We are not offering lessons at this time

Surf Lessons : Ages 5 and up

Surf lessons are 2 hours each and conducted at a variety of locations throughout San Diego county based on our knowledge of the local conditions including tide, weather and swell, as well as the attendees' personal preferences. These lessons are catered to your needs and we can meet you at the beach or pick you up from where you are staying.

We keep a 1:4 maximum ratio of  instructors per student.

We can help students of all levels of surfing abilities.

Class Times:

Classes are held Monday through Saturday.

Class times are flexible. But we usually have a morning class from 10:00 AM to 12:00 and an afternnoon class from 1:00 to 3:00 PM  to best utilize the heat of the day.

What's included:

Each participant gets to use a soft surfboard, leash and rash guard provided by us.

We start with a practical beach lesson on water safety, etiquette and how to stand up on a surfboard.

We then proceed to the ocean where you learn how to paddle for, catch and ride waves.

Your instructor will start you out in the small whitewaters and if you learn quickly can have you riding wave faces before the lesson is over.

An unforgettable experience and lots of fun!!!

What you need to bring:

Please bring a towel, water proof sun screen, water/snacks, swimwear (see below) and a positive attitude.

Cost

1-3 people $150.00

 4   people $200.00

You can pay in advance by credit card or on the beach with cash or a check.

As previously stated, we can cater surf lessons to your personal needs.

To make a reservation please call us at 619-203-7311.

For more info you can email us at: jdescans@hotmail.com

Preparing For A Surf Lesson

Let’s say you’re in a far away land with no surf in sight …maybe Ohio…and you want to prepare for a surf lesson, what do you do? Here are a few things that can help you prepare for you first day in the sea.

Push-ups

The most critical point in surfing is the instant when you go from paddling for a wave to standing on the surfboard. I say “instant” because you want this transition to go as smooth and quickly as possible. Many people start with a five point take-off and by the time they go from one knee to two knees to one foot to two feet the wave has petered out, there is no momentum to push them and they fall off. The best way to avoid this is to build up enough upper body strength so you can easily push your self up and get your feet under you in a single thrust. Start with push-ups and remember—don’t cheat! No pain no gain. Your goal is to succeed in surfing so make the most of this exercise. Work your way up to at least 20 push-ups and practice jumping to your feet from a belly down position in one quick motion.

A good thing to figure out at this point is what your surfing stance is. You ride a surfboard with one foot forward and one foot toward the tail. A person with their left foot forward we call a regular foot and vice-versa we call a goofy foot. Right-handed people are usually regular and lefties goofy, but this is not always the case. Get this figured out before you practice jumping to your feet. My wife has people stand normally with their feet together and pushes them from behind. One foot goes forward to keep from falling and Wella! We now know if you’re regular or goofy-foot.

Static Leg Exercise

I forgot the actual name for this one so maybe someone who reads this can refresh my memory with an email. Okay, find a flat wall with a floor your feet won’t slide on. Put your back against the wall with your feet out straight, parallel and aligned with your hips as if you are sitting in a chair. Make sure your heels are not closer to the wall than your knees because this puts negative pressure on your knees and you don’t want to injure yourself doing this exercise. You want your feet out slightly from your knees, more than a 45 degree angle. Just lean back on the wall and stand there for a while…as long as you can…count to 300…read Psalm 119…count to 300 again…read War and Peace… feel the burn in your legs. This will strengthen your legs for the standing position on a surfboard. Snowboarding and skateboarding will also strengthen these muscles.

On occasion some students will be so worn out from a short surf lesson that they quiver on the beach when they finish, not because they’re cold, but because they are so out of shape that the strength needed to paddle and stand-up on a surfboard totally saps their reserves. Do everything you can to develop these muscles in advance so you don’t poop out prematurely. If you can do this exercise for three minutes you’re in pretty good shape.

Swim

You catch a wave by paddling for it. As a swell approaches, you turn your face toward the shore and paddle; building up speed so that when the swell picks you up you are going the same speed and at the appropriate moment you leap to your feet and go. The stronger your paddling muscles the easier it is to build up that speed. The closest exercise to paddling is swimming but if there is not a pool or a lake nearby then mimic the paddle motion and find some exercises or weight machines that work those muscles.

Swimwear

A very important element of your surf lesson is the suit you wear to go surfing in. Stylish is nice and appreciated by all spectators and especially your surf instructor but even more important is functionality. If the local Ohio surf shop doesn't carry what you need and you can't find it on the web then wait till you get to San Diego to get it, but by all means get it worked out by the time you get to the beach.

Men are easy...a simple pair of boardshorts in any style will do; preferably something with a drawsting. If you must wear speedos wear them underneath.

Women can be a little more complicated. That bikini you like to lounge around the beach in may not be appropriate for surfing. These suits sometimes have a way of migrating north and south, east and west during an underwater tumble or when trying to adjust your position on the surfboard, and more than one of my international students have displayed to the general public a little more than they had originally planned. Find a suit that's a little more sturdy and won't move out of place during adverse circumstances. They make some pretty stylish boardshorts for women also. 

Prepare for success! We want your first day of surfing to be positively one of the most exciting and memorable days of your life, so get ready! And remember what the Beach Boys sing…“Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of the world.”

Ode to A Biffy

By Joseph Descans

There are few things more distressing for a surfer than arriving at the beach for a dawn patrol super session only to find oneself with an impending bowel movement and no public facilities available to remedy the matter in a dignified fashion. Sometimes one is reduced to searching for cover behind a rock or a bush, or, if the water is warm, some will just paddle out and do a floater. Once, when I was a kid, in a desperate and vulnerable moment my friends even coaxed me into using the side yard of a Del Mar house near the beach. Unknowingly, I hopped the fence just outside of the residents’ bedroom window and crunched over the dry leaves and gravel to the place of execution. Moments later an angry woman appeared in her underwear and, much to my friends’ amusement, caught me in the very act. After an ugly confrontation I slunk away embarrassed and humiliated. I still bear an indelible impression of that woman as she first appeared at the end of that long corridor of wall, fence and gravel. She stands erect with her fists on her hips and elbows sticking out with her feet spread as if to block my exit while she glares at me with that disdaining scowl.

The absence of beach bathrooms is an unfortunate situation often faced by early morning surfers. However, at some of the more popular beaches public facilities are provided; like a Biffy. When approaching one of these odiferous edifices the common method of use is to:

(A) Take a deep breath like a giant Todos Santos clean-up set just broke in front of you.

(B) Get in and get the job done as quickly as possible before you run out of air and pass out in the thing.

This was my plan a few years ago when I arrived at Lower Trestles one early morning. After depositing my board and bag on the rocks I hurried over to the port-o-potty anticipating the usual foul stench to greet me. However, when I opened the door something was strangely and wonderfully absent. There was no stench! When I sat down I quickly noticed there were no dates on the maintenance chart on the back of the door. Except for a pool of fragrant blue water its portals were empty.

It was a virgin Biffy!

Suddenly my disbelief turned to joy at my incredible fortune. I mean they must have delivered the thing at midnight or something for it to have yet been unused. After its christening I retrieved my bag and, sheltered from the cold offshore winds, I put on my wetsuit in the sterile sanctity of the virgin port-o-potty. As I gleefully stretched into my wetsuit goose bumps rose all over my body and I even began singing the Hallelujah Chorus. I didn’t want to leave that warm virgin Biffy, and if it were not for the empty surf calling I would have lingered longer to relish the occasion.

I know this story sounds too good to be true and I can’t promise that anyone reading it will ever be able to savor the experience.  Neither do I expect it to happen to me again.  But I swear it’s true. I can’t remember what the surf was like that day, but I will never forget my encounter with the virgin Biffy.