Seventeen years ago I took up surfing to impress a girl. Things were ok for the first two days but then I saw a shark.
It was swimming along minding its own business but it was doing so between me and the safety of the beach. It was probably only about a meter long with no teeth but a shark is a shark in my book and I just freaked right out and haven’t been on a board since. She wasn’t impressed.
Seventeen years later and enter Jonni from Rip Curl School of Surf. I explained my plight and he took it as a personal challenge to get me up and standing and loving the water without fear. Not only that but he would have me surfing the notorious Canggu break within three days - I accepted.
Jonni learned to surf in the coldest waters in the surfing world, the lower east coast of New Zealand’s South Island. A place of squalls, seals and sharks; great big white ones…and bloody cold water. He knows his stuff!
Rip Curl School of Surf has inspired thousands of people to get out on the water and ride the waves, and they offer all sorts of classes for all levels of surfer on all the best breaks in Bali. Holiday beginners to seasoned professionals alike.
Decked out in my bright red RIPCURL boardies I spent a few hours in the water with patient and instructive Made and Indah who taught me confidence, balance and the physics behind the breaking waves.
I paddled, I stood, I lost my balance, I bent my knees, I regained my balance, I stood again, I fell off, I got back on, I stood up, I shifted my weight, I turned left, I turned right, I turned left then turned right, I stopped falling off. Day three we rode Canggu, and I did it well. This time the girl was impressed.
Where : Legian-Kaja
Tel : +62 (361) 735858
