You’ve tried surfing, you’ve had the lessons and now you want to take it to the next step... you want your own surfboard.  Well done for getting past the hardest bit- the beginning, now it’s time for the fun of finding your first board and getting out on those waves.

There are many different boards available to choose from, and it may seem overwhelming to begin with, but help is at hand.  When you start to surf you are often teamed up with bash-friendly foam surfboards, but when you decide to buy your own board and before you even go into a surf shop, you should take a few things into consideration.

Height
Firstly, how tall are you?  Whatever your height, you should aim to get a board that is at least 8 inches longer than you.  The longer and wider your board, the more stable it will be.  Think about where you will be surfing regularly.  If you have a small beach break near you, then consider a slightly longer length board, about 7ft plus, as this length tends to catch smaller waves with more ease and less effort on your part.  However, if you have a point break, or bigger beach break as your local spot, think about getting a board that is still more than 8 inches longer than you, but made in a lighter material such as fibreglass.  A lighter board will help you to paddle faster and learn to duckdive bigger waves.

Style
Something that will also help you to decide on the length and shape of your first board will be what type of surfing style you want to work on.  Do you want to become a shortboarder, longboarder or both?  Shortboards are lightweight, designed to give maximum maneuverability and speed, but are extremely unstable for beginning surfers.  In contrast, longboards are slower paced, graceful and more learner friendly, however they are difficult to turn and stop once they get started.  As a compromise mini-mals are a great transitional board.  Relatively maneuverable and nicely stable, a mini-mal will have you up, riding and catching waves in no time.

Travel
You should also consider whether you will want to take your surfboard on a surf holiday with you, and whether you can fit it in or on top of your car.  Transporting a longboard requires car straps whilst a shorter lighter board makes life easier as you may be able to fit it into the car.  Flying with your board can be costly as airlines charge approx €30 each way, however get a good surfboard bag and you can put all your clothes in it also!

Price
Finally, essential to your choice is your budget.  A new surfboard can set you back as much as £300 (€340) or more, but bargains are out there especially if you buy secondhand.  Really for your first board you want to be looking at £150 (€180) max for second hand, or £250 (€300) for new. 

Test
Also, try before you buy is possible.  Hire or borrow the type of board you like and see how it rides.  Good learner to improver boards are provided by brands such as NSP, BIC, and Cortez, so look out for them and enjoy experimenting.

Lisbon is one of the top spots for holidays in Portugal and has some great experiences on offer. Below are a top 5 in no particular order:

1 - Take a trip through history
Visit the sensational Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower, two World Heritage monuments dating from the time of Vasco da Gama (buried in the church of the monastery) and all the other great Portuguese explorers, immortalized in sculptures in both monuments.

2 - Masterpieces Collection
Find out why the fascinating Coaches Museum is one of Lisbon's most popular attractions and the largest and most valuable collection of its type in the world; why the Berardo Museum of Modern and contemporary art is a great reason to visit Lisbon; why Tile Museum is one of the most attractive in the city and why you can´t leave without seeing the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, one of the world's great museums and one of Europe's unsung treasures.

3 - Take a daytrip to Sintra
Hire a car or take a train and go to Portugal's fairytale town. Its fairytale palaces, incredible views, and notable museum collections make it a destination you should make the effort to see and experience. Sintra is an extraordinary place with a surreal mixture of history and fantasy, protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The most famous building in Sintra is Pena Palace.

4 – Listen to Fado
Fado music was born in Lisbon's old quarters where there are several taverns and fine dining restaurants known as "Fado Houses". Alfama and Bairro Alto district is where you can find the best places to this authentic experience. Senhor Vinho (address: Rua do Meio à Lapa, 18) is the most reputable, authentic, and sophisticated of all the Fado Houses. Several singers perform during the course of the evening and the food is excellent.
 

5 - Enjoy the night in Bairro Alto
Bairro Alto is Lisbon's cultural and bohemian heart. Ii is quiet during the day, but is transformed at night into the city's vibrant nightlife quarter. Behind colorful and graffiti-ridden façades is a variety of excellent traditional and international restaurants, Fado Houses, and lots of bars and stylish alternative fashion shops that stay open until late at night. Here you'll find people of all ages, backgrounds, nationality and lifestyles. It is certainly the most cosmopolitan part of the city.
 

Christmas is fast approaching and you can almost hear the question on everyone’s lips... “what present should I get for that all important surfer in my life?”  Okay so maybe that’s not quite the number one priority at the moment, but when it does make it to the top of your list here are a few of our recommendations to help you track down a great gift.  Happy hunting.

1. A Surfholidays.com Voucher
Ok so maybe we are a bit biased but it still makes a great present.   We have vouchers for any amount - be it €20 to put towards a lessons with a surf school in Ireland or €100 towards a surfing holiday in Portugal...how often do you give a voucher for something that you know is guaranteed to be great? So if you're stuck for ideas this Christmas give us a call and we'll sort you out - we can email it to you in time.

    
      €100 Gift Voucher

2. Surfboard Bag
An essential piece of kit for surf trips, the surfboard bag not only protects the chosen surfboard, but can double as a suitcase at times of need.  The secret to buying a surfboard bag for your surfer, is to find out what size surfboard they have already.  Usually all it will take is a quick question on what type of board they are riding, or what the length is of their surfboard.  When you order the board bag, make sure that the length of the bag is about 3 to 6 inches longer than the length of the board.  This will allow for any additional packing they want to do- such as wetsuit and towels.  After all, it’s the thought that counts.

 

Price: From £42.99/€49.01 for an Ocean Earth Lightweight Boardcover for Funboards
www.orcasurf.co.uk

3. Changing Robe
Eliminating the embarrassing changing dance, the changing robe may not sound glamourous, but it can seriously alter a surfer’s experience of the post-surf blues.  No longer worrying about dropping their towel when changing, the towel robe really can change a life... okay maybe not that far, but it will make life easier especially as our featured robe turns into a bag as well.  Multifunctional= thumbs up.

 

Price: £12.70 - £34.30/€14.47 - €39.10 (approximate)
www.bombura.com

4. Wetsuit Heater
Sometimes a truly genius invention comes along and changes the way people surf.  Say hello to Hotsuits’ Kidney Belt and Heater Pack that is designed to fit under any wetsuit.  The clever company has created a way for your cold climate surfer to stay warmer in the water for longer.  Just don’t blame us if that means they go for a long Christmas Day surf session.

Price: From £39.99/€45.59 (approximate) 
www.hotsuits.co.uk

5. The Latest Surf Film: The Drifter
Released this November and winner of the Best Surf Film at the 2009 California Surf Film Festival, The Drifter is an inspirational tale of Rob Machado’s time in Indonesia in the summer of 2008.  Known for being a phenomenal free rider and competitor, Machado explores what it means to dream, to give back to the Indonesian people, and to find perfect warm wave after warm wave.  Makes for great hibernation viewing for those experiencing SAD (Surfer’s Acute Depression).

The Drifter - Rob Machado from Koastal Media on Vimeo.

Price:    £21.99/€25.07
http://www.thedriftermovie.com/

So the 2009 ASP World Tour has finished with Australian Mick Fanning taking the title, his Dad is Irish so some of us in Europe can celebrate a bit! The tour takes a few months off now and the 2010 season will start with the  Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast from February 27 – March 10, 2010.

So who made it to next years tour? Unfortunately it has been a very dissapointing year for European surfers. Only 2 of the top 45 next year will be from Europe; Tiago Pires from Ericera and Jeremy Flores who resides in Capbreton. 

Marlon Lipke from Lagos, Aritz Aranburu from Zarautz and Miky Picon & Tim Boal from South West France all did not re-qualify and will have to battle it out in the WQS next year.

The top 45 are picked from the Top 27 surfers from the 2009 ASP World Tour, the Top 15 from the 2009 ASP World Qualifying Series (WQS) and three ASP wildcards, the 2010 ASP Top 45 are as follows:

ASP Top 27 (ASP World Tour)
Mick Fanning (AUS)
Joel Parkinson (AUS)
Bede Durbidge (AUS)
Taj Burrow (AUS)
Adriano de Souza (BRA)
Kelly Slater (USA)
C.J. Hobgood (USA)
Bobby Martinez (USA)
Damien Hobgood (USA)
Dane Reynolds (USA)
Jordy Smith (ZAF)
Taylor Knox (USA)
Tom Whitaker (AUS)
Kieren Perrow (AUS)
Fredrick Patacchia (HAW)
Dean Morrison (AUS)
Kai Otton (AUS)
Kekoa Bacalso (HAW)
Mick Campbell (AUS)
Chris Davidson (AUS)
Michel Bourez (PYF)
Ben Dunn (AUS)
Adrian Buchan (AUS)
Tiago Pires (PRT)
Jeremy Flores (FRA)
Roy Powers (HAW)
Drew Courtney (AUS)

Top 15 (ASP WQS)
Dan Ross (AUS)
Patrick Gudauskas (USA)
Jadson Andre (BRA)
Adam Melling (AUS)
Owen Wright (AUS)
Luke Munro (AUS)
Jay Thompson (AUS)
Nathan Yeomans (USA)
Dusty Payne (HAW)
Brett Simpson (USA)
Matt Wilkinson (AUS)
Tanner Gudauskas (USA)
Travis Logie (ZAF)
Marco Polo (BRA)
Blake Thornton (AUS)

ASP Wildcards:
Andy Irons (HAW)
Luke Stedman (AUS)
Neco Padaratz (BRA)

Unfortunately Frenchman Joan Duru, despite being the winner of the European WQS, only managed 16th place and so did not make it this year.
The national breakdown for the 2010 ASP World Tour is:

Australian: 46.7%
American: 22.2%
Hawaiian: 11.1%
Brazilian: 8.9%
South African: 4.4%
French: 2.2%
Tahitian: 2.2%
Portuguese: 2.2%

What is interesting is how 2010 will pan out. The ASP Top 45 will be featured in the first five events of the 2010 ASP World Tour season before reducing the elite field down the top 32 surfers.

And of course there is Kelly Slater's Rebel Tour still being talked about. All we can say is its going to be a very exciting year...

Wave: Mavericks (originally known as Maverick’s Point)
Where: 0.8miles off the coast of Half Moon Bay, California, USA (just south of San Francisco)
Why: Up to 50ft of cold water wave breaking over a jagged shallow rock break
When: First discovered by Alex Matienzo, Jim Thompson, Dick Knottmeyer and the German Shepherd dog called Maverick in March 1961


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In the world of big wave riding there are few waves that truly challenge the very best surfers, but Mavericks is one of those waves.  Off the Californian coast of Half Moon Bay,  there waits the monster wave that raises its heavy head during the winter months.  Mavericks invites only the adrenaline fueled giant wave riders to tempt their fate in its eerie waters.

Back in 1961 a group of 3 surfers and their dog paddled out to investigate the breaking waves of Pillar Point at Half Moon Bay.  Matienzo, Thompson and Knottmeyer decided that the spot was too dangerous to surf, as the large waves crashed onto extremely shallow rocks.  However despite their lack of success in riding the wave, the three surfers named the spot after the dog Maverick.

More than 14 years would pass before Mavericks would finally be ridden.  A teenage Jeff Clark decided to venture out into the cold waters and take on the highly dangerous wave.  For an incredible 15 years Clark rode Mavericks almost entirely alone.  It wasn’t until 1990 that Mavericks finally received due recognition as one of the best and largest waves in North America, a wave that could rival the enormous waves of Hawaii.  It was Steve Tadin’s photo in Surfer magazine that brought Mavericks to the world.

Mavericks has been viewed with awe, terror and respect.  Only the most intrepid surfers brave the spine-chilling waters and the thick winter wetsuits, followed by the 45mins paddle, 8ft to 50ft wave faces and multiple wave hold downs.  The wave itself is capable of gigantic sizes, yet requires very specific winter conditions to work properly.

The wave has become part of big wave competitions since 1999.  This year the Mavericks Surf Contest has a waiting period that runs from 1st Nov 09’ through to 31st March 2010, giving every chance that should the conditions form, then the 24 invitees can gather at 24 hours notice to compete.  Previous winners include Darryl “Flea” Virostko, Anthony Tasknick, Grant Baker, and Greg Long, who this month won The Eddie at Waimea Bay.

As things stand, the event is on hold until the swell hits- but when Mavericks lights up, nature takes control and only the brave/crazy challenge its waters.

Watch from 30secs to get the scope and power of the immense wave.