In 1983 Rich Myers professional surfer/windsurfer from Malibu beach California was invited to participate in the inaugural Costa Rica Cup. Afterwards he wrote an article for Windsurf Magazine (US). However, the Windsurf mag ran with his windsurfing mate John Geyer’s coverage of the event and Rich’s story wasn’t published at the time.
Rich’s draft story was recently rediscovered in his men’s shed at Yallingup WA and we think it’s time to share his travel tale with masses.
This is Rich’s Costa Rica Cup story: –
“Ahm sorry but doze bod’s aint gonna make it on dis here plane” proclaimed Clarence, the baggage handler at the ticket counter.
“What”, I pleaded. “We have to get these boards on, we’re competing in a big international contest in Costa Rica and this is the last flight for a week.”
“ Well then you best get yo’ tails in gear and haul dis stuff downstairs. Oh here, let me ho’ de doe fo’ you all.” Clarence snickered.
I thanked Clarence for all the help he gave us , as we wiped the sweat from our foreheads. I tipped him and the boys’ downstairs for assuring us our equipment would make it on the plane. I even offered him a kiss from my ‘sister’ Suzan who just glared at me and then kicked all the way back up the stairs.
Ahh! Finally we kicked back and relaxed on the plane with windsurfers John and Molly Geyer, Suzan Gedayloo (RIP) and I were all excited about this last minute trip to Costa Rica. None of us knew what to expect! We had heard good things about it like, hot surf, pretty girls, sunny weather and consistent howling wind on certain parts of the pacific Coast.
We were invited to participate in a slalom and wave riding contest to help promote windsurfing in Costa Rica. We were to meet Tom Pace and Darrell Jones from Florida, Mark Richards, Bill Quean, Toby Armstrong, Chip Laibl and Mike Hathy from Louisiana. We figured there must be a large fleet of sailors we hadn’t heard about that lived there.
Image: 1983 John Geyer and Tom Pace in Costa Rica. Rich pic.
Costa Rica is located in Central America with Panama on its southern border and the political hotspot Nicaragua on its northern extreme. The pacific coastline on its west side is 609 miles long with three mountainous peninsulas and a narrow coastal plain. The weather is hot and breezy. The Caribbean coastline on the flat eastern side is 126 miles long and the climate there is tropical.
Image: Map of Costa Rica in Central America. Web image.
December-April is the dry season and most of the landscape is different shades of brown and green, if not a little scruffy looking. May-November is the rainy season when the whole country turns lush green. There are lots of streams and rivers with all kinds of pretty tropical birds and even some neat looking buzzards.
Costa Rica’s government has a long history of being stable and very pro-American. The Democratic government in 1948 abolished forever, a standing army and its expenses. Costa Rica has even been nominated for a Nobel Peace prize for its commitment to peace and Social Justice. Needless to say, we felt quite safe and were stoked to be there.
We were met in San Jose by Mark Richards along with the ever helpful Fernando, from Excai Tours, who so graciously greeted us to his country. Fernando whisked us right through customs and we loaded our gear into the bus provided to us by Excai Tours. We were driven to Hotel Balmar in downtown San Jose where we had complimentary rooms waiting for us. John, Molly Suzan and I took a little sight-seeing stroll around San Jose after checking in. The streets were alive with business and traffic and stepping casually off the curb could cost you your life. We managed to make it to the lovely town plaza. An amazing time was had by all as we tried to bargain with Maca salesmen. On our way back to the hotel we felt car sick from all the motorcycle, car and bus fumes, an attest to the fact that Costa Rica has no emission control standards.
That evening a registration party was held at Key Largo, a beautifully renovated New Orleans style mansion with Bogart décor and tropical birds in cages. A delightful ‘cocktail oasis’ in the middle of a concrete city if I do say so myself! This is where we found out we were going to compete in a very small contest. Just the 12 of us, which meant that we mainly here for fun and adventure!!
Bill Quenan was our main man responsible for organizing this adventure and getting us all down here and accommodated. Bill was here a few months earlier where he discovered some fantastic windsurfing conditions and saw an opportunity to introduce the sport to his Costa Rican friends. He contacted the international Costa Rican Tourist Commission and made friends with Manuel and Elsa Macaya. It was at Manuel’s Rancho that we were to spend the next two days. Rancho Finca Manuel is an isolated self-supportive, hilly ranch with its own private beach and cove. The ocean is an inviting turquoise blue with a white sand beach. The house itself is actually more like a bunk house with a large verandah over the patio that overlooks the ranch and ocean. I kept myself entertained by chasing the chickens, turkeys and pigs, and petting the cow that thought she was a dog!
Our first morning we awakened to the smell of pancakes and coffee served by Gloria and Elsa. While I was humming my version of Jimmy Buffet’s “Pancakes in Paradise” a wild parrot flew in and landed on Mike Hathy’s shoulder and screeched a shrill “Hola!” in his ear. That started all of us, not to mention Mike and the Macaya’s got a good laugh out of it. Apparently this wild parrot flies in every morning at the same time for a bit of breakfast and socializing, then flies off into the palm trees for the rest of the day.
As the Senoritas cleaned up the breakfast, the rest of us were packed into vehicles for an hour drive up the coast to Bahia de Salinas. Bahia de Salinas is a huge cove type bay surrounded by mountains and hills on both sides and a huge valley that funnels down from a big mountain range in Nicaragua. Behind these mountains lies Lake Nicaragua. It is an immense fresh water lake and has the only freshwater man-eating sharks in the world (they tell me they only eat the villagers doing their washing though!). The winds created on the lake blow down this valley creating a venturi and onto the ocean nearly every day during the dry season. Due to this there is a constant upwelling in the water a so we all were pretty surprised, if not chilled, to find the water temp was only 60F.
We went sailing at a small beach know as Playa Soley the wind was blowing 20-30 knots. I was immediately blown away after watching Costa Rican Fritz Leman who had only been sailing for 2 months, blazing in and out on short board! He’s my vote for the first Costa Rican board sailing champ. Tom Pace and John Geyer were on each-others tail the whole day challenging and studying the other’s techniques. Suzan and I had fun buzzing around all over the bay. The Louisiana boys looked the most stoked though and everyone was ready to race the next day.
Image: 1983 Susan Gedayloo rigging up to go wind sailing Costa Rica. Rich pic.
By the time we got back to the ranch, Elsa and Gloria had cold beers in the cooler for us and a muy sabrosa fresh fish and pasta salad dinner that equaled Mama’s Fish House in Maui Hawaii. The crew turned in early that evening and got up too early the next morning thanks to that rooster that almost had Toby’s shoe wrapped around his neck! As soon as Toby and Bill finished making the buoys, we were off to Playa Soley.
The wind was blowing 15-25 knots and pretty gusty. Manuel bought his outboard and he and Mike set the buoys 500 yards apart in a figure eight course. We spent 2 hours jamming around the buoys before the Big Race. It was to be three times around the outside buoy and then finish at the tire on the beach. Twelve of us lined up for a Lemans start and our bus driver Willie, who happens to be the number one bus drive in Costa Rica, gave us the starting shout. John was first to the buoy, me 2nd and Tom on my tail. By the middle of the slalom race Tom and John were exchanging the lead with each other the rest of the way and I dropped back to 3rd place and ended up neck and neck with a black and yellow sea snake! Suzan and Mark were bobbing 4th. Everyone who entered finished the race, although I do recall it did take someone an hour to finish the race. Tom won a bottle of fine wine from John Geyer that evening and was 1st place so far for the coveted Costa Rican Cup.
Image: 1983 Rich and Tom Pace competing in slalom contest at Playa Soley. Windsurf Magazine (US).
After the race we sailed to 2 miles out to a small Isla called Garroba, which was all of 1 acre in the middle of the bay. Half is owned by Costa Rica and the other half by Nicaragua. This island was inhabited by millions of hermit crabs that made a phenomenal clapping noise as they ran over each other on the beach. We collected countless beautiful seashells, then walked to the other side of the island and touched Nicaraguan soil, then split before Sandinistas spotted us and come over in a boat to shoot us and ask questions later!
Image: 1983 Suzan Gedayloo and Rich criss-crossing the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica when the Sandinistas were in control. It was a very scary situation which we were naive about until we did it! Windsurf Magazine (US).
On our way back to the ranch, we stopped at the border town of La Cruz to pick up some beers for the drive back. What we got were some heavy anti-gringo vibes. We just kind of backed slowly out of town then sped off south to the Rancho. The weird vibes seconded our motion to go further south to Tamarindo the next day for the wave event.
After a 3 hour drive though farm land, then through a hilly canyon we reached Tamarindo Diria. We had complimentary accommodation from Hotel Tamarindo prearranged by Bill and checked in. Tom, Bill & I explored the small town and ordered up some delicious Ceviche at the “Third World Bar”.
Image: 1983 ‘Third World Bar’ at Tamarindo Dira. Rich pic.
Tamarindo is a beautiful beach with 75F crystal clear water. There are some picturesque rock reefs in front of the hotel with an excellent surf spot that breaks right. After watching John getting some great rides on his surfboard, Suzan and I paddled out and we had a gas! After the surf we joined the crew on the lush foliaged patio and sucked down Pina colada after Pina colada. Ahh, paradise! Now that’s the way to do it, “Pino coladas for nothin and our surf for free!”
Image: 1983 ‘Third World Bar’ at Tamarindo with Rich 3rd from left. Rich Pic.
The next day had us all rigging up on the beach with 0-20 knot wind blowing side shore and 1 foot waves. Tom and I went out on One Designs and did a little freestyle while John & Suzan tried out the waves. After seeing Tom zip by at 100 mph on a 6 inch wave, I dropped my One Design and joined him on my wave board. All the crew rigged up and we made a day of it. At times the wind would stop for 15 mins while we would just lay basking in the water watching for the wind line to come out of the river canyon down the beach. Then it would howl for 15 mins. I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the size of the surf (the average wave was about as high as my board was thick). But when a gust hit I actually had a good time on the ripples. I’m sure the warm crystal clear water and soft sand (great for when your fin hit bottom and pitched you into 2 inch deep water) with the wind blowing in a side offshore direction, helped. In fact at times the wind was so offshore that I was sailing parallel to beach.
Image: This ‘no hands’ shot is Rich on the micro waves that were as high as his board was thick. Windsurf Magazine (US).
That afternoon as we were taking a break on the beach sweltering in the equatorial sun, a six man helicopter swooped low over the bay and landed on the beach right next to us. It turned out that a local Mario had been flying along the coast with Paul Holmes and Tom Dugan looking for surf when they spotted our activity on the beach. Mario, a prominent successful businessman in Costa Rica flies along both coasts during his time off, looking for wind and surf. After we were introduced, he invited Suzan and I to go surfing with him up the beach beyond hiking distance, in his helicopter. We spent the rest of the day surfing in fun 3 ft waves until we couldn’t move. When we flew back the Pina coladas were waiting on the patio for us and we watched the sun set over the bay as the bats came out of the palm trees to play.
Image: The car in front of the house belonged to the sole television owner and operator of the country and the helicopter guy who took us surfing and then Suzan stayed with him. Windsurf Magazine (US).
We woke up the next morning to the biggest surf we had ever seen in Costa Rica! Every 20 mins a 3 ft set would roll in and the wave event was on! We gathered all the spectators we could find that were hanging around the bar and pool and had them sit down under the hot sun and watch! Mike was the official cold beer supplier and Tom and John appointed themselves judges. The rules were to go out and have fun all day and the winners would be announced that night. Mark and Chip were shredding in the amateur division while Suzan had the Women’s all sown up. Tom was coring a few jumps in the Pro division and John was getting some fast zippers down the beach and dazzled the crowd with some confident 360 tacks. I lucked out and got a couple of sets and pulled off some fun lip sliders and “off the lips and onto the sand.” Luckily Tom and John saw them, so they reluctantly gave me 1st place in the Pros.
Image: John Geyer wave sailing Costa Rica. Windsurf Magazine (US).
We held the awards banquet that night at the hotel restaurant. The theme was “Miami Vice”. Our emcees John and Tom both dressed as Sonny Crockett. Chip and Toby came as Sweitek and the other guy Mark and I dressed as bad guys. Sonny and Sonny handed out the awards. For winning the Costa Rica Cup ripple event, I was awarded a seashell, a bottle of wine from Geyer’s Sailoft Bar and Grill, a check from Tom Pace for zero dollars, 300 Colones ($4.25) and a swamp tour in Louisiana from Paradise Tours. For his supplying and keeping beers cold during the entire contest, we all pitched in a total of 500 Colones to Mike Hathy to go towards a lady-of-the-night. For the overall title we all tied and everyone got shorts and t-shirts donated by Jimmy-Z. We moved the party down the dirt road to The Third World Bar where we raised hell ‘New Orleans’ style till 3 am.
I woke up with a headache and a sunburn on my sunburn with the only constellation being that the others felt worse than me. It was time to head back to San Jose, so we loaded into separate vehicles and would meet later that evening at Key Largo. Suzan hitched a ride in Mario’s helicopter while Tom, Mark and I were offered a ride by friendly local Alfredo. Well I thought this was the end of the adventure but little did I know Alfredo driving skills. Mark and Tom sat on back seat and I rode shotgun. Alfredo asked if we would like to take a short cut and take an hour off the drive. We agreed to a change of scenery, so off we went. Our first hour on the road, Alfredo kept driving in the middle to avoid people riding their bicycles on the side. We started getting worried when he wouldn’t move back into his lane and the oncoming traffic would be driven off the road while Alfredo just kept driving as if nothing happened. I didn’t want to offend him by telling him how to drive so politely I mentioned that there was plenty of room to drive on my side, in fact at least ½ a lane. By now it was dark and there was a lot of traffic. After a few more near misses, I was beginning to worry if I would ever meet my date at Key Largo and Mark was wondering if he’d ever see his wife and kids again.
Tom very concerned, asked Alfredo if he had any vision problems. “No” he replied, then paused a little, shrugged his shoulders and casually said “oh, I do have night blindness though.” We couldn’t believe our ears! We all offered to drive, but he was adamant that he was ok. By now we were sweating bullets and we hadn’t even got to the bad part of the road yet! At one point after just narrowly missing a bus while passing on a blind curve, Alfredo passed a slow truck and wouldn’t get back in his lane. Our hair was standing on our heads as we watched in horror, a Mac truck was coming at us at 80 mph when I grabbed the wheel and yanked us back in our lane, missing the truck by 6 inches and a split second. Mark and I were passing the inevitability of death by now so we just started laughing hysterically. Tom was just mortified.
During the remaining 2 hours of the drive we were passed by at least 3 ambulances which made one wonder how many other Alfredos were on the road. Miraculously we arrived safely at Key Largo. I must say though, that the next time I’d rather have Mr McGoo drive! That ride definitely drove us to drinking that night at Key Largo.
The next day we packed the bus and headed for the airport. Our Costa Rican friends came and bade us farewell and asked if we’d return again. We replied, “Of course, next year for the 2nd annual Costa Rica Cup.”
Our crew gives thanks to the following people and sponsors for the wonderful hospitality and opportunity to visit this exciting country: –
Robert Morales and the international Costa Rican Tourist Commission, Evelyn De La Vega and LASCA Airlines, Excai Tours, Bill Quenan of Paradise Tours, Jimmy-Z, The Macaya Family, Hotel Balmar and Hotel Tamarindo.
Bonus images: Windsurfing Mag cover shots of Rich Myers & Suzan Gedayloo sailing in Baja Mexico 1986 and France 1987.
In 1983 Rich Myers professional surfer/windsurfer from Malibu beach California was invited to participate in the inaugural Costa Rica Cup. Afterwards he wrote an article for Windsurf Magazine (US). However, the Windsurf mag ran with his windsurfing mate John Geyer’s coverage of the event and Rich’s story wasn’t published at the time.
Rich’s draft story was recently rediscovered in his men’s shed at Yallingup WA and we think it’s time to share his travel tale with masses.
This is Rich’s Costa Rica Cup story: –
“Ahm sorry but doze bod’s aint gonna make it on dis here plane” proclaimed Clarence, the baggage handler at the ticket counter.
“What”, I pleaded. “We have to get these boards on, we’re competing in a big international contest in Costa Rica and this is the last flight for a week.”
“ Well then you best get yo’ tails in gear and haul dis stuff downstairs. Oh here, let me ho’ de doe fo’ you all.” Clarence snickered.
I thanked Clarence for all the help he gave us , as we wiped the sweat from our foreheads. I tipped him and the boys’ downstairs for assuring us our equipment would make it on the plane. I even offered him a kiss from my ‘sister’ Suzan who just glared at me and then kicked all the way back up the stairs.
Ahh! Finally we kicked back and relaxed on the plane with windsurfers John and Molly Geyer, Suzan Gedayloo (RIP) and I were all excited about this last minute trip to Costa Rica. None of us knew what to expect! We had heard good things about it like, hot surf, pretty girls, sunny weather and consistent howling wind on certain parts of the pacific Coast.
We were invited to participate in a slalom and wave riding contest to help promote windsurfing in Costa Rica. We were to meet Tom Pace and Darrell Jones from Florida, Mark Richards, Bill Quean, Toby Armstrong, Chip Laibl and Mike Hathy from Louisiana. We figured there must be a large fleet of sailors we hadn’t heard about that lived there.
Image: 1983 John Geyer and Tom Pace in Costa Rica. Rich pic.
Costa Rica is located in Central America with Panama on its southern border and the political hotspot Nicaragua on its northern extreme. The pacific coastline on its west side is 609 miles long with three mountainous peninsulas and a narrow coastal plain. The weather is hot and breezy. The Caribbean coastline on the flat eastern side is 126 miles long and the climate there is tropical.
Image: Map of Costa Rica in Central America. Web image.
December-April is the dry season and most of the landscape is different shades of brown and green, if not a little scruffy looking. May-November is the rainy season when the whole country turns lush green. There are lots of streams and rivers with all kinds of pretty tropical birds and even some neat looking buzzards.
Costa Rica’s government has a long history of being stable and very pro-American. The Democratic government in 1948 abolished forever, a standing army and its expenses. Costa Rica has even been nominated for a Nobel Peace prize for its commitment to peace and Social Justice. Needless to say, we felt quite safe and were stoked to be there.
We were met in San Jose by Mark Richards along with the ever helpful Fernando, from Excai Tours, who so graciously greeted us to his country. Fernando whisked us right through customs and we loaded our gear into the bus provided to us by Excai Tours. We were driven to Hotel Balmar in downtown San Jose where we had complimentary rooms waiting for us. John, Molly Suzan and I took a little sight-seeing stroll around San Jose after checking in. The streets were alive with business and traffic and stepping casually off the curb could cost you your life. We managed to make it to the lovely town plaza. An amazing time was had by all as we tried to bargain with Maca salesmen. On our way back to the hotel we felt car sick from all the motorcycle, car and bus fumes, an attest to the fact that Costa Rica has no emission control standards.
That evening a registration party was held at Key Largo, a beautifully renovated New Orleans style mansion with Bogart décor and tropical birds in cages. A delightful ‘cocktail oasis’ in the middle of a concrete city if I do say so myself! This is where we found out we were going to compete in a very small contest. Just the 12 of us, which meant that we mainly here for fun and adventure!!
Bill Quenan was our main man responsible for organizing this adventure and getting us all down here and accommodated. Bill was here a few months earlier where he discovered some fantastic windsurfing conditions and saw an opportunity to introduce the sport to his Costa Rican friends. He contacted the international Costa Rican Tourist Commission and made friends with Manuel and Elsa Macaya. It was at Manuel’s Rancho that we were to spend the next two days. Rancho Finca Manuel is an isolated self-supportive, hilly ranch with its own private beach and cove. The ocean is an inviting turquoise blue with a white sand beach. The house itself is actually more like a bunk house with a large verandah over the patio that overlooks the ranch and ocean. I kept myself entertained by chasing the chickens, turkeys and pigs, and petting the cow that thought she was a dog!
Our first morning we awakened to the smell of pancakes and coffee served by Gloria and Elsa. While I was humming my version of Jimmy Buffet’s “Pancakes in Paradise” a wild parrot flew in and landed on Mike Hathy’s shoulder and screeched a shrill “Hola!” in his ear. That started all of us, not to mention Mike and the Macaya’s got a good laugh out of it. Apparently this wild parrot flies in every morning at the same time for a bit of breakfast and socializing, then flies off into the palm trees for the rest of the day.
As the Senoritas cleaned up the breakfast, the rest of us were packed into vehicles for an hour drive up the coast to Bahia de Salinas. Bahia de Salinas is a huge cove type bay surrounded by mountains and hills on both sides and a huge valley that funnels down from a big mountain range in Nicaragua. Behind these mountains lies Lake Nicaragua. It is an immense fresh water lake and has the only freshwater man-eating sharks in the world (they tell me they only eat the villagers doing their washing though!). The winds created on the lake blow down this valley creating a venturi and onto the ocean nearly every day during the dry season. Due to this there is a constant upwelling in the water a so we all were pretty surprised, if not chilled, to find the water temp was only 60F.
We went sailing at a small beach know as Playa Soley the wind was blowing 20-30 knots. I was immediately blown away after watching Costa Rican Fritz Leman who had only been sailing for 2 months, blazing in and out on short board! He’s my vote for the first Costa Rican board sailing champ. Tom Pace and John Geyer were on each-others tail the whole day challenging and studying the other’s techniques. Suzan and I had fun buzzing around all over the bay. The Louisiana boys looked the most stoked though and everyone was ready to race the next day.
Image: 1983 Susan Gedayloo rigging up to go wind sailing Costa Rica. Rich pic.
By the time we got back to the ranch, Elsa and Gloria had cold beers in the cooler for us and a muy sabrosa fresh fish and pasta salad dinner that equaled Mama’s Fish House in Maui Hawaii. The crew turned in early that evening and got up too early the next morning thanks to that rooster that almost had Toby’s shoe wrapped around his neck! As soon as Toby and Bill finished making the buoys, we were off to Playa Soley.
The wind was blowing 15-25 knots and pretty gusty. Manuel bought his outboard and he and Mike set the buoys 500 yards apart in a figure eight course. We spent 2 hours jamming around the buoys before the Big Race. It was to be three times around the outside buoy and then finish at the tire on the beach. Twelve of us lined up for a Lemans start and our bus driver Willie, who happens to be the number one bus drive in Costa Rica, gave us the starting shout. John was first to the buoy, me 2nd and Tom on my tail. By the middle of the slalom race Tom and John were exchanging the lead with each other the rest of the way and I dropped back to 3rd place and ended up neck and neck with a black and yellow sea snake! Suzan and Mark were bobbing 4th. Everyone who entered finished the race, although I do recall it did take someone an hour to finish the race. Tom won a bottle of fine wine from John Geyer that evening and was 1st place so far for the coveted Costa Rican Cup.
Image: 1983 Rich and Tom Pace competing in slalom contest at Playa Soley. Windsurf Magazine (US).
After the race we sailed to 2 miles out to a small Isla called Garroba, which was all of 1 acre in the middle of the bay. Half is owned by Costa Rica and the other half by Nicaragua. This island was inhabited by millions of hermit crabs that made a phenomenal clapping noise as they ran over each other on the beach. We collected countless beautiful seashells, then walked to the other side of the island and touched Nicaraguan soil, then split before Sandinistas spotted us and come over in a boat to shoot us and ask questions later!
Image: 1983 Suzan Gedayloo and Rich criss-crossing the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica when the Sandinistas were in control. It was a very scary situation which we were naive about until we did it! Windsurf Magazine (US).
On our way back to the ranch, we stopped at the border town of La Cruz to pick up some beers for the drive back. What we got were some heavy anti-gringo vibes. We just kind of backed slowly out of town then sped off south to the Rancho. The weird vibes seconded our motion to go further south to Tamarindo the next day for the wave event.
After a 3 hour drive though farm land, then through a hilly canyon we reached Tamarindo Diria. We had complimentary accommodation from Hotel Tamarindo prearranged by Bill and checked in. Tom, Bill & I explored the small town and ordered up some delicious Ceviche at the “Third World Bar”.
Image: 1983 ‘Third World Bar’ at Tamarindo Dira. Rich pic.
Tamarindo is a beautiful beach with 75F crystal clear water. There are some picturesque rock reefs in front of the hotel with an excellent surf spot that breaks right. After watching John getting some great rides on his surfboard, Suzan and I paddled out and we had a gas! After the surf we joined the crew on the lush foliaged patio and sucked down Pina colada after Pina colada. Ahh, paradise! Now that’s the way to do it, “Pino coladas for nothin and our surf for free!”
Image: 1983 ‘Third World Bar’ at Tamarindo with Rich 3rd from left. Rich Pic.
The next day had us all rigging up on the beach with 0-20 knot wind blowing side shore and 1 foot waves. Tom and I went out on One Designs and did a little freestyle while John & Suzan tried out the waves. After seeing Tom zip by at 100 mph on a 6 inch wave, I dropped my One Design and joined him on my wave board. All the crew rigged up and we made a day of it. At times the wind would stop for 15 mins while we would just lay basking in the water watching for the wind line to come out of the river canyon down the beach. Then it would howl for 15 mins. I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the size of the surf (the average wave was about as high as my board was thick). But when a gust hit I actually had a good time on the ripples. I’m sure the warm crystal clear water and soft sand (great for when your fin hit bottom and pitched you into 2 inch deep water) with the wind blowing in a side offshore direction, helped. In fact at times the wind was so offshore that I was sailing parallel to beach.
Image: This ‘no hands’ shot is Rich on the micro waves that were as high as his board was thick. Windsurf Magazine (US).
That afternoon as we were taking a break on the beach sweltering in the equatorial sun, a six man helicopter swooped low over the bay and landed on the beach right next to us. It turned out that a local Mario had been flying along the coast with Paul Holmes and Tom Dugan looking for surf when they spotted our activity on the beach. Mario, a prominent successful businessman in Costa Rica flies along both coasts during his time off, looking for wind and surf. After we were introduced, he invited Suzan and I to go surfing with him up the beach beyond hiking distance, in his helicopter. We spent the rest of the day surfing in fun 3 ft waves until we couldn’t move. When we flew back the Pina coladas were waiting on the patio for us and we watched the sun set over the bay as the bats came out of the palm trees to play.
Image: The car in front of the house belonged to the sole television owner and operator of the country and the helicopter guy who took us surfing and then Suzan stayed with him. Windsurf Magazine (US).
We woke up the next morning to the biggest surf we had ever seen in Costa Rica! Every 20 mins a 3 ft set would roll in and the wave event was on! We gathered all the spectators we could find that were hanging around the bar and pool and had them sit down under the hot sun and watch! Mike was the official cold beer supplier and Tom and John appointed themselves judges. The rules were to go out and have fun all day and the winners would be announced that night. Mark and Chip were shredding in the amateur division while Suzan had the Women’s all sown up. Tom was coring a few jumps in the Pro division and John was getting some fast zippers down the beach and dazzled the crowd with some confident 360 tacks. I lucked out and got a couple of sets and pulled off some fun lip sliders and “off the lips and onto the sand.” Luckily Tom and John saw them, so they reluctantly gave me 1st place in the Pros.
Image: John Geyer wave sailing Costa Rica. Windsurf Magazine (US).
We held the awards banquet that night at the hotel restaurant. The theme was “Miami Vice”. Our emcees John and Tom both dressed as Sonny Crockett. Chip and Toby came as Sweitek and the other guy Mark and I dressed as bad guys. Sonny and Sonny handed out the awards. For winning the Costa Rica Cup ripple event, I was awarded a seashell, a bottle of wine from Geyer’s Sailoft Bar and Grill, a check from Tom Pace for zero dollars, 300 Colones ($4.25) and a swamp tour in Louisiana from Paradise Tours. For his supplying and keeping beers cold during the entire contest, we all pitched in a total of 500 Colones to Mike Hathy to go towards a lady-of-the-night. For the overall title we all tied and everyone got shorts and t-shirts donated by Jimmy-Z. We moved the party down the dirt road to The Third World Bar where we raised hell ‘New Orleans’ style till 3 am.
I woke up with a headache and a sunburn on my sunburn with the only constellation being that the others felt worse than me. It was time to head back to San Jose, so we loaded into separate vehicles and would meet later that evening at Key Largo. Suzan hitched a ride in Mario’s helicopter while Tom, Mark and I were offered a ride by friendly local Alfredo. Well I thought this was the end of the adventure but little did I know Alfredo driving skills. Mark and Tom sat on back seat and I rode shotgun. Alfredo asked if we would like to take a short cut and take an hour off the drive. We agreed to a change of scenery, so off we went. Our first hour on the road, Alfredo kept driving in the middle to avoid people riding their bicycles on the side. We started getting worried when he wouldn’t move back into his lane and the oncoming traffic would be driven off the road while Alfredo just kept driving as if nothing happened. I didn’t want to offend him by telling him how to drive so politely I mentioned that there was plenty of room to drive on my side, in fact at least ½ a lane. By now it was dark and there was a lot of traffic. After a few more near misses, I was beginning to worry if I would ever meet my date at Key Largo and Mark was wondering if he’d ever see his wife and kids again.
Tom very concerned, asked Alfredo if he had any vision problems. “No” he replied, then paused a little, shrugged his shoulders and casually said “oh, I do have night blindness though.” We couldn’t believe our ears! We all offered to drive, but he was adamant that he was ok. By now we were sweating bullets and we hadn’t even got to the bad part of the road yet! At one point after just narrowly missing a bus while passing on a blind curve, Alfredo passed a slow truck and wouldn’t get back in his lane. Our hair was standing on our heads as we watched in horror, a Mac truck was coming at us at 80 mph when I grabbed the wheel and yanked us back in our lane, missing the truck by 6 inches and a split second. Mark and I were passing the inevitability of death by now so we just started laughing hysterically. Tom was just mortified.
During the remaining 2 hours of the drive we were passed by at least 3 ambulances which made one wonder how many other Alfredos were on the road. Miraculously we arrived safely at Key Largo. I must say though, that the next time I’d rather have Mr McGoo drive! That ride definitely drove us to drinking that night at Key Largo.
The next day we packed the bus and headed for the airport. Our Costa Rican friends came and bade us farewell and asked if we’d return again. We replied, “Of course, next year for the 2nd annual Costa Rica Cup.”
Our crew gives thanks to the following people and sponsors for the wonderful hospitality and opportunity to visit this exciting country: –
Robert Morales and the international Costa Rican Tourist Commission, Evelyn De La Vega and LASCA Airlines, Excai Tours, Bill Quenan of Paradise Tours, Jimmy-Z, The Macaya Family, Hotel Balmar and Hotel Tamarindo.
Bonus images: Windsurfing Mag cover shots of Rich Myers & Suzan Gedayloo sailing in Baja Mexico 1986 and France 1987.
Thanks Rich for sharing your Costa Rica story.
———————————————————————–
Share this:
Like this: