It's been niggling for a few years now, the guilt has been growing. I hate to own up to it actually but, as a resident of Bali, until recently I had never tried surfing. Yes I know,.... body surfing & boogey boarding, we do it regularly, but the real stuff, no. So, when I was invited by Ripcurl to have a go, I got straight down the beach.
Ripcurl, Asia's leading surf school, organized an hours' private lesson for my 6 year old son and I. I wondered what we could possibly do in just an hour but got the kit and sunscreen on, hurried across the hot black sand and into listening mode to give it a go.
Ian – our 'cool dude' instructor - was fantastic at getting the message across and was accompanied by Rusty, who gave superb demonstrations. They had us jumping on the board, lying on the board and surfing on the board all on the beach before we tried the real thing. I have to say I felt pretty 'uncool' standing surfing on the beach in my crash helmet in full view of the professionals. (We all have to start somewhere I guess.)
After quite a lot of practice and the use of cool 'surfie' words we were let loose to try & get on the board in a laying position and ride the waves. We did it – without too many mouthfuls of salty water. The next step was to try and get up on the board. Never in a month of Sundays did I imagine that either of us would do it, on this our very first lesson. So, imagine my surprise when......
Yes, honestly! Both of us rode many a wave. I put it all down to Ian's fantastic tuition (and perhaps a bit of pure Bali luck too). The 'surf buzz' reminded me of the 'ski buzz' that, living in Bali, I haven't felt for a while – we had a really fun morning and got the thrill.
Ripcurl's Surf School is located on Blue Ocean Beach (selected because of the safety of the location, with a full sand only beach break it is supposedly the safest spot on the island for learning to surf) and they offer expert and safe tuition with many, very professional instructors. There are Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced group lessons available for half-days, whole-days or 3-day periods – for 12 years old and upwards. Private lessons such as ours are bookable by the hour – and our hour was actually an hour and a half with no extra charge, and these begin for children as young as four years old. For the more experienced there are Master's Lessons to take surfing to a higher level of mastering reef breaks, short boards, bottom turns and the cut back (don't ask me!..) Pro-Rider lessons get into reef breaks, floaters, re-entries and lots more! These classes are taken in other beautiful coastal areas, with bigger waves and 'more air'.
The Rip Curl School of Surf offers 16 different classes; the average client takes 3.5 classes.
From 1998 to 2005, Ripcurl have taught over 12,000 people to surf and in this time they have had four small incidents that required professional medical attention, all of which were immediately resolved at the Bali International Medical Center and all four clients returned to continue their surfing lessons. Say no more......definitely professional. So, no excuses, lessons are open to anyone (the oldest student was in her eighties) & they really can adapt to your schedule to suit your timings – depending on the tide and wave conditions. Ripcurl will also collect you from your hotel, so you don't even have to get yourself there.
The best surfboards are used and they are covered in a special protective rubber so as not to hurt you too much if they tap you.
All Instructors and Assistants are professionally trained in CPR, first aid, surf rescue and have regular training. They are also accredited by the Indonesian Surf School Association and trained to the highest standards in surf education.
All courses include hotel transfers, surfboard (handy!), helmet, rash vest, imported sunscreen, drinking water and an end of lesson certificate. All activities are covered by a $100,000 insurance policy. Ripcurl can also do surf guiding (sounds impressive as it is) create corporate packages and equipment rental. Ripcurl, their motto as far as I can see, - 'anything to help!'
Just to point out, if you have never surfed before there are a few things you should take along with you to your lesson.
1. A sense of humour – you will get a lot of ocean up your nose and then loose it for the rest of the day, you will probably get bashed by the board and you will feel just a tiny bit silly in your crash hat.
2. A pair of orangutan arms – because whoever designed surfboards to be carried the way they are, had incredibly long arms.
Go find the waves, do the thing & enjoy.
Do you know what Ripcurl's promise is? 'If you aren't standing on the board by the end of your first lesson, the next one's free'. How can you beat that?
For further information on lesson times and prices please call Ripcurl School of Surf on 735858 or visit their website ripcurlschoolofsurf
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