On the east coast of India is a city called Vishakhapatnam (Vizag). It has a number of great set-ups for long rights. Actually, the plane ride revealed countless great set-ups all along the east coast. I spent four days in Vizag this past weekend (Oct 1 - 4). The waves were only knee to waist but still fun. I must confess that I enjoyed the ease of riding small waves for a change. The local crowd, about 10 beginners, was a blast to be around. In India, there is the occasional surfer or two, but as far as I know, only 3 places with a local crew. These guys have a beginning surfer's heaven at Rushikonda Beach. There's no paddle out - only a no-duck-dive paddle over. The wave at thigh high was a little bowl with plenty of speed and energy that went 70 yards or so, and they say that's nothing compared to when it gets good.
The local crew is a semi-organized surf club with private parking and a surf shack to store everything. They are 2 Americans, 2 guys from Europe, and at least 7 Indians of all ages. They have had little or no surfers to emulate much less anyone to instruct them on anything to do with technique. They are self-taught having only the occasional Hawaii footage on TV and a book on learning to surf. I coached them a bit on turning. I told them to lead with the shoulders, and then the legs and board would follow. Many of them took my advice a bit too strongly. I had the line-up looking like a bunch of those Chinese hand drums that have balls attached to the end of 2 ropes. In the end, they corrected their over-correction, and I could actually see improvement over the few days there. They are a stoked bunch. If you're ever passing through, they would appreciate any equipment you can leave. No board should be considered too old for their quiver.
I also did my first India spearfishing in Vizag. There's been too much swell in Kerala since I came here to access spearfishing from the beach.
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...almost too pretty to eat. |
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| Key word: almost. |
