Surf BootCamp
The fast track for your surfing!
Surf Bootcamp @ The Wave Bristol
16. – 18. June 2023 (Friday – Sunday) – 450€ / Coaching per Person
19. – 21. June 2023 (Monday – Wednesday) – 390€ / Coaching per Person
What you get
- 3 days where only surfing matters
- Maximum of 5 participants per Bootcamp
- 6h of video analysis session (2 per day) at the wave pool (price for sessions not included)
- Individual surfing technique training with Dave Renaud – Head coach of Surfing England, owner of howtosurfbetter and former head coach of the UK Olympic team
- Maneuver training on land and with surf skate (optional – depended on weather
- Footage of your sessions will be available for downloading after the camp
How you will improve
- Surf constantly in the power zone of the wave and harness more speed
- Widen your peripheral view on the wave so you can adapt quickly to sections ahead of you
- Adapt vertical and radical maneuvers to get more flow and have more fun surfing
For whom it is
The Surf Bootcamp is for you if you are an ambitious surfer who wants to progess fast! If you want to improve your surfing skills but have limited time on the water or no access to consistent quality waves this program is for you.
To get the most out of it you should be an intermediate to advanced surfer who can take head-high waves and ride them up and down. We welcome everyone on our journey but you will have more fun if you have a certain level already.
Why does it matter
At a certain stage, every surfer experiences the moment where he or she feels like a plateau is reached and progress is slowing down dramatically.
Infrequently surfing in the ocean often does not give you the chance to practice certain maneuvers or habits again and again which makes it very hard for you to advance. More often than not you have to hassle with crowds or conditions that are not in your favor. Therefore, surfing only on vacations or on weekends now and then makes reaching the next level in your surfing journey hard to impossible.
While hiring a surf coach for some hours or going to a regular surf camp is helping you to progress, often the vacation is already over before you even really tuned in. Surfing the ocean is the most genuine way of surfing, nevertheless, it cannot always provide you with the perfect setting to get the most out of your session.
It cannot:
- Create perfect conditions for you
- Give you priority in the lineup
- Film you from the perfect angle and close distance
- Remove the crowds
- Remove localism
- Remove currents or other things that distract you
- Remove tides
The Surf Bootcamp is the logical answer to this problem. It is a fast track for the domesticated (landlocked) surfer who is ambitious but has only limited time in the water to progress.
In 3 days, you will learn the fundamentals of speed management, surfing with flow and performing critical maneuvers on a wave.
Check out the video below from last time. See how the surfers progress over time 👇
Meet your Coach
Dave Renaud (howtosurfbetter.com) is a legend and one of surf’s true originals.
Born and raised in Durban South Africa Dave has been surfing all of his life. He is a renowned and experienced surf coach who has dedicated his life to the sport.
With over 20 years of experience in surf coaching, he has helped hundreds of students just like you to surf with more flow and catch more quality waves. He is helping surfers from intermediate to athletes to improve their technique.
And you know why he is doing that?
“Its said, the best surfer is the one having the most fun! I say the better you surf the more fun you will have!”- Dave Renaud
Dave is on a mission to help surfers like us to become more competent in the water in less time.
The methods Dave will teach you are tested and have a proven track record. As the head coach of the England Surfing Team for the past eight years, as well as the British Surfing Team’s head coach in their challenge to reach Olympic qualification in 2018 and 2019, Dave has perfected his approach. Under his guidance team members have won Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals at various competitions. Besides him as a coach, Dave is still out there competing. He has won the British nationals’ veterans in 2014 and English national veterans in 2017.
When Dave is not at his home base in South Devon UK, he is organizing surf trips. From Morocco to the Maldives, with over three decades of surf travel experience, Dave knows exactly what makes a surf trip unforgettable for you. Benefit from the wealth of experience he has acquired doing this since the early 90s!
The Bootcamp
The Surf Bootcamp will start around 11am on the first day and end around 3pm at the last day.
We will begin the camp with a briefing at the main area where we will tell you what to expect within the next couple of days. After that, it is time for your first surf session. Each round is exactly one hour long, and you can expect to surf at least 10 waves per session. If the sessions are uncrowded you can even get up to 20 waves, if your arms can take that.
The first day is basically setting the benchmark of your skills. This means that you will surf one session on your frontside the other one on your backside while Dave is filming you.
After each session we will watch the footage together and Dave will give you first feedback on your technique. He usually gives you 2-3 points that you could focus on in your next session. We will additionally upload all the footage, so you have the chance to recap and reanalyze your technique.
Day two and three are dedicated to your progress. Knowing what to focus on you will be practicing one side each day. That means that we go all left on one day and all right on the other day. Between the morning and the afternoon sessions we will do video analysis and Dave will give you insides on how to perform maneuvers more critical and how to harness more speed and flow.
To better understand how to perform maneuvers Dave will do Surfing Tai-Chi with you. This means that he will deconstruct maneuvers on-land and show you how to perform them. It is also possible to practise the maneuvers on a surf skate which we will bring with us. This is optional as you might not be familiar with skateboarding or because the weather might be a little to wet for the surfskate.
For most surfers two sessions a day is more then enough. If you who ever feel that you want more there is always the option to book more sessions. If you book empty spots on the same day they are usually heavily discounted.
Prices and Options
Coaching
16. – 18. June 2023 (Friday – Sunday) – 450€ / Person
19. – 21. June 2023 (Monday – Wednesday) – 390€ / Person
Wavepool Sessions
Costs are from the wavepool as we receive them. We get a 10% discount on the sessions that is already calculated into the price. The sum is an estimation based on the exchange rate. The real price in £ is in the brackets.
16. – 18. June 2023 (Friday – Sunday) ~ 375€ for 6 Advanced Sessions (£54.90 per session)
19. – 21. June 2023 (Monday – Wednesday) ~ 335€ for 6 Advanced Sessions (£49.50 per session)
Accommodation
As everyone has a different budget and different preferences we made the decision that it is easiest if you can decide which type of accommodation you prefer. The distance from the parking to the wavepool is a 15min walk and the campsite at The Wave is very comfy. It consists of safari tents with a chimney and a kitchen. We were sleeping in them last time and everyone liked it a lot.
The benefit is, that we could easily do our video analysis in the tents and a quick powernap does not mean walking 30min. Also it is nice if you like to get away from the crowds. Especially at the weekend the wavepool is really busy while the camp is really calm.
Alternatively you could also stay at the parking with a van. This is not completely legal (I think) but many people do that and it does not seem like an issue. Also Airbnb’s and Hotel are an option but then you might need a rental car.
The easiest thing is for sure if we share tents but this it totally up to you.
Here are the rates for different tents on the camp site and the link to this page.
- Sleeps 6 (+2): 1 x double bed, 2 x bunk beds, sofa bed sleeps 2
- Sleeps 4 (+2): 1 x double bed, 1 x bunk bed, sofa bed sleeps 2
- Sleeps 2: 1 x double bed
- DDA Tent Sleeps 4 (+2): 1 x double bed, 2 x single beds, sofa bed sleeps 2, fully accessible, additional space and roll under kitchenette.
- Shared Accommodation: Book a bed in our shared accommodation, female or male only tents
Rates (per tent)
16. – 18. June 2023 (Friday – Sunday)
- Sleeps 6 (+2) -£470
- DDA 4(+2) – £470
- Private Dorm – £540
19. – 21. June 2023 (Monday – Wednesday)
- Sleeps 6(+2) – £410
- DDA 4(+2) – £410
- Private Dorm – £480
Additional Information and FAQs
The water temperature of the pool is usually close to the outside temperature. There is a little delay but expect it to be colder if it was raining a lot or to be warm it the weather was good. Everything from a 4/3 to boardie’s is possible.
You can rent boards and wetsuits if you want to travel light. They have boards on site, but you better let me know in advance as I might be able to book them for you. Keep in mind that they charge extra for that.
Usually, we will run one session in the morning (9-10ish) and one in the afternoon (2-3ish). In between we do the analysis and coaching. You have a lot of time to recover, sleep, work, …
They have a restaurant that is really good but very British. They serve vegetarian and vegan but almost everything is served in a bun and with fries. We will organize a ride to a supermarket for breakfast and some healthier options.
We will be asking for an upfront payment of 25% so we can make all the necessary bookings. We are happy to refund you totally 4 weeks prior to the camp if you can’t make it but we go with the same policies as the wavepool. This means if the wavepool is refunding us, we will refund you.
4 weeks before the event you need to pay the full price. This is also the time till we need the rest of the money from you. After that period, we can’t guarantee you a refund as it depends on our partners policies. How ever we will always try to make it happen if it becomes necessary because of unfavorable circumstances.
If you want to do this as a workcation you can. There is lots of people working in the restaurant of the wave pool. You usually have enough time in the morning, evening and in between sessions to do a few hours of work.