Costa Rica Surf Camp – Sunset Surf Dominical

Going on an adventure, getting lost, meeting new friends, experiencing new foods, all while having a good time is all part of what it takes to find those secret surf breaks that nobody is surfing.  I went on a vacation with my brother to an unknown location where we sat in this tiny little bus for 8 hours up and over one mountain range after another to finally reach the Caribbean Coast.  We then had to spend the night at this dark sketchy little fishing town to allow for the high tide to come up the following morning so that we could have a fisherman take us out to our final destination.

After a very bumpy boat ride and $30 later we were finally there.  We wasted no time waxed up our boards and waved down the next water taxi we saw.  We jumped in the dug out canoe with a little 15hp outboard and we were off to find some surf.  We found some the first day and had a blast.

That night we were talking to some of our new friends and they told us about this surf break where the waves only break on a certain swell direction and this swell may work perfect.  My brother and I jumped on the opportunity to see it this wave was breaking.

The next morning we woke up early along with our new made friends we waved down a water taxi and once again we were off but this time to a wave that few knew of and few will surf.  We pulled up and this picture you see above is the first picture we took that day.  It was perfect and nobody was there!!!

My brother and I jumped off the boat along with two other friends and we enjoyed surfing this secret break all by ourselves for 4 hours.  It was one of the best days I have ever had surfing and can only pray for more days like that.  Big, clean, glassy, barreling, and not a sole in sight!!!

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Josue was born and raised right here in the Dominical area.   Growing up by beach he had the opportunity to start surfing at a very young age.  When he was a kid arriving home after school he would climb his house to sit on the roof to check the waves before grabbing his board and making a mad dash down to the beach with his friends.

Josue has been competing in the Costa Rican National Circiut for 5 years in both the longboard and shortboard categories and worked as a full time lifeguard watching over Dominical beach from 2005 -2010.   He has his certifications by the ISA and from the Costa Rican lifeguard association.  He is fluent in English and knows the surrounding areas better than anybody.

Josue is a fun easy going guy, very good surfer, will climb the tallest coconut tree to knock one down for you, and is happily married with a beautiful little daughter.

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Adam Dufner surf instructor at Sunset Surf School is currently in Australia working the Quicksilver Pro!!!  Adam was fortunate to work the Quicksilver Pro in New York last year and was invited once again however this time to Australia. 

Adam will have the opportunity to visit with all the famous names in surfing like Kelly Slater, Joel Parkenson, and Dane Reynolds!  We are all extremely jealous however very proud of our friend for having an opportunity like this.  We will miss him while he is on his journey and can’t wait to sit around and have a beer or two and listen to his stories. 

At Sunset Surf Camp we are proud to have top level coaches working at our surf school.  Adam will be working at the High Performance center in Australia coaching top level athletes before he heads to New York and then back to Costa Rica to join the gang in Dominical!  

Costa Rica has many surf camps to choose from, however at Sunset Surf Camp we are building a program where we will bring coaches such as Adam down to our camps so that our clients can experience top level coaching!

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Once again we were blessed at sunset surf camp with a perfect 18 second 7 ft swell that hit around 205 degrees.  These conditions combined with little to no wind made for some epic surf.  

In between lessons we drove south about 10 minutes to a place we call the point.  It’s the closest surf spot around that can hold up to around 20 ft faces, 10 foot Hawaiian. 

Although the waves weren’t 20 ft Adam, Matt, my Dad and I ended paddling out right by the normal boil that everyone sits on and out to the outer point where the waves where lining up perfectly.  It was still low tide so there were a few rock heads above water but we managed to dodge them for a perfect surf session. 

One wave after another we watched and hooted as we surfed passed each other laughing and enjoying ourselves because we were the only ones in the lineup.  What else could you ask for good friends, good waves, beautiful blue water, and a sun burn that lasted days.

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We pulled up to Hermosa Beach around 6:30 in the morning with a cool breeze coming off the mountains.

The wind was offshore and the waves were head high perfect for our intermediate lesson.

With sun block on our faces and surfboards under our arms we walked down the beach looking for that perfect peak when we saw three people standing by the high tide mark calling us over to them.  We walk over and as we approach we notice that they were releasing from a styrofoam cooler around 30 baby leather back turtles.

What a treat, we watched as these tiny turtles struggled to past the shorebreak.  Wave after wave they got rolled up on the beach but they never gave up.  We stood motionless in the water until we watched the last determined leather back make it past the shore break.

We gave our thanks for the show strapped on our leashes and then paddled out with the same determination to take on the shore break ourselves.   Once out on the outside we actually saw a few of the turtles coming up for air as they dove down and disappeared into the blue.

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