"By the end of the week I make
sure everybody stands up and rides a wave," said Dave Alexander, instructor of Half Moon Bay's summer surfing camp.
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For the past three years now, Alexander has been running the weeklong camp at Surfer's Beach all summer long. He owns Open Ocean Surfing Lessons and is contracted through the city's Parks and Recreation department to run the camp.
Aspiring surfers of all ages sign up for the camp, which runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday.
"Our focus is not just stand-up surfing, but also ocean safety and etiquette," Alexander said. "Understanding the etiquette of surfing will help them be safer in the water."
To do so he spends a large amount of the time educating the students about safety issues in the ocean, giving them the essentials to have a fun and safe time in the water.
"This beach is probably one of the safer beaches for beginning surfers," he said, adding that it could still get dangerous at any time.
He teaches the students how to identify currents and implement techniques to get out of them. He also emphasizes "lining up" with a focal point on the shore and never surfing or swimming alone.
What he wants people to learn
most is how to identify dangerous
conditions in the ocean and how to get
in and out of the water without a surfboard.
The most difficult hurdle to overcome is a fear of "being in the ocean and the waves," Alexander said.
To help build up confidence he gears the camp to accommodate all ability levels and utilizes five assistants to break the camp into small groups of five or less.
"Generally we have people standing up on the first day," he said.
The Parks and Recreation department offers the camp to Half Moon Bay residents for $165 a week and $168 for non-residents.
Alexander said he's got nothing but positive results from everyone that's attended the camp.
"They're stoked! They're ready to come back and do it again. It's hard to not have fun at the beach," he said.
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