Preston Weber – Winner of Museum of Discovery & Science/The Ultimate Wave: Tahiti 3D – Polynesian Surf Expo raffle: Signed commemorative from Kali ‘da Big Kahuna’ Montero

Had a great time Sunday doing what I enjoy. Teaching surfing lessons. Was in the water from 10am – 4:30pm while each new scheduled student waited for their turn. Air temp when started was 50 degrees. Water and air cold but nice for learning. Came home and made dinner for the family and ‘passed out’ till 10pm Haven’t stopped working since. Customer texted me at midnite for surf lessons in the am. Its now 1 am and still more work on several unreal projects. Will advise once inked — life of an entrepreneur – Love My God, Family and Work !!  God is Faithful!! 

 ’If God is With You who can be against you’ – Bible verse

*I used to be in the corporate world and had to dress like this.  Now my office is the ocean.  I wear shorts, carry a surfboard, and help people realize their ‘dreams’:):)

Lots of waves early.  low tide.
39 degrees.  Will be fun on incoming. 
Get out your wetsuits and head for your favorite spot!

Great day to go surfing.
Winds: NW 12
Temp: 36 degrees, clear

Dec. 10 Friday

Boynton/Delray Beach Annual Holiday Boat Parade, 6:30 p.m. starting at the Boynton Harbor Marina, 735 Casa Loma Blvd., off Ocean Avenue adjacent to the Intracoastal, Boynton Beach. Boats will proceed south for approximately 8 miles to the C-15 canal at the Boca/Delray border. 

Dec. 11 Saturday

Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade, 6:00 p.m. starting at the Riverside Hotel in downtown Fort Lauderdale on the New River, with parade staging from the Broward County Performing Arts Center east to the hotel.

Boats will cruise along a 12-mile route east on the New River to the Intracoastal Waterway, then north to Lake Santa Barbara. Spectators may view approximately 100 decorated vessels from any open spot along the route, and reserved grandstand seating is available at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park at the northeast corner of the Intracoastal Waterway and Sunrise Boulevard Bridge.

Dec. 12 Sunday

Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade, 6:30 p.m. starting at Lake Santa Barbara and traveling five miles to the Hillsboro Boulevard Bridge. In its 48^th year, this is one of the oldest boat parades in Florida. Organizers expect 30 to 45 vessels to participate.

Dec. 18 Saturday

Boca Raton Holiday Boat Parade, 6:30 p.m. starting at the C-15 canal at the Boca/Delray city limits proceeding south for approximately six miles to the Hillsboro Bridge at the Boca Raton/Deerfield Beach city limits.

Bleacher viewing is available at Red Reef Park, 1400 N. S.R. A1A, Boca Raton and Silver Palm Park, 600 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton. A traveling fireworks show will lead the boats down the parade route.

1)     Prior to lessons.  24 – 48 hrs prior to that day’s lessons monitor: wind, wave and tide conditions to follow for any conditions unfavorable to students receiving a successful lesson  including lack of waves.  If dangerous conditions cancel lessons immediately or if lack of waves give the students the opportunity to reschedule or cancel.

2)     Be on time.  Show up with surfboards and have all equipment ready 15 minutes prior to start time.

3)     Having your students sign a Liability Waiver does not release you from your responsibility to keep your students safe.

4)     Find out and fulfill students expectations.

5)     Incorporate beach and ocean safety as well as surfboard safety into lesson plan.

6)     Know their level of swimming, conditioning, physical limitations.  Ask the students and if they do not know or embarrassed to say.  It is your job to find out.

7)     Warm up and stretching as part of training is a great way to find out their limitations.  Once done you will know how to adjust your training to their limitations for a successful lesson.

Consumers are NOT stupid.  Never treat them as if they were. 

1)     Mandatory to already know how to teach.  My instructors all have minimum 2 years of teaching experience under my supervision before I will allow them to teach on their own. 

2)     If you are an apprentice surf instructor be proud of it.  You are doing something about it and that is to learn how to become the best qualified instructor by learning from a Master Instructor.  Be patient.  When the day comes that you are promoted the feeling of accomplishment will be incomparable.

3)     If all your offering is to push you students onto a wave to stand up they don’t need to be paying you and I would say to them to ask for their money back especially when there are FREE surf lessons out there.

4)     Have you obtained your teaching credentials by a recognized authority and are your safety certifications up to date.  Is your school accredited by a recognized organization.   

5)     Are your licenses in order?  What about insurance?  Have you obtained background checks on your instructors?  I know for a fact as a parent of a 5 yr old parents and students do not want a felon or worse (you know what I’m talking about…..) teaching their kids or them.

6)     If your only claim is “I’m a Pro Surfer” and all you know how to do is to push the surfboard onto a wave you are giving a bad name to the true professionals teaching in the sport of surfing.   The true professionals are proud of their sport and know there is so much more to learning how to surf and look forward to sharing their knowledge with others.

Learn as much about the ocean as possible.  What factors create or donot creat waves.  What condition cause tides to change and how tides affect waves.  How wind and weather affect waves.  Understand and identify currents: good and bad currents.  Not all waves are good for surfing.  Learn how to identify different types of waves and what causes these waves to break a certain way.  How to read and understand weather reports in relationship to the creation and quality of waves.
There is no substitute for going out into the waves to get the feel of how the ocean moves to be able to discuss the above conditions.

First question to ask yourself is WHY do I want to become a surfing instructor?  Your answer should ALWAYS be to help people enjoy the sport you love and to pass your knowledge to the succeeding generations.  A man is immortilized by what he teaches and the friends he make along the way and not by the money he accumulates.  

Become an EXPERIENECED surfer.  Webster’s New World Dictionary definition of “experienced”:  skilled, practiced, instructed, accomplished, versed, qualified, able, skillful, knowing, trained, wise, expert, veteran, mature, with a good background, rounded, knowing the score*, knowing the ropes*, having all the answers, having been around*, having been through the mill.

If you cannot answer YES to all of the above.  Get your education so you can get a real job.