Private Surf Lesson...I had a surfing lesson on Sunday, May 27 at 11:00 through your store.  The lesson was with Mark.  I wanted to thank you personally for his exceptional skills as an instructor and making my second surfing attempt successful and enjoyable.

A few days prior to my lesson with Mark, I had a lesson in Huntington Beach.  That lesson was the opposite of Mark's lesson and was enough to make me fear surfing and the ocean forever.  But after thinking about it for a few days, I decided that there has to be a way to teach someone how to surf and that was exactly what Mark did. 

In Huntington Beach, after only a brief (10 minute or so) instruction on the sand, we moved out to the water.  We were instantly pummeled by the strong waves and I was continually running in and out of the water and dragging the board back out (while he stayed out in the water).  About 45 minutes into my 2-hour lesson, he took me outside the waves.  I swim for workouts and I have spent some time in the ocean, but being out in water about 7' deep with large waves was a bit much for a first-time surfer.  When he told me which wave to catch, I tried to stand (fell) and then when I came up, I was pummeled over and over by waves and was treading water.  I asked him to come closer to me (because he was pretty far away) and help me get back to shore.  I was done.  It was a really traumatic experience and I was shocked that that is the way you teach someone to surf for the first time.  I found him to be very young and an inexperienced instructor.  When I left the lesson early he told me that no one has ever quit on him.  I find it hard to believe that a first-time surfer could learn in those conditions. 
 
Feeling frustrated and disappointed with myself, I scheduled a one-on-one surfing lesson through Surf Diva with Mark.  You used lighter boards, gave more sand instruction with step-by-step instructions on how to properly stand and Mark was close by the entire time cheering and coaching.  Within five minutes and the first wave, I was standing.  The waves in La Jolla cove were much, much smaller and we actually had to wait to get one to ride.  But that was the way to learn.

I want to sincerely thank you. You have an amazing program and if I am ever back in La Jolla, I would definitely take another lesson through your school. 

Thanks for listening..

--Julie
PS- I heard about your school through the Travel Channel – nice PR!

2-Day Weekend Clinic...I am writing to thank you for the most fun I have had in a gazillion years.  My daughter and I just took lessons from Elizabeth, Amanda,and Veronica (June 6th and 7th), and got our CD pics today.  To say I am over the moon with joy would be an understatement. 

So what that my sinuses thought the ocean was one huge Neti pot?  So what if I drank half the Pacific ocean?  Who cares that the ocean floor and I collided with predictable frequency?  Every moment was a pleasant thrill.

You guys are everything you advertise yourselves to be:  fun, professional, skilled, personable, encouraging, patient, and totally addictive.  I certainly want more water time, more surfing, and more fun!!

Thank you so much for delivering everything I had hoped for my first surfing experience.  You haven't seen the last of me!

Judith Duryea 

5-Day Weeklong Clinic...I've got a pretty pink and orange gerber daisy rimmed Certificate of Completion still in my old room at my dad's house. It says that I had completed a week-long surf camp, and am now fully trained in wave etiquette, and safety. I was a Surf Diva.

It was the summer of 2002, I was recently laid off, recently returned to living under my dad's roof, and recently broken up from a 4+ yr relationship. Life sucked big fat monkey chunks.

And so when my childhood buddy asked me to go with her on a week-long surf camp trip to San Diego, I said, sure, why the fuck not. Maybe I'll drown.

It was one of the most wonderful, memorable trips of my life.

Surf Diva Surf School is FANTASTIC. Surf culture, until the last 10yrs or so, had been highly testosterone driven. Everyone had a surf nazi/territorial locals tale to tell.  But the Surf Diva environment was sooo the opposite: nurturing, unintimating, secure, and FUN.  You couldn't find a more positive environment to learn how to surf in. Every instructor was a long-time surfer, a couple of the gals that taught my group were part-time life guards, and all had tons of experience in and around the ocean. They gave great practical advice about surfing and dealing with other surfers, and of course, really meaningful encouragement in the water.  

Even after so long, surfing in the far less hospitable waters of Norcal, and not having improved beyond baby waves, I'm still as stoked about surfing as I was that first week.  I totally credit the Surf Diva gals for instilling me with the right attitude and lifelong love for the sport.