Puerto Rico has been a favorite destination for surfers since the 1968 World Surfing Championship. Although surfers had been active on the island since the 1950s, the fourth world championship held in the sleepy western hamlet of Rincon, really put Puerto Rico on the global surfing map. That year Fred Hemmings took the men’s title and 15-year-old Margo Godfrey captured the women’s title. ABC’s Wide World of Sports covered the event, including the final (held at Domes) in crisp six-foot surf. More about that pivotal contest can be found in Matt Warshaw’s The Encyclopedia of Surfing
Hanging out in Rincon
This year, Puerto Rico will again be in the spotlight as the ASP world tour descends for the Rip Curl Pro Search contest held October 30 to November 10. As luck would have it, nine-time world champ Kelly Slater has a good chance to claim his tenth world title at the event. This is no mean feat because Slater, at 38, is a good decade older than most of the other competitors on the circuit and no one has ever won ten world surfing titles before. For more about the world surfing rankings see the ASP site.
Despite its periodic notoriety, most East Coast surfers know Puerto Rico as the old standby. It’s relatively close — four hours from NYC — it’s cheap and, as a US territory, it’s a lot like home (you don’t need a passport and you don’t need to change money). Puerto Rico is very nearly a first world destination. The roads are well paved, American cell phones get good reception (except at Calypso, the bar overlooking Maria’s in Rincon) and most people speak some English. Best of all the surf is reliable: from November through March Puerto Rico cops plenty of swell from North Atlantic storms.
PR is easy; even more so since Jet Blue began direct service from JFK to Aguadilla, the old Ramey Air Force base on the northwest corner of the island. There are lots of flights to San Juan, on the island’s east end, but the east-northeast trade winds make Puerto Rico’s western shore a better bet for winter surf. Surfers stepping onto the tarmac at Aquadilla can rent a car right in the old terminal and be in the water within an hour of landing.
PR is also cheap. The aforementioned Jet Blue can get you down and back for less than $300, not including board fees; a week’s car rental runs about $150; and lodging is less than $100 a night. If you’re willing to share, the price of transport and lodging goes way down. Food and beer is also refreshingly cheap. Many bars uphold the dollar-beer tradition and staples like empanadas and pinchos are equally inexpensive.
The downside of such a user-friendly surf destination is that everyone goes. On a good swell at Indicators you may find yourself surfing with 100 of your closest friends. New York and New Jersey surfers make up the largest contingent, but the siren call of 78-degree surf brings riders from Maine to Florida. Add in a growing cadre of local surfers and spongers, and the traffic can get a bit hectic.
The wind has a big influence on the crowds as well. When the trades go east-southeast, all the spots on the north shore start to light up, and the crowd spreads itself out. Conversely, when the winds blow from the east-northeast or north, all the surfers will tend to congregate on Rincon’s southwest-facing breaks.
Apart from getting run over by some Long Island kook on a funboard, the biggest hazards in Puerto Rico are sea urchins and theft. Urchins are thick on the reefs near some surf spots, so reef boots can be helpful. Tweezers, a sharp pocket knife and iodine are handy to remove the quills. Petty theft, unfortunately, is a popular sport in PR. Don’t leave anything in the car that you couldn’t afford to lose. The busier hotels are generally secure places to leave gear, but if the hotel has a safe or lock-up for valuables, use it.
JM riding on a small day at Maria's
A more exotic threat is picapica. At first we thought our villa, perched high on a hillside overlooking Aguada, was infested with bedbugs. Laying on the bed, my wife noticed an immediate itching sensation — a sharp pinpoint itch on all exposed skin. Yet we couldn’t see any bugs and the bites left no marks.
We learned later it was picapica, the microscopic spores of mucuna pruriens, or cow itch, wafting into our villa on the winds. The same stuff is used to make itching powder. No wonder — it was devilishly effective. Other than bathing in 151 rum to kill the supposed bugs, no real harm was done.
The popular surf spots in Puerto Rico’s northwest are well known: Jobo’s, Surfer’s, Wilderness, Crashboats, Sandy’s, Pools, Indicators, Maria’s, etc. Several surf shops and tourist spots give out maps of the main breaks. Wannasurf also locates many of the spots with a greater or lesser degree of accuracy. All of them can be terrific on their day.
The sessions that stick with you, though, are the ones you stumble into by chance. Maybe you followed a hunch to an uncrowded reef, or maybe an errant rip pulled you away from the pack, and you look around and you’re suddenly alone. Alone, except for that blue-green wall headed your way and the anticipation of what’s to come.
If You Go …
For an overview of what’s on in Puerto Rico, the tourism commission’s official site, See Puerto Rico provides lot’s of up-to-date info on hotels. The Rincon PR Guide does a pretty good job of amassing local resources around “the corner”. The Rincon Surf Report provides views of both sides of the point and some local news.
The budget lodging option in Rincon has long been Rincon Surf & Board. In their latest incarnation they also have a surf school. Another hostel has opened right in town; the Rincon Inn has dorm rooms for just $25 per night. Down in the party ghetto by Sandy’s and Pools (on the north side of the point) the Tamboo is worth a look. Across the street, the Casa Verde was renovated a few years ago. Further up the hill, Casa Bianca has vacation apartments for rent. With a crew of six or more, you might want to check Amapola House, a posh villa near Sandy Beach in the Rincon hills. Or, for something different, try the Tropical Treehouse in Rincon. Outside of Rincon, Paradores of Puerto Rico lists a set of small, charming hotels.
