06 July 2012  Back in Sagres. Sun, but windy. Temp at 2100 h is 19 Deg. C It will be great to sleep under the duvet, and maybe even a blanket on top. 

Cordoma. Good swell during the morning. During the afternoon more wind, which mashed it out. The breeze keeps you nice and cool.. 24 Deg at 13.00 hr. Sun all day.

Tonel. Surfing once during the morning and once during the afternoon. I guess you can say it is my new favorite beach right now. Sun all day. 25 Deg during the day. Down to 18 during the night. A cool breeze. Sometimes strong. This is paradise when you think that we are at the ( almost ) most Southern point of Europe.  The waves are choppy. The beginners are having a hard time. I am happy with my big buoyant board. I am actually catching wave and surfing.

Tonel at low water

Cordoma. A nice surf in the morning. The waves were choppy. You get to be quick to catch the right one. All of a sudden it is there. The reward was some good rides. The earlier start in the morning, the better. Short boarder can not surf these waves, so I was alone most of the time.

Cordoma. Again a good morning. Starting an 10.00. I have my own private peak. There is a strong current , so a lot of paddling is necessary. I am being rewarded however with 4  to  5 feet sets. It is still bumpy.

Temp last night down to 17 Deg. During the day 25 Deg. Sun all day and breezy.

My private peak

Beginner surfers having fun.

Cordoma mid July Noon time

Cordoma again today. First during the morning. Very good waves.  Couple of short boarders were at my peak as well, but there were space enough for us all.
During the afternoon I came back at low water to check for rocks. I recalled having seen rocks here before. They are almost covered with sand now. Now there is like a sand reef 90 deg to the beach. This is what is creating good conditions. 
I tried a bit of surfing at low water, but the waves were very messy and powerful. The power and steepness of the waves freaked me out a bit and I returned to the beach.

Cordoma.. Waves are getting bigger. I managed to get through the breaking zone. I was sitting there bobbing up and down. Did not quite like it. Then a mega wave picked me up and threw me from the breaking chest. Vertical down. Then It rolled over me.
The good thing was I did not panic. Using the leech, I pulled myself back to the board, and stayed with it.
That was the end of my surfing day.
The experienced surfers on photo below were having great fun.

Tonel. One of my best days ever. No wind. I  could keep catching waves. Experimenting taking off width a small angle so I could surf the wall right from the beginning. I think I was the one surfing most waves.
Normally I easy get tired, so today I drank 2 sports drink before surfing. That helped a lot.

The day started in Mareta. Swell was coming from South East there. After a lunch break I continued surfing in Tonel. North West swell. In the evening surfers were again lined up in Mareta. No wind. Clean swell. 33 Deg C during the day. 20 at night. Sun all day.

Mareta during the morning and then Tonel.
I did a major discovery. Well, I knew about it already, but have not thought it that important before. DO NOT HOLD  THE RAIL during take off. Keep your hands on the top of the board.
Without having body parts dangling in the water during take off, then the board accelerate much faster. More speed is more stability and better direction control.
I used to grip the rail to stabilize the board, but the opposite is happening. I guess I overcorrect. I was amazed by the speed increase and the better stability.

The wind is back in North West. Nice and cool.  The vacation period has started. A lot more traffic, but the camping is not even half full.

Tonel Beach at high water

Tonel. Not enough swell to surf. i tried anyway, and managed to surf a few waves. Windy. Pleasant day. I had a look in Cordoma as well. It looked good with only a small breeze  I got my choice wrong. Then i bought a 3/2  wet suit. Day temp 25 . Night down to 18 Deg C.

21 July 2012 Saturday Day 539

Cordoma. I was the first one in the water. And the only one for several hours. It was low tide. The waves looked small. But I know from bad experience that the waves are bigger than they look. Because at Cordoma I was surfing a 6 feet almost tubing wave. . Problem was, I was on the outside of the tube.
That was my biggest wipeout ever. And that looked like a quiet day, with a bit of white foamy, here and there.
Anyway, I had a really good surf this morning.

Cordoma today.

Cordoma. Waves for long board only. I feel a bit sorry for the hopeful short boarders, that get into their gear after they see me catch a few waves. Short board just do not work well these days. In Cordoma that is. Even I am struggling. The wave will look ok. I can just get started. Then it fizzle out.

Cordoma. No wind. Tp betwn 25 during  the day to 20 in the evening. Slightly overcast. My peak was occupied by several surfers. Tomorrow I will get there early..

Cordoma today

It was difficult to find a good spot . The waves were 5 feet plus. No wind, so the swell was clean. Sort of crowded everywhere.  During late afternoon I went to Tonel. It was good surfing there, but still crowded. Tomorrow I will go there later. During the day 25 Deg. Some clouds. Down to 18 Deg during the night.

Tonel. Starting at 19.00. Only few surfers. Light wind. A strong current was messing up the waves a bit. I was taken off just lying on the knees. That worked well. Catching at least 10 good waves. Some pretty big.

First I was surfing Tonel, but I got the tide wrong. At 18.00 hours I surfed Cordoma. First I almost returned to the beach, because the waves were quite big. Then I played around some in a more protected part. i could then feel that the waves only had little power.
Catching one of these waves was not that easy. The usual for Cordoma. The waves look very good, and then vanish. I did manage to get 2 rides. That was all. I could have stayed longer, but did not feel comfortable. Strong rib current dragging me all over the place.

The weather was overcast until noontime. Then sun. 25 Deg during the day. around 20 during the night. Only little wind, strongest during the afternoon..

Cordoma. Peaks in right and left side of beach had enough surfers. I placed myself in the middle. There I surfed some big waves that you get there from time to time. Straight down lying on my knees. I was planning to angle some along the wave, but I need to work a bit more on that.

Then I bailed out before I got inside the  line of shore breaks. That way it was a lot easier to get back out., and I did not bother the non surfers, as they stay on the inside of the shore break.

Cordoma. Today the swell was very good. 4 feet clean swell. Only a few surfers, because you needed a long board to get started. Also it was high tide at 13.00 hours, so I was surfing twice, and several hours. In the end I had to stop because my shoulders were aching.
There is some current that takes you along the beach, so it is constant paddling. I was surprised I lasted that many hours.

Cordoma. I like it there, but without a long board with a lot of volume, you will be disappointed. The swell forecast is only 3 feet.

Cordoma. I was practicing the take off. First straight down the wave getting onto my knees as fast as possible. I then grab the rail opposite to the site I want to turn. This way I have more control over the board, and can lean into the If wave as it is steepening. I have one benefit being on my knees. I can use this grab rail in both directions.
If I get the curve down the wave right . I will gain good speed and can stand up and continue. However more often I lean onto the wave more and bail out. That will shorten my paddling trip back to the line up.

Tonel. The swell was good, but it was very windy. In a way that is Ok, It keeps the crowd away. It is a constant paddling battle to stay in position.

Yesterday was day off. Today I went to Cordoma. The waves were very bad. Too big for me. And bumpy like you have never seen before. I will try later at Tonel.
And so I did. And had a great evening at Tonel.

Cordoma Saturday in August

Cordoma bikers heading North

Body boarder having fun as usual.

Tonel. First it looked like a very bad idea. No waves at all. After a wait of 1 hour the swell started building , and I must have been catching 20 plus waves. Not big waves, but big enough to get a good take off.

Cordoma. Waves not very big, but big enough for me to catch several. It took some very hard paddling to get started.
Coming back to the beach, was not easy. The whole beach front, until the shore break, was lined up with surf school and kids with body boards.  It was almost one solid line.
I remember when I was one of them, catching the whitewater, looking out to sea, where a few surfers were sitting on their boards waiting for what I thought was gigantic waves. That is almost 2 years ago now, and more than 250 surf days.

Cordoma. Very good swell. No wind was surfing twice. The shortboarders had a problem catching the waves. But most of the surfers were new bee's, because a mother and her sun could catch the waves with their short boards. They were small persons however.
Parking is a big problem, so tomorrow I will try somewhere else.

Cordoma, again. During the morning offshore wind. I surfed again during the late afternoon. There it was calm, but not a lot of swell

Not a lot of surf, but a very nice sun set.

Cordoma again. Evening session. No wind and 4 feet swell if not more. Manny surfers. I found a place in the middle. There are longer btwn the sets, but as I was the only one there, I was catching many good waves that way.
The day was windless and hot. 3o deg. It is cool at night still around 20 deg.

I am back in Sagres after a small vacation on Mallorca. Mallorca is hot in August. Here in Sagres it is summer crowds at its maximum as well.

The wind is in general less in August, so the temperatures are increasing. At the camping today we had 30+. And now wind, or very little. It is cooling off during the night. Getting to about 20

Swell is fine. Actually I had to find shelter at Tonel beach. Even there I was hesitating. However once in, it turned out to be very good. Even if the sets was close to 6 feet, they did not have too much punch.. I was doing the usual knee first, then to the feet. Surfing the longest waves.. Later i just caught the wave and then stopped, not to get too close to the bathing people walking out from the beach.

21 August. No surfing today. I missed the low water. West coast is hit by big waves. The swell is entering Mareta, wich is low water. I arrived at Tonel at high water. No surfers out.

Still some big sets came now and again. I was caught by one, and had a bit of rolling around. My procedure now, when that happens, is to grip the leach at my ankle, and pull myself to the board. Once I get the board, I hold on. And I check my leach every time before I go surfing.
 

Cabo San Vicente.. Photo below.

I had it all figured out, but I was wrong. And ended up at Tonel with not enough swell. The place to be was Cordoma, but I was late and could not be bothered the struggle to get a parking space.

Cordoma today

The waves were big enough. Tomorrow it will be perfect for me.

Looking to the other side from this view point

After a couple of days down with a cold, I am surfing again. Today at Castelejo. Nice big swell, a bit crowded because it is Sunday.
The wind was weak. Tp 25 Dg and sunshine.  You get the feeling that the summer vacation high  season is over. Plenty of free space on the Camping.

A very good day at Cordoma. Not big waves, but they could easily get me going. When it got crowded at my place,  then I move to another peak. On a quiet day like this you can see the rocks. And there are rocks. And lots of empty peaks, but it takes a little walking along the beach.

Surfschool

Parking at Cordoma is difficult

Some biggish sets were coming in during hi water.

Another day at Tonel. Good waves actually. I was surfing from the lineup right onto the beach.  Which is actually not a good idea, because this is where the swimmers are. From the beach and 2 meters out.  Only it it tempting once you are spinning along, to go as far as possible.

Tonel

Tonel. Light wind and 5 feet swell. Too big for me. And very big crowds. I did manage however to surf some wave. More or less in control.. The fresh wind, that has been terrorizing us since spring, is dying away. End of August is the start of the surf season, I recon. The wind is a lot less, and during September the swell frequency  will build up.

Tonel. It does not show, but we had some big swell today.

02 September 2012 Sunday Day 566. First  I checked Mareta. not enough swell. Then I went to Cordoma. No parking. Then Amado. By now it was low water, and full moon. It did not  look good.

Next stop Castelejo. The tide was now starting to rise and I found good swell here. Bout 3 feet.  Temp 30 plus again today. Calm, lots of sun. I was surfing until 5 in the afternoon with my surf hat and sea spec sunglasses. I managed a powernap on the beach as well.

My surf hat and surf glasses. And my designer welcome greeting. Hang loose brother, welcome to my wave. Nobody stay long, for some reason.

A brilliant day at Cordoma. All morning I had a good peak for myself. I must have been catching 30 waves. Eventually I had to kick off my shoes, as feet started to paint. What a difference. I felt much more movable. It was like getting springs under my feet.  No wind , 3 feet swell. 30 deg and sun. Nights down to 18 deg.

Another good day at Cordoma. First I surfed the usual place with 3 feet waves. Later I went down the beach. Here some big sets were coming in. Still only light wind. Swell 3 feet. 30 deg  plus during the day. And sun all day.

I tried sardines at the local restaurant. They were delicious.

Castelejo today. Strong offshore wind and 5 feet swell. I never quite figured out how to catch waves with offshore wind. Today I learned. I had the north part of the bay for myself, and were catching many god waves. Once the foam start to fly from the crest, that is the time to catch the wave, with my type of board.

So far so good. Now I just need to learn how to turn with the board. I spin along the wave , all right, but swinging is the problem

The fear I had last yr, looking down a steep wave, seem to have vanished, but also the waves , even if they were throwing a lot of foam, did not have a lot of power. I did have a couple of 180 degree. head down , feet up. I hold on to the board, then I automatically land on the surface. Letting go the board mean I may fall 5 feet down the wave, then 3 feet into foamy water that will not let you go. Then finding out what is up and what is down. Clock is ticking. No, I press my belly into the board and hold on to the rails.

30 deg plus during the afternoon. Last night was down to 18 deg C.

Again Castelejo. Strong offshore wind. Very few surfers. I was catching several good waves there. Straight down on my knees. Then a little jump and I was flying along the wave. The waves were not powerful even they looked so.

Castelejo

Castelejo

Castelejo

First I surfed Cordoma. Some of the waves were quite challenging. I avoided the extra big ones like photo below.. After a rest and lunch I surfed Tonel until sunset. My wave count for the day must be 20 plus. Sea specs and hat all day. Still 30 deg C plus during the afternoon.  Today only weak wind. 

Surfer trying a extra large wave at Cordoma.

Castelejo beach on a Sunday in September

Monday at Castelejo, the rest of the days Tonel. Friday, a day with weak offshore wind and 5 feet swell. Could not be better.  Monday I am  going to Mallorca

Tonel

I am back from Mallorca. First day surfing was Castalejo. I was eager to get in the water, and started at low water. That was waste of time. After lunch I was in again. Now it was perfect. I was surfing long waves.
Sun shine and 22 deg c. no wind.

Big waves in Tonel bay. I was surfing whitewater. Sun . 22 deg c. some wind.
Short video from today  http://youtu.be/DDNRcO9vVZw

Waves are a little bit to big on the West Coast, and not big enough on the South Coast. First I was bored at Ingrina beach. Then I was hammered at Tonel.  Video http://youtu.be/XTMpvyo_XkI

Hard day at the office

04 Octobre 2012   Day off.. Photos are from Amado beach.  Actually good waves, but manny surfers as well. I actually thought the waves were too big.

A very good session at Tonel. Especially one wave I got just right and was surfing along the wall of unbroken water.  I got video of that.  http://youtu.be/MWH6UVXlUek  Another video where I am getting into a lot of white water  http://youtu.be/5RphOUf5HLo

 I was looking at Castelejo first, but too big. Sun 24 deg centigrade, no wind.

Castelejo. Looks like a surfer preparing a esqimo roll.

Tonel. Waves are getting bigger, so it was mainly white water racing.  Sunny 22 deg c, no wind.

I need to start moving a little on the board, and do a bit of turning. Speed turn, here I come..

Video of me white water racing http://youtu.be/_SNb7HxPhqM

I was surfing a small bay near Zavial. Pleasant small waves. Sun and 24 deg c. First no wind, then offshore.

SUP on a inflatable board.

The beach

Castelejo.I got the tide right, and had high expectations. The waves were still agressive. at one time I was starting down a wave on my knees. Just to be thrown in front of the board.  I newer tried that before.  Some of the waves I got quite all right.

http://youtu.be/nlCoU1G5ViU    Here I am surfing the wall

Today I cracked the Castelejo waves. They were a bit smaller than yesterday. Perfect for me. I must have surfed 15 good waves.

I start to get the hang of turning as well, I think. It helped when I placed my feet in a 90 degree angle to board centerline. Then I press with toes or heels, and I turn. Simple as  that.. I bend my knees and keep the body in the angle  of natural balance. No leaning over to turn sharper. Then I will fall.

I had the full beach for myself. There was only little waiting time between sets. After 1 hour I was exhausted.

I am turning ( sec 12 move front foot 14 s I place weight on toes  )   http://youtu.be/8ytAmEfdtQY

Indian summer 22 deg c sunny, wind moderate.

Tonel. Calm,  overcast and some rain. 19 deg c . The winter rain season started last week of October. Now there are a couple of days rain every week. Hopefully sun in between.
At the moment , it is quiet with a 2 - 3 feet swell at Tonel.

I got it wrong. Big SW swell is starting. I was planning to use Tonel, but Mareta was the place to be, so I got the timing wrong. So no surfing today.  Temp up to 20 deg c. Night down to 12 . Quite cloudy.  Almost no wind.

Tonel

Mareta

Mareta

Mareta

Mareta beach

A quiet day at Tonel . Temp 22 / 13. Rain from noon. Calm. The swell was to small to make it a memorable day. A lot of surfers, because on the West coast swell is 2 m.  http://youtu.be/OtQt7ubvKlM

20 deg water temp. No wetsuit needed.

The waves were breaking very close to the shore  More photos.

I did not surf today. Lots of rain.. It is getting colder as well. Forecast 19 / 12.  I did get some good photos however.

Nose rider at Mareta  . All photos  videoclip

One of the days where the surf is too big on the West coast ( too big for me only ). And not enough on the South coast.  I did not surf. Temp 18 / 10  Overcast. No wind

Tonel

Amado  http://youtu.be/CRktRWIJCA8

I had some small wave surfing at South Coast. West coast still for experienced surfers. Sun all day . On the South facing beaches people were building on their sun tan. Temp 18  / 11. Weak North East wind.

Tonel  http://youtu.be/F99Glnno5eE

The day had a good surprise. Big swell in Mareta. The bad news is that I have an aching muscle, so I can not paddle very well.
The solution was to be closer to the steepest part of the wave. This worked fine and I managed to turn along the wave quickly, because we were quite close to the beach.
After lunch I had a try at Tonel. Perfect waves there as well. I surfed instill sun set.
The weather was some rain during the day. Grey overcast sky. Temp 20  / 11 . No wind.

Mareta

Mareta

Tonel. Again. Moderate wind that started vto mash up the swell. Temp 19 / 11. Sun but also a shower now and again. I was having a few very good waves.
That is the end for now. Mondag to Mallorca for 2 weeks vacation

http://youtu.be/YnfzJyOw-CQ  I noticed that I had difficulty turning. Looking at the video I notice my feet are positioned in a possible wrong position.

I am back in Sagres. A cold spell is sweeping all over Europe. Even here max temp is only 13 deg during the day. However it is sunny, and there are many spots where you can find shelter and enjoy the sun.

As for surfing it was a quiet day. Checking several beaches, without finding anything that appealed to me.

Zavial

Zavial. The parking full of surfer vans

Surfers after sun set at Tonel Beach

It was Zavial, again today. I had several hours, sort of surf.. It is not an easy beach. By the time I am on the board, I am on very low water, running into the beach. As the tide was coming in the waves got bigger, so I quit for the day.

Sun all day, but temp still low, that is 14 deg. A surfer that was sleeping in his van overnight, guaranteed that the temperature was down to freezing.

Zavial. This look like overhead to me.

A great day at my secret beach. I must have been in the water 3 hours. Weather was mixed with both sun and a shower. Max temp 16 deg.

I am still knee surfing when starting on a wave

A late take off. I did not make it. A split second later I took the nose dive. I have a good grip in the board, and did manage o hold on to it. 60 liters of extra buoyancy is a great thing. It takes you to the surface fast.

I ended up in Beliche. It was not very good, but I did catch a few waves. A bit sun now and again. 16 deg.

Surfers  at Beliche

Mareta beach. The Western swell was entering the bay and creating clean 3 foot swell.  Sunny and 17 deg.  Some wind, but the beach was sheltered.
 http://youtu.be/otTfgnnJXi4

Mareta. Only 2 feet swell. Still I was surfing. I was the only one there.  More surfers at Tonel and Beliche.
Sunshine 18 / 10 deg Moderate NW wind
http://youtu.be/ZPY5A1V5eyE

A perfect day at Tonel. Clean swell. Wery little wind and 17 deg air and water  temp. If it was not for the strong current I would have stayed longer.
http://youtu.be/6pisPk2ikMQ 

Uuups, how do I get across????

Clean swell

Surf camp Portugal

Tonel. Actually I first thought the waves were to big. Then I waited a bit, and had some lunch. Corned beef with black bread. Then I started to enjoy the waves. Also they were smaller with the falling tide. Now and again some very big set arrived. They were  passed with a eskimo roll. Or I hold the nose of the board under the arm, and let the wave pass while drifting.
The bad habit I had developed, lying on the board, pointing towards the shore, waiting for the right wave, is very wrong.
The best and safest way is to have the board facing the waves. Then swing it around when the right wave is coming.
Do not let go of the board and dive under the wave. The leach may brake, and then you may loose the board.  During the winter month there are a lot more currents.
 http://youtu.be/IcYkMyb2Yj8

http://youtu.be/yix8SW0yvZk  ( same video oploaded in 4Mbps

Yesterday and today no surf. I was looking a many beaches, but did not find anything for my level of surf. On some beaches the surfers managed small tubes.
http://youtu.be/BEdz5h5sZTs

A surfer trying to get  inside the tube, but he is getting "through the roof" and flying.

Yesterday and today Mareta. Not very good surf. The swell is 4 meters on the West Cost, and is very  bumpy at Mareta. Today I did not catch any waves at all.

Body boarders heading for Beliche. Are they hesitating??

Just a short time at Tonel. It was hard to get out. Once out I realized I should not be there. Then it was even harder to get back to the beach. The waves were not that tall, but they had a lot of volume. The body boarders thought it was great fun.   http://youtu.be/nIM7MXv97Cg

Long boarder at Tonel

Still big swell. 4 meters at the West Coast. I tried Tonel, but still too complicated. Sunny day with 18 Deg. Calm.

The funny thing is that you do not see any wave as such. They are so wide that it is more the water level going up and down. But once they start breaking, then there is a lot of power behind.

Waves are still hopeless, but a lot reduced. I managed to catch some 10 or more. But it is not surfing, the waves breaks right away.. Well, at least I was standing on the board. A nice sunny , windless day. Up to 20 Deg.

Zovial was my surfing spot today. Quite good waves actually.
Now it is packing and back to Mallorca for x-mas. Happy new year to everybody