Mitsvens New Surfboard Model Test - B Tail Quad

I took a B-Tail Quad to Costa Rica as one of a quiver of two. If you remember the B-Tail Quad is a new model from Bob Mitsven. It has a fishy type outline although is a bit different...just the outline and the rails which go from down at the tail to blady moving toward the mid section and nose. For those of you that haven't seen his boards many have rails that are just very different. This board also had a single to double concave bottom contour.

While it took a session or so to get a good fix on the sweet spot... this board rocks! It worked great for the smaller waves at the Jaco beach breaks (catching everything) and it really came alive in head high to overhead and a half Ollies and head high Witches Rock. The board allows you to get in early, has amazing speed down the line, and is great for round house cut backs. On hollower waves the rails allow for silky smooth mid-face adjustments and it sits in the pocket well although I confess that I didn't take it out on the bigger hollower days at Playa Hermosa. Its just not the board for this.

If you are looking for the latest in professional level, high performance, top to bottom equipment, again this isn't the board. If you are looking for a great all around board that's super fun to ride and has a good range its definitely a board to consider. Normally I just leave my boards in Costa Rica. This one, I brought back. Order it about the same size as you would a fish although I ordered one about 2" bigger than my fish.

http://www.surfboardbuilders.com/BrowseBoard.aspx?ShaperID=24

Surf video from the CR July 09 Swell

Here is some video from the late July swell in Costa Rica...just prior to the ISA World Surfing Games. Its got some beef! The video was taken from the Terrazza driveway in Playa Hermosa.

The Surf at Playa Avellana

Jaco is so busy with the ISA World Surfing Games that I´ve headed up to Tamarindo. The drive was easy and upon arrival was greeted with 3-4´ Avellanas with a slight offshore and a manageable crowd. It was a beautiful site. Man things have changed in Costa Rica sice my first trip in 1991. For one, the roads are way better. The drive from Tamarindo to Avellanes used to be a full 45 minutes through mud and sketchy riverbeds. Now its all good road with some dirt and there are bridges across all of the creek beds. Its 25 minutes and you don´t even need a four wheel drive SUV. Pardon the nostagia but that was some of the charm. Also Freddy´s shack is gone and there is a nice, bigger restaurant is on the beach with decent food.

Tamarindo itself is really different now and much bigger. After a couple days here I´ll comment on whether that´s been good or bad.

Later comment...its fine. A bit more crowded but a typical tourist town. They do have enough surf shops in town to meet most your surfing needs.

ISA World Surfing Games in Costa Rica

The World Surfing games started yesterday here in Playa Hermosa Costa Rica. The crowd was pretty big for this sleepy beach town and the waves decent. Here are a couple pics from Day 1. Pics coming as soon....

Surf from the Last Swell at Playa Hermosa

Here is a video from the site of the World Surfing Games in Playa Hermosa Costa Rica. Its from last week's big swell and was taken at the contest site at the Terrazza. The games started today with a parade of the teams in Jaco. My apologies, some of the video is a little shaky...but you can see the swell packed some punch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLSJvxi4lwQ

From Family in Colombia to Surf in Costa Rica

After three accidents and and some spanish lessons I've left Cali Colombia (and some of the world's most beautiful women) and am in Jaco Costa Rica near Playa Hermosa with a healthy swell pumping through the area.

With its notoriously tough immigration policies getting in to Costa Rica was tough! Costa Rica has implemented a new entry requirement that bears some discussion. If you are coming into Costa Rica from Central or South America you are required to have a yellow fever vaccination card. Its a yellow card that documents this shot. Whats worse is that after the shot you are suppose to wait 11 days for the results before entry will be allowed. In my case they wouldn't let me board in Cali.

There are a couple of ways around the system if you find yourself in this situation. In my case I cancelled my flight and booked a flight to Miami. I then booked a flight on another airline to Costa Rica. The next day I flew to Costa Rica and made it through immigration without any issues.

Someone also told me that you can fly to Panama and get the shot. For about $100.00 they willl back date the shot records.

New Surfboard Model on Surfboardbuilders.com - Larmo Squash

The new Larmo Squash is up and available. We don't have the pic up on the site yet but had a chance to stop Larmo's shaping room to snap a couple pictures for you here (thanks Mica!).

Here is the description of the board from Larmo himself:

At 5'3" this board has the volume of a 6' board. The added width and thickness along with the single to double concave bottom contour, low entry rocker, quad fins, and full shortboard rails makes for a super fast, super maneuverable board. This board does it all and unlike most fish performs great in the pocket, fits on the wave face, and performs much better top to bottom and backside.

Its Larmo's answer to the shorter, higher volume board trend popularized by world champ, Kelly Slater. The board comes stock with quad fins but you can set it up with tri or convertible 5's. You can tell from the pic that the lines look sweet!