Week No 31 - Surfing North West Crete with Kalo Surf
Surfing lessons from 2 to 8 August 2021 - It is so good to be back in the water surfing in August in Crete. Our participants and Kalo Surf surf school had to be patient with the weather and wait for waves to arrive. Sometimes this is part of surfing too. Due to extreme weather conditions we really can not speak of a summer as usual. There was no weather system that creates winds off coast to cool down the Greek islands and to cause waves. In addition to that hot air masses travelling from Africa dried off the land in such a way to cause acute fire hazards in all of Greece.
Nonetheless we tried to make the best out of the given circumstances and surfed the swell that was there. First the swell was of Western direction then it turned to North-West and then North. Thus we could surf a variety of surf spots in a few days!
On Friday, 6 August we had a beautiful sun set session at Falassarna beach. The waves were perfect for the more experienced surfers to practice choice of wave and the take off. The first timers learned how to catch waves on their own and to glide on the surfboard with optimum weight distribution - no matter if standing up or lying down - in order not to lose speed.
On Saturday, 7 August we took our group for an early bird session to the "secret" reef break of Kalo Surf on the West Coast. This spot needs a very particular swell direction and swell height in order to work. It is ideal for surfers with prior experience and here they have the chance to have really long rides. And they did!
In the afternoon the lesson was in the bay of Kissamos. Our participants had all various prior experience. Surf coach Andy covered safety rules and communication in the theory portion of the lesson and we cooled off immediately with a session of body surfing. This can help with timing and choice of wave. In the water they practiced the push & jump technique of catching waves. This is a more energy efficient way for catching waves thus allowing you more repetitions of the movement patterns in surfing. Later on the waves picked up and it was possible to catch green waves further out!
