Week No 30 - Surfing Crete with Kalo Surf, the Good Surf
Surfing lessons from 26 July to 1 August 2021 -
Monday, 26 July begins the last week of July 2021! The swell in Kissamos bay is still here and powerful and we plan to surf it until it ends.
This morning we had a group of highly motivated participants! The waves were medium to big sized, in the beginning we were catching whitewater and towards the end of the session green waves further out. Everyone had the opportunity to train different aspects of surfing: stalling & trimming, turing, the pop-up, as well as all exercises in the prawn position that help with initial board handling.
In the afternoon the waves were quite big and it was a good opportunity for our participants with prior experience to learn everything about paddling and paddle out to catch unbroken waves and have the opportunity of longer rides away from the beach. Of course it can be intimidating to feel the power of the bigger waves but it is also good to experience it on your own.
In the morning of Tuesday, 27 July the lesson started with a warm up and explanations about safety in surfing. Glassy waves and whitewater were waiting for our participants. After the first exercises in wave catching and board handling we moved on to train the pop up. Both families did really well and had lots of fun surfing for the very first time in Crete.
In the afternoon the waves were waist to shoulder high. While there was wind at the beginning of the lesson it dropped later on, making the waves glassy. The focus of the lesson was getting into the wave and making turns.
Wednesday, 28 July the course started with the land portion of the lesson: warm up, safety instructions and communication, board parts, board handling and the prawn position. Alex and her family learned stalling & trimming as well as turning. Then in the water everyone got to practice with many repetitions and achieved their individual goals.
In the afternoon, Angela, Luca, Dave and Prodromos paddled out during the lesson for the more advanced beginners. They were able to practice timing of the take-off, the pop-up and more. Today they also learned something new: giving direction to the board before popping up or popping up early and making an early turn. Nicely done!
Thursday, 29 July the waves were nice and small, ideal for practicing surfing at a beginner level. The ones with prior experience went straight in the water to practice taking waves, popping up and even performing turns. The others learned how to catch waves on their own and board handling. They all were enjoying the feeling of the power of the waves.
In the afternoon it was time for family surfing! After introducing safety and communication we went in the water to catch small fun waves. In the first half of the lesson we always learn how to catch waves on our own, the most important part of surfing. After the break we went through the motion of the pop-up and practiced in the water. Our participants surfed many waves - lots of fun and smiles.
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