Sayulita offers visitors a number of surfing options, not least among them lessons, which are offered by several on-the-beach surf schools as well as more informally by local beach boys (and girls) you’ll find on the downtown sands. There are also a few local surfers who have set up businesses taking people to nearby beaches for lessons and more. Among these mobile surf teachers, my personal favorite (and the favorite of many Sayulita people) is Risa Mara Machuca, who runs a business she calls Surf It Out, offering surf safaris to waves near and far, surf lessons from beginning to advanced, lifestyle retreats at distant surf breaks, and plenty of good advice on where and when to surf here in Sayulita and at the other waves in the neighborhood and this stretch of Mexican coastline. You might not get a guarantee of epic waves if you go surfing with Risa—nobody can give you that–but you will get the best waves available on the day you go.
Meanwhile, as a former surf teacher myself, I appreciate Risa’s teaching style for a number of reasons. She has a naturally positive vibe, which always makes people feel that whatever their comfort (or discomfort) level is in the water, when they are in her hands they will be safe and will do the best they can. She also emphasizes surfing etiquette. This might seem unimportant on first consideration, but if you were as aware, as am I, of how many surf instructors in this area take their beginning students into the heart of a local break and throw them into waves in front of, next to, or on top of other, more accomplished surfers, you would know what I’m talking about. This is a huge issue in areas where good surfers and beginners commingle in the water, and Risa deals with it righteously.
We accompanied Risa and two beginning students for a lesson at La Lancha recently, to document the on-the-beach and in-the-water segments of the lesson, thereby illustrating what a good surf instructor does. Many thanks to surf students Trevor and Mary, recently moved to Sayulita from up north, for their willingness to be photographed during a beginning lesson, which can at times be quite humbling. In this case, these two did well, considering the slightly challenging conditions and the additional pressure of having their lesson documented.
On the beach: Here, after asking about any physical problems which might affect the lesson, Risa ran through some basics—how to read the waves, how to know if the tide is going in or out and how that affects the waves, and what to watch out for in the water—rocks, paddleboarders, and other surfers, primarily. Every break has its own unique character, and at La Lancha, where this lesson took place, we who surf all know where the rocks are. She clued her students in. She talked about how waves come in sets, how to watch for the dark lines moving in on the sea, stretching horizontally, that indicate incoming waves, and how to position yourself for catching waves—as beginners—without getting in the way of other surfers. She spent a fair amount of time on this issue of being aware of other surfers, and who has “position” and thus first claim to a wave. “Communication with other surfers is good,” she noted, although for those of us with experience surfing crowded waves, other than yakking with your friends the only communication you’ll usually experience will be someone yelling or whistling at you to get off their wave, or maybe a hoot of encouragement if you get a great one. But no matter, learning the etiquette of surfing on the first day is really important, which is one reason we respect Risa. She cares about this stuff.
Then it was on to more specifics about how to handle the board in white water, how to paddle, how to pop up (a difficult maneuver, perhaps the most challenging of all for beginners), where to position your feet and how to use your arms and body, how to fall, and other information which you can learn in detail by signing up for a lesson, a safari, or an adventure with Risa. She will prepare you well for those first few encounters with a wave, which can be scary, exhilarating, and totally, awesomely fun, all at the same time. That’s why we surf!!!
The on the beach/on the board stuff is really helpful, helping students to imprint in advance some idea about what’s going to happen when they actually catch a wave. Risa also shares with her students a lot of wisdom she’s learned over years of teaching—specific tools to help her students stay focused and avoid the usual pitfalls of beginners, which are many. I know from my own experience as a surf instructor how hard it is to teach this sport, and Risa does as good a job as can be done. Things can get crazy fast once you hit the water, so it’s great to know, in advance, what to expect on more than the most obvious levels.
Then its into the water to catch some waves. Risa swam out into chest deep water with Trevor and Mary, who paddled out on their longboards; she helped them get position, helped them recover from various wipe-outs, and most of all, it appeared, helped them with timing, another one of the hardest things to learn—when to start paddling, and when to stop paddling and stand up and surf. This stuff seems obvious, but is actually very subtle—sensing when you’ve actually “caught” the wave is not at all easy. Nor is the pop-up, going from prone to your feet, properly positioned, in one motion. How to do this, and everything else, is what Risa teaches.
Ultimately, people learn to surf well by spending a lot of time in the water. But getting these fundamentals into your head is a great way to get a jump start, and there is no one in Sayulita better at imparting this start-up surfing knowledge than Risa.
Risa’s business is called Surf It Out! She offers, lessons, safaris, customized surf retreats, surfing wherever and whenever you want to go from dawn til dusk. She’ll teach you and your kids and possibly even your dog and your grandmother how to surf. She’s smart, fun, and completely professional, and an excellent surfer as well. Oh, and her partner, Diego, is all of the above as well, except he rides a shortboard and she rides a longboard.
In case you were wondering, Risa is fluent in English and Spanish. You can reach her at Surf it Out, by email: surfitout@icloud.com, or by cell phone at 322 101 3864.
