Just got back from almost a week in Tofino. We had less than ideal weather but I can't complain because it is always a place that makes me feel happy to be there.
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The weekend was set aside for our 5th run of our Coastal SUP Surf Weekend in Tofino. This is a 3 day course run by Norm Hann, Catherine Bruhwiler and myself. Each course we run seems to get better and better and this one was no exception. We had excellent students, top notch beach accommodation and the best instructors out there, if I do say so myself.
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| Norm and I trying to intimidate the crawlers |
To give a brief run-down of the course, everyone arrives on Friday afternoon and checks into the house. This year we are using a beautiful 3 story beach mansion located on the point between North and South Chesterman, equipped with hot tub, wetsuit drying room and ample sleeping quarters. Guests of the weekend check-in and get themselves settled in the house, meet other participants and start exploring. We generally do not run an overly rigid schedule for the course, it is a surf trip after all.
We ran our first evening session on Friday evening and gave our students a run down on the weekend which included plenty of surfing, beachwalks, recovery time and recommendations of where to go and eat during the down time. We were also able to hand out some great gift bags compliments of our many sponsors and local businesses including: Quiksilver, Starboard, Roxy, Q Energy, Live to Surf, Tourism Tofino, Tofino Brewing and more!
I won't give away too much of the weekend because I can't share all of our secrets but in spite of some very windy conditions we managed to get on the water for 5 surf sessions in 2.5 days. We had some tired and happy students by the end of the weekend!
SUP surfing in Tofino gives you plenty of options for locations and places to hide from rough or windy conditions. We chose our beaches to hide from the wind but to also make sure that we were not interfering with other surf lessons or surfers. We share the beach well but 14 stand up surfers take up a lot of beach space out there.
I want to encourage more paddlers to get out to Tofino and experience surfing and paddling out on the West Coast. There is no better place to paddle and surf and SUP's are a great way to get out there on the water. When you get into Tofino make sure you check in with Catherine at Tofino Paddlesurf. She will give you the lay of the land and tell you the best place to go paddle based on the conditions. She can also rent you some excellent Starboard SUPs that are suited for Tofino conditions.
As more paddlers start to get themselves into the surf it is important to make sure you have the right gear. 12 foot all-around boards are very challenging to handle in all but the smallest surf conditions and so I suggest trying something a little bit shorter. Boards with a full deck pad also make staying stable much easier and reduces the risk of getting hit by a very hard part of your board. Coil leashes should not be used in the surf so make sure you get yourself a regular SUP Surf leash that is the length of the board you are paddling. And don't overlook the difference a good set of fins can make on your board. You may have a board that paddles well on the lake or ocean with a large single fin but get it into the surf and that large fin makes it tough to maneuver in the dynamic environment. Track down a good set of thruster fins to give your board some extra maneuverability and stability on the water.
The best way to learn is to take a course so please visit Catherine at Tofino Paddlesurf or sign up for our next Coastal SUP Surf Weekend. Our next course will be held in Tofino on October 25,26,27.
Happy Surfing!
