave and everyone slowly came closer to the peak. Most of the time the wave was a right hander wave. Marina made many backside turns riding the wave backhand. Everyone that worked on the turns today, focused on the rotation of the upper body, keeping the upper body upright, looking into & along the wave, while throwing & keeping the hands forward. Daisy worked nicely on both turns today! The arms are so important in not losing speed and guiding you through sections of the wave. Simonas also focused on the turn today, first shifting the weight to the back foot followed by the upper body rotation. While we started the day with some clouds in the sky and glassy clear water, we finished the lesson with sunshine brightening up the day and making the waters turquoise.
