Once or twice a year, an XXL storm will form in the Northern Hemisphere with the potential to deliver man-sized surf to Tamarindo. And because of our unique orientation, Tamarindo becomes the shining jewel of the coast on these NorthWest swells, turning our normally tame front yard into the best surfing playground in the country . In this blog, we will take a day-by-day look at The Hype, The Rise, The Peak, The Mellowing, and The Hasta Luego of Tamarindo’s most recent North-West Monster.
January 17 – The Hype
The anticipation always starts with a purple blob…. Yellow blobs are alright, and red even better..But for big-wave surfers, the big purple blob is by far the sexiest.. Especially if it’s moving in your direction.
January 27 – The Rise
None of the Forecasting Models could agree. With all the models predicting the arrival of the swell on the 25th or 26th, by the time the 27th rolled around, the waiting game had turned into more of a hellish torture.. However, a day late is better than never at all. When the first fore-runners began to show, it was very small with long waits in-between sets. It was something….but everyone was still waiting to see what was behind it..
January 28 – The Peak!
It was like the wave gods flipped on the switch.. I remember walking up to the beach this morning…and then RUNNING out into the water! The swell had filled in and Tamarindo was producing some of the longest, hollowest, cylindrical barrels of the season. Better to let the photos do the talking..
Photo – Shaka Media
Photo – Guanacaste Surf Photos
January 29 / 30- The Mellowing
After a full day of tubes, sunburns, rashes, and noodle arms, you might think that surfers would be content, right? Ehh, mas o menos.. Luckily, this swell had some good longevity and kept us in the water for a few days to follow.
Photo – Dave
Photo – Dave
February 1st – Hasta Luego!
Until next time! For the time being, things have returned to the normal Tamarindo vibe. Perfect learning conditions with beautiful weather and (still) some fun waves………Although, I’ve heard rumors that another purple blob is on it’s way..
Thanks for reading! If you have any photos that your captured of this event, feel free to send them to reservations@witchsrocksurfcamp.com and we’ll make you famous!
Want to start forecasting swells on your own? Check out my picks for the web’s best surf forecasting sites:
Surfline.com
Magicseaweed.com
