Costa Rica's Weekly Surf Report for December 29, 2001

Costa Rica's Weekly Surf Report
Volume 4, Issue 129
December 29th , 2001

Brought to you each Friday evening by local surf businesses throughout
Costa
Rica. See http://www.crsurf.com/links.html for pics., forecast links,
and tide
charts.

Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Nuevo!

THANK YOU goes out to those who helped get the Dominical Lifeguard
Program off
the ground. Now four paid guards watch over beachgoers for the entire
high
season. Thanks especially to Zayde, Mike at Roca Verde, Matt H., and
Rosanna!

Costa Rica SURFRIDER chapter wants data and links to environmental
websites to
put on their own - www.surfridercostarica.org . Send them to
info@crsurf.com

Send me a note if you are interested in working on a Costa Rican
chapter of the
Surfrider Foundation - Protecting the World's Oceans, Waves, and
Beaches.


TIDES *for Friday - add 50 min. each day after

High Tide - 7.64 ft at 1:21 PM
Low Tide - .96 ft at 7:04 AM


NATIONAL FORECAST

Pacific - The first major NW swell will be arriving just in time. Surf
will be
in the 1-2 foot overhead range for beachbreaks, with a 12 second period
by
Monday and it will get even better after Jan. 1st, with the period
lengthening
to 14 seconds. Prepare to share, all beaches are full of surfers and
turistas
for the holidays. Expect the size to remain in the 1 foot+ overhead
range until
the next report. Best day - December 31st - sunset session. Long range
- NW
swell continues, S swell arrives in 13 days.

Caribbean - Right coasts heats up with a ENE swell pushing in chest
high surf
with a 7 second period Saturday afternoon and increasing to overhead
surf at
the main beachbreaks Sunday. The size keeps up until Tuesday. By
Wednesday surf
drops back to waist to chest high, and remains in that range until the
weekend.


SPONSORS by Area

1) Hotel Las Tortugas (653-0458) in Playa Grande
surfegg@cool.co.cr

2) Robert August Surf Shop (653-0114) in Tamarindo
surfnbat@tamarindovistavillas.com

3) Tropico Latino Lodge (640-0062) in Santa Teresa
troplat@sol.racsa.co.cr

(new) Pura Vida Surf Camp and Tours (653-0835) in Playa Grande
costax@sol.racsa.co.cr

Hotel Cafe de Paris (682-0087, fax 682-0089) in Nosara
info@cafedeparis.net


Chosita del Surf (643-1308, fax 643-3328) in Jaco
chuck@sol.racsa.co.cr

4) Fuego del Sol Hotel (in Playa Hermosa) solsurf@sol.racsa.co.cr

Green Iguana Surf Camp in Playa Dominical
admin@greeniguanasurfcamp.com

Ciber Cafe (750-0067) in Puerto Viejo
cibcaf@sol.racsa.co.cr

5) Adventure Education Center (787-0023) in Dominical
*tell em crsurf sent ya (aecdominical@sol.racsa.co.cr)

Jim Lynsky at Dos Hermanos/Roca Verde (787-0036) in Dominical
http://www.dhrrealty.com or info@dhrrealty.com

Cabinas Casa Verde (750-0015 fax 750-0047) in Puerto Viejo
http://www.cabinascasaverde.com or atecmail@sol.racsa.co.cr

(new sponsor) Gold Coast Realty (654-4919) in Playa Flamingo
http://www.realestatecr.com or demyen@racsa.co.cr

Century 21 Realty (653-0360 fax 653-0361) in Tamarindo
http://www.century21tamarindo.com or realestate@century21tamarindo.com

Hotel Diuwak (787-0087 fax 787-0089) in Dominical
www.diuwak.com or diuwak@sol.racsa.co.cr

Vida Verde Property Sales and Management (787-0116) in Dominical
email: vidaverde@dominicalhomes.com


AREA REPORTS

NICOYA (N)

1) From Carrie at Hotel Las Tortugas in Playa Grande (Welcome back!!)

AREA WAVE HEIGHTS AND CONDITIONS - Tamano de las olas y condiciones:

Today saw chest to head high waves and a calm to slightly offshore wind
at
Playa Grande. An hour or so after
high tide saw some nice waves with the crowd dissipating a bit. The
Christmas
crowds are definitely in full effect, but at Grande you can always find
either
a brief window or a relatively unmolested peak, if you're diligent.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND (weather and waves) - Que va a pasar este
fin de
semana (clima y olas):

With high tide moving further and further into the afternoon, we'll be
at the
mercy of the wind. The weather is typical for this particular time of
year with
the sky crying for baby Jesus, as the local expression go. So we're
left with
lots of clowds, some sprinkles, and a fickle wind. But this time of
year, it
can always all come together for a great session, so stay on it!

BEST PLACE TO SURF THIS WEEKEND IN YOUR AREA - El mejor lugar a surfear
este
fin de semana en su area:

Grande will have some decent size waves, similar to what we've had all
week,
with chest to head high, to maybe a bit overhead on the sets. Pray for
the
right wind and a partied-out crowd!!

2) From Diana at Robert August Surf Shop in Tamarindo -

AREA WAVE HEIGHTS AND CONDITIONS - Tamano de las olas y condiciones:

We've seen typical Tamarindo 3-4 foot waves this week between Pico
Pequeno and
the rivermouth. Langosta is breaking on the outside in the mornings,
but
somewhat sluggishly. Unseasonable on-shore winds accompany these cloudy
days
and have blown out our midday high tides. Hemos visto olas tipicas de
Tamarindo
de 3-4 pies en esta semana entre Pico Pequeno y la boca del rio. Playa
Langosta
esta quebrando afuera en las mananas pero con poca fuerza. Vientos
on-shore
acompanan estos dias nublados incomunes de esta temporada y nos han
aplastado
las mareas altas de mediodia.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND (weather and waves) - Que va a pasar este
fin de
semana (clima y olas):

If and when the predicted swell arrives, we should see the surf grow a
few
feet, but the main variable right now is whether or not we get our
summer winds
back for the weekend. Si o cuando llega el swell pronosticado, debemos
ver
crecer unos pies las olas, pero en este momento el variable mayor es si
regresaran los vientos de verano a tiempo para el fin de semana.

BEST PLACE TO SURF THIS WEEKEND IN YOUR AREA - El mejor lugar a surfear
este
fin de semana en su area:

Look for low or mid tide breaks where you can surf in the morning
before it
gets blown out. Langosta rivermouth or beach break will probably be the
best
rides in town. Busque lugares que trabajan a marea baja o media marea
donde
puede surfear en la manana antes de que empiece el viento. La boca del
rio de
Langosta o el beach break de Langosta probablemente seran los mejores
rides en
esta parte.

3) From Steve at Tropico Latino Lodge in Mal Pais -

AREA WAVE HEIGHTS & CONDITIONS:

Surf finally appeared this morning after a lousy month. Swell has been
building
this a.m. and it is 4' on sets SW and super clean at 1 p.m.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND:

Hope that this swell continues to push in, though it is not expected to
get
much bigger.

BEST PLACE TO SURF IN YOUR AREA:

Beachbreaks, Sta Teresa in the morning, Carmen in the afternoon if it
stays
glassy.


JACO & HERMOSA

4) From Tommy at Fuego del Sol in Playa Hermosa -

12/26 - The waves have come up out of The Northwest. There is some
south in it
as well. High tide was around 12:00PM. Bejuco (past Esterillos) is
starting to
see the arrival of a Northwest with some south mixed in. It seems to be
a great
direction for us here in Esterillos. Heremosa seems to have sets in the
head
high range.Dennis Christopher and Tobit McLean, are doing their Endless
Summer
Surf Clinics, so, call Tobit for details and info 506 643 2078 or
e-mail him at
brisadelmar@ranchocoral.com. Pick up useful techniques, the latest
equipment,
boards and critique yourself on video and improve your surfing. Enjoy
our Live
"How's the Surf, Really?" Surf and Costa Rica Live Info Chat Talk to a
Real
Surfer here on the Beach (Our Office is literally a Stones throw from
our Surf
Break We can tell you current conditions and crowds by looking out the
window).
Real info provided by Real People, Here, not, there. First in info,
first in
the water, that's what happens when you wake up on the beach everybody
else
drives to. We are Rancho Coral, Catering to Surfer's Needs
http://ranchocoral.com.or http://fuegodelsol.com

Happy Holidays! Peace To All, Gracias, Thanks, Domo Arrigato, Shalom,
Aloha,
Mahalo Nui Loa, Banzai, Peace and......PURA VIDA!!!!


QUEPOS & MANUEL ANTONIO

see the national report above


DOMINICAL & SOUTHERN PACIFIC

5) From Greg at the Adventure Education Center in Dominical-

AREA WAVE HEIGHTS AND CONDITIONS - Tamano de las olas y condiciones:

Afternoon showers have cooled off the morning heat. Waves are in
breaking waist
to chest, with a head high + set coming every 10 minutes. Offshores
early.

WHAT TO EXPECT THIS WEEKEND (weather and waves) - Que va a pasar este
fin de
semana (clima y olas):

This weekend waves hope to be head high with sets one to two feet
overhead.
Midmorning sessions will be fun, check out some points early. Expect a
lil
crowd.

BEST PLACE TO SURF THIS WEEKEND IN YOUR AREA - El mejor lugar a surfear
este
fin de semana en su area:

I would find a quieter beach with smaller, but cleaner surf. Look for a
new
spot that receives a NW swell good.

NEWS AND UPCOMING EVENTS- Noticias y dias especiales:

3 New Year's Parties - Thrusters, Roca Verde, or Finca Ipe (with 6
British DJ's
lasting three days) Next Surfrider Meeting Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. Sign up
with A.E.C.
for spanish classes in December and get free lunch every week. Mention
CRSURF.com and visit www.adventurespanishschool.com for details.

CARIBBEAN

see the national report above