best board for Nicaragua

who knows wave-wise what you will run into; my guess is thinner/longer. if this your first trip
the outside left at popoyo is truly an expert slope. go slay it. also beware it.

 

I've been there a couple times and never surfed anything under chest high. Your all around board is probably your best bet unless you see some purple blobs on the surf forecast....I'd let that dictate if you should take another. You may get charged more for taking 2 boards though?

 

whatever thruster you usually use. dont bother with a longboard, sup, or fish.

 

been there twice, take your all around shortboard and a step-up, or a little big longer, narrow and thin board. dont bother for fishies etc.

 

Ya.... outers at Popoyo can get seriously ridiculous! I often see guys with helmets and guns goin out there. It can get pretty big! For most going to Nicaragua on a surf trip aren't going to surf the outer reef. People have died out there and many have been seriously mangled. The nearest hospital isn't so near either.

So besides outer reef just bring your regular board. I usually bring a 6' - 6'1" basic thruster and my 5'7" fish. Actually rode the fish most of the time. Got some killer picts of me on the fish in a stand up barrel! I have never ever been to Nicaragua and had a shortage of waves. On one trip we had some guys who weren't quite as experienced and there were a few days it was just too big!

If you are not an experienced surfer I would recommend going with a guide and letting them know you need a less aggressive wave. It seems there's a lot more reef and rocks and funky currents then if you go on a trip to Costa.

None the less you'll have a killer time!

 

popoyo

yep, like i said….an expert slope.

 

This might be really obvious but check the surf report before you go and bring whatever you need to cover the expected waves just like anyplace else.

My experience has been that a standard shortboard covers just about everything except if it gets huge and you want to do toe ins on the outer reefs. I don't even own the sort of boards that would have been required to surf the biggest days last time I was there but there were some nooks and crannies where my regular shortboard worked just fine even on the biggest days.

 

What % of average joe surfers are doing tow ins at outer reefs on a surf trip?

 

Don't forget your first aid kit if your going to be charging. Stay safe the rocks in Nica are sharp as they get. Popoyo outer reef sucks completely dry at some sections during low tide. Take some pics for us , that wave is absolute magic when its going off if you can handle it. It was solid 12 foot when i was there. . . . I watched from the safety of the boat as two other Australians riding retro fishes were getting the best backside tubes ever. Insane

 

Its not just for tow-ins. I was under the impression that i was going to be able to "try" and get a few out there. No one told me it was almost dry. . .I would of died most likely

 

outside popoyo

seems like it should be said here that if you are going out there probably better on the high tide.

 

The guys from one of the surf camps have some ski's and when it gets big they bring a trailer loaded with the big boards and jet ski's out there. If you have the cahones you can do the mile out paddle and sit in the line-up and they'll be glad to whip you in.

There's way more people on the cliff watching then in the water!

http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=A211US0&p=huge+outer+reef+popoyo+video


http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=mcafee&type=A211US0&p=huge+outer+reef+popoyo+video

 

So. . . .Who's going to be the first on SI to charge outer reef Popoyo at low tide? Wavehog thats the bad thing, they will GLADLY whip you in and don't care about your safety. They were trying to make me charge it and trust me i have no business ,maybe if it wasn't shallow reef

 

I've paddled out when it was triple overhead out there and its a hell of a lot bigger then you could ever imagine watching it from the cliff! Ended up watching it for an hour out there and snuck in on a small set all the way through.

 

I'll be there in april as well. 7th through the 15th actually. fully plan on charging outer reef with my new step up!

 

^ Now thats Go-Pro worthy .

 

are you a goofy-foot? it seems to me that this particular wave
discriminates in favor of the right foot forward crowd...

 

Surfed Popoyo a couple a years ago... First 2 days was a couple feet overhead with a bigger set here and there.
Day 3 the swell jumped and and we surfed the outer reef. Double overhead with bomb sets. Got a couple of crazy ones, but ate sh!t more than got barreled. Didn't hit the reef once.
Would have loved to be goofy that day.