CONTROLLING YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH FIALKA Get the inside take on what it's like to have modest goals as a later in life learner unaccustomed to the ways of the sea. Dear Companion in Froth, I have got a short one for you this week. I've been working hard on philosophy and it's slow going. I've also been down all week with some sort of post travel malaise. I arrived Friday night, slept pretty well, rested Saturday, coached Sunday, coached Monday, and then got home from my session with Sana and...
11 days ago • 2 min read
Morocco, Marriage, Big Moves Paddling out at La Crique, a fun right point in Bouznika, northern Morocco just last week! Dear Surf Nerd, I hope this finds you well. I'm just back from the last trip of a marathon winter of surf trips. I went to Morocco for the first time in my life. I have formed a great business relationship with La Crique Surf House in Bouznika, which is just a 50 minute drive from Casablanca Airport or a 30 minute drive from Rabat. I did a full write up about Northern...
14 days ago • 8 min read
Everything I Now Know About Surfing and Staying In Northern Maghreb Watch for urchins! Dear Surf Nerd, My epic two week exploration of Northern Maghreb has come to a close. I have learned a lot, and I have some updates on last week’s info, plus some details you may want to know if you’re looking at doing your own trip here either with me or without me one day. If Maghreb has been on your bucket list for a surf trip, you have good reason. It’s sick here. The south is holding the more popular...
18 days ago • 23 min read
AMNIOTIC REGRESSION IN NORTHERN MOROCCO Yimin Peng inside at La Crique, a right hand point break in Bouznika, Maghreb. Dear Philo-surfer, As promised this week is all Morocco content. I'm going to stop calling it that now, and we'll go back to what they call it themselves: Maghreb. Honestly the name "Morocco" is not nice. It's from the Spanish 'Maruecos' which means "moor," and I don't mean the kind where you park your boat. I mean the racist word used for black/Arabic muslim people. Yes, the...
25 days ago • 8 min read
Use Those Legs and Play Like You Mean It Right hander in Bouznika, Morocco where I'm staying for the next two weeks. Dear Fellow Thinker, When you receive this I will be in Morocco. First time ever. I flew into Casablanca, rented a car, and drove north to La Crique Surf House. First time on the African continent as well. I brought just two boards: my 5’3” Barahona “goldfish”and my 5’4” Tomo Hydroshort. I brought three sets of fins: Al Merrick keels and S-Wings keels for the fish, and a Lost 5...
about 1 month ago • 22 min read
Dear Frothing Surf Nerd, I got a ton of great feedback that you liked the stream of consciousness piece last week. Thanks for that. This week I’m deep in the rail to rail study, and am stoked that it’s motivating a bunch of you to draw images and ask more questions about it. This week I’ve done a deep dive into the lower body mechanics, dissecting the bejesus out of my own surfing, some of your surfing, and the surfing of Japanese savant Naomi Kobayashi. I had not heard of Kobayashi until...
about 1 month ago • 25 min read
AMBIVALENCE IS TOTALLY NORMAL Not gonna lie, I love a Rockaway tube!!! Dear You, Let’s try something different this week. I’m going to write from stream of consciousness and see how this goes. There will be rail surfing content. But for the intro I’m just going to write what I think. Wait that’s not very different from every other week. I surfed today (Thursday) at 62nd St in Rockaway Beach. I have been having so many complicated thoughts about New York this week since getting back from Costa...
about 2 months ago • 20 min read
WHALE'S TALES Stoked crew L to R: Molly Landis, me, Ollie Ledbetter, Pat Craig Dear Calculated Risk Taker, Hope this finds you well today! The south swell has not stopped pumping since I last wrote to you. Pat and I have been finding gems all around the joint. Today's zine is going to be very video and photo heavy. You know how it goes. I'm in the last push of this thing and we have a lot of surfing, stretching, and eating still to do before we jet out of here tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon....
about 2 months ago • 8 min read
NEW WAVES, NEW INSIGHTS Molly Landis sets the rail (for the first time!) at the south end of Playa Dominicalito. Dear Surf Nerd, Pura vida from rainy Costa Rica. As with most of the zines that get pushed out when I’m coaching on a trip, this one may be a little truncated. We’ve been putting in massive days of non stop surfing, stretching, and eating. We have found a nice rhythm. Pat has been remote working from the Rancho this week, and he has to log on around 930/10a. So Pat and I have been...
about 2 months ago • 10 min read