20.4.11

NATHAN EADES / ENGLISH VERSION

Nathan Eades, now directly from... Peru!



Name: Nathan Eades
Age: 28
Nationality: Welsh
Occupation: Design and Technology Teacher

Competition records:
Worlds 2009 3rd, South American Championships 1st

Website: www.gcsurfboards.com

Sponsors: Nookie Kayaking Equipment, Robson Paddles, Shred Ready helmets, Green Coast surfboards.


Your Gear:
I have been using the Robson Fluid paddle for a few years now and love it, the shaft is flexible so my wrists do not get too sore and the blade area is nice a big for powerful stokes. Nookie gear has always been my favourite gear combining both style and function extremely well and they are the only company who provide surf kayaking equipment- the best surf deck available and their neoprene Ti vest are great in all conditions; from tropical water conditions to cold conditions where when worn over the top of a wetsuit create a much better seal for your spray deck.

I am using the “Shensu” and “Standard” helmets from Shred Ready-both are stylish, well manufactured helmets which I know I can rely on to protect my head!

I am mostly riding a waveski these days, and my latest one has been manufactured by Green coast surfboards based in Lima , Peru. The build quality is very good and I am very impressed with the finish of the board.

Hello Nathan. One more interview! This time... Peru. Tell us... how and when did you decided to go to Peru?
Well it was all very last minute Loui, I was sat in the UK around this time a year ago halfway through my first British winter for 4 years, the surf season had been ok but very cold, there was snow on the ground, and all I could think about was getting out of there!
I came home from work one day and Naomi had found a job on the world wide teaching job search website TES.com. The job was Lima Peru, and the idea of living 7 hours south of Chicama was too good to miss. I put an application in assuming the job would start in September later that year, in fact it started March 1st. I must have said some good things in the skype interview or more likely was so excited at the prospect of getting a job in Peru that I came across as the most enthusiastic teacher in the world, either way I got the job. Two weeks after sending off the application, I was on a plane Lima bound with a few shirts, ties and my wave ski.

Where are you living at this moment?
Right now I am on the 2 month holiday which we get from the international school so I am down in Chile scoring some waves with Naomi, when term starts I will be going back up to Lima. Naomi and I live in a big apartment on the Coste Verde in Mirraflores, we have a 5 minute walk down to the ocean and there are waves every day, so for any surfer; boarder, kayaker, waveski, knee boarder, body border, it is ideal!

Well... I suppose you like South America! (hehehehehe) What are your plans in the future... live there?
I was originally given a 1 year contract, I have already extended to 2 years and we talk contracts again in August, Naomi also has a job in the school now so there is a high possibility that we will extend for longer given the chance. I am enjoying life out here a great deal, the work pays well and outgoings are really very low so the lifestyle is amazing. You get to surf as many days as you want, eat out at great restaurants and immerge yourself in a really cool culture, what more could you ask for??

Peruan people...
Really cool friendly people, amazing surfers, and very hard workers! It seems that a lot of people think that Peru is quite a hostile/dangerous place to live or travel due to crime or violence. This is not the case, sure there are areas in Lima that you would want to stay away from at night, but this is the same for all capital cities. My experiences so far have been very positive and I have not felt threatened in the 9 months I have lived in Peru.

And how is your spanish?
It is slowly improving. I can ask for food, have basic conversations, but most importantly I can ask where the waves break best and what time it is best to surf! I am having lessons so I hope to be fluent by the time I leave.


Now, let's talk about surf. How often and where do you usually surf in Peru?
Well Loui as I said earlier, I live 5 minutes walk from the ocean so I can surf here pretty much every day… But the best waves aren’t to be found in central Lima. We rent a beach house just 40 minutes south in a place called Punta Hermosa which is an area packed with long left and right hand point breaks, and some great reefs. We head here for the weekends, surf the city breaks in the week, then when the big swell hit, head north. The best places in my opinion to surf in Peru are found in the North, by the time the swell makes it up there, it has such a great period and lines up incredibly well.

Everybody has heard of Chicama, we have been lucky enough to land 5 perfect Chicama swells so far and a few weeks ago I scored the best one so far, you could ride a rip-able wall for over a kilometre and it was big enough to be able to make it through the fast El Hombre section which is pretty rare. While Chicama is amazing, there are so many other places up North which get me excited equally as much, but require a bit of searching so those surfers out there thinking about making the trip will need to do a bit of investigating yourselves.


Now, the same old same… you already surfed in many countries (Brazil, Basque Country, Portugal, South Africa , Tahiti, USA, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Ecuador, Tonga). After Peru last time you were there you said that would be, probably, the best spot you have surfed... and now?
I always told you it was too hard too name the best country… Peru has my heart at the moment though Loui, perhaps it’s because I’ve been here long enough now to be tuned into the right spots and the best times to surf them. Equally it could be down to the fact that I can’t think of many other places in the world which has surf everyday and the longest left hand point break in the world just up the road.

Best spots in there...

Lobitos, Pacasmayo, Chicama.

Are there already any surfkayakers?
There is one; a good friend of mine called Javier Perez. He lives in Huanchaco, another long point break just 1 hour south of Chicama. We met 2 years ago when Naomi and I were travelling through. We taught him how to roll and hung out for a while and have been friends ever since.

You won the HP class on the South American Championship this October. Tell us all the adventure!
Well I met up with Bruno who drove me around and looked after me all weekend, he’s such a funny guy and a great surf kayaker! Work gave me Friday and Monday off either side of the weekend that the event was ran over. I flew down to San Pablo on Friday then took an 8 hour overnight bus on Friday night from Sao Pablo to Joinville, then a local bus out to the competition beach and arrived at 7 am on the Saturday that the comp started. It was a bit of a mission, but well worth the effort, the Brazilians ran an amazing competition! They had pre-booked Hotel rooms for every competitor, a panel of judges, big judging tower, P.A system, event T-shirts, and even prize money.

The surf was great all weekend; a punchy beach break with a good lip, warm water, and plenty of sunshine. I wasn’t expecting to win and really made the trip down to meet up with more wave skiers and surf kayakers in South America to surf with than compete. As it turned out the conditions really suited me and the kayak I borrowed (Darren Bason’s Evo) went well so I ended up getting into the competition and was really pleased to win it.


And how was the vibe of all the event?
It was great; everybody was really friendly and welcoming to the only Gringo at the event. I tried to speak the small amount of Spanish I have and the Brazilians spoke very good English and they made a big effort to include me and make me feel welcomed, something I hope to reciprocate if ever some one speaking a foreign language turns up to a British comp. If the guys there hadn’t made such a big effort, I would have felt very isolated. The organiser; Christian was so well organised, that the event ran smoothly so everybody was relaxed and chilling out between their heats, it really was an impressive event to be present at.

An experience to repeat?
Definitely! I had more fun at this event than I have at a competition for a LONG time!

Imagine I want to go surfing till Peru... what kind of advices would do you give me?
If anybody is planning a trip out here in the next 12 months. Email me, and I will give you all the help you need to plan out the trip. I think the best advice would be; take what you hear about south America with a pinch of salt, it is developing fast and feels far from a 3rd world country. Sure there is a bit of crime, but if you are cautious and don’t behave like a complete muppet, you will be fine! The best waves are in the north and the best time of year to be out here is June until October.

Do you plan to participate next year in Portugal for the waveski worlds?
I would love to get myself to a waveski worlds, to see those guys ripping and meet some of the guys at the top of the sport, from what I can see they all have a great vibe going on. Unfortunately the worlds collide with the south swell season out here, and I do not want to miss the opportunity to surf more waves at Chicama or Pacasmayo. Maybe the next worlds will be at a better time and I’ll make it, but free surfing really is what drives me and the cost it takes to get to a comp could be spent on another trip to another country, in search of even better waves than I have here.

You're always involved in some new projects... any new one for the next times?
I got in touch with Greencoast surf boards back in October, and we have worked together to produce the first waveski manufactured in Peru. The company are incredibly exciting and professional to work with; first we all sat down together and drew the waveski on Computer Aided Design 3D modelling software, making adjustments to the design to enhance performance and suit my specific requirements, then the foam was sent for shaping. Greencoast have a CNC operated router which cuts the main bulk of the foam to the shape and size of the CAD drawing, then the shaper (Rodrigo) puts in the final tweaks before the ski is sprayed to your chosen design and glassed.

The end result is a waveski designed to your specific requirements and finished to the highest quality I have seen a ski made to… it’s incredible. I have been riding the ski on powerful waves down in Chile these last few weeks and taken some big hits, it has shown no signs of failure, so I am very impressed with the strength of the board and fixtures. If anybody is in the market for a new waveski, I would definitely recommend them to get in touch with Greencoast… You could come out on a surf trip and pick up your new waveski at the same time!!


Last words for all the surf kayakers that are going to read your interview…
Whatever your ability, whatever size waves you want to surf, whatever kind of conditions you prefer, and whatever you are surfing; you are a surfer…. So surf as often as you can and never turn an opportunity to surf down!

Thanks Nathan!!

PHOTOS AND FULL VERSION HERE:

http://www.kayaksurf.net/Peru.html

4.4.11

J.P. SIMÕES / KFTP / ENGLISH VERSION

Kayaking For The People / KFTP



Let's meet the mentor of this project.

Hello João Paulo. First of all, how and when did you start paddling?
I grew up in the Mondego shores and i had my first kayak experience at 15... and was hooked! At the time (80's), in Portugal kayaks and paddlers were quite rare. Then, in 1986, i spent my first Army wage in my first kayak, a Goltziana touring kayak.

At the same time, we know that you always loved to prepare and organize expeditions and “things”!

I was always an enthousiast of discovery and it's an enormous pleasure to me to chose "where" and "what" and to set up the "how"! And, for the last 20 years, in a purely amateur way, i've discovered and helped others to discover some mb and 4x4 trails, some mountains, a lot of waterways in kayak, allong with an incursion in an adventure sports corporation (Geoaventura).

And now, you decide to join all that experience in “Kayaking For The People” (KFTP). When did you had this idea?

KFTP is born from a mix of two guidelines: the organization in the last couple of years of several seakayak events in Portugal and the growing relationship with Mozambique and unverdeveloped communities issues. The idea came out some months ago, when i started to prepare the 2011 Lake Niassa (Malawi) Kayaking Expedition and whas something like this: "Just a kayak expedition? Why not something more?".

Presents us the KFTP partners…
For the next three years, our Action Plan wil be executed in cooperation with local organisations, like Associação Niassa Portugal Amizade (a portuguese NGO working in Nkholongue village, building a local medical post) and Fundação Khanimambo (a NGO working with 200 children of a poor fishermen community in Xai-Xai).

We know that, for this kind of projects, all the supports are very well coming. How can we support KFTP?
KFTP, as an independent NGO, depends on goodwill. So anyone, individual or organisation, is welcome to join and to help, supporting with an annual membership fee through the Member online aplication form. We are also looking for sponsors to help us with our Action Plan. We are talking about buying children bed nets, anti-diarrea pils for children and simple fourniture for medical posts. So, donors, sponsors and members are welcome!

The website is online, - like all the the “social networks”. And now, what are you planning for a short period?
We have already the 2011 Events Schedule (check it online), but the major events will be the partnership in Figueira da Foz Kayaksurf Session and the organisation of the Lake Niassa Kayaking Expedition 2011, a fund raising expedition along the mozambican shore of the Niassa (Malawi) lake, in August.

Well… we must ask you this: is there any space for surfkayaking as well?
KFTP aims to raise awareness among all kind of paddlers, no matter the craft, to do something more than just paddle, in order to improve the life conditions of undeveloped people.

Last words…
Just a couple of facts to think about:

- in the Niassa province, the most remote and undepeveloped province of one of the most undeveloped countries in the world, 1 of 5 children do not reach 5 years of age!
- an average carbon paddle may cost 5 mozambican minimum wages; an average fiberglass seakayak would pay the fourniture of a rural medical center!

Thanks João Paulo and all the success for KFTP.

FULL VERSION / PHOTOS HERE:
http://www.kayaksurf.net/kftp.html