Beyond the Orange Curtain

Andrew Edwards

This summer, thousands will gas up their cars and battle their way

down the freeways to nearby beaches. But for some, that short ride

won’t suffice. They need to go beyond the Orange Curtain in the

search of waves.

“I just get a real joy out of experiencing the different

cultures,” said surf traveler T.K. Brimer. “We get really full of

ourselves in Orange County and think we’re the cat’s meow or the end

all. It does my heart good to go to foreign countries and see people.

There’s life out there without Mercedes Benzes or Beamers. There’s

life out there without million-dollar homes.”

Brimer, who owns the Frog House surf shop in West Newport, said

his favorite destination is Tavarua in Fiji.

“Tavarua is a magical special place right now for those who can

spend the money,” Brimer said.

The far-off waves in Tavarua don’t come cheap. Brimer said a

seven-night stay can set a surfer back about $3,000.

Because of the costs, many people planning a surf trip tend to be

among those who have spent more than just a few years on the beach.

“That’s who you find are taking the trips; they’re married, they

may or may not have kids,” said Marianne Braly, owner of Now Voyager

Travel in Huntington Beach.

“There are a ton of adults, 40-, 50-, 60-year-old guys that are

out there surfing,” Braly said.

Older surfers are not the only people who need airplane tickets to

go to the beach, said Woods Travel Laguna owner Danae Dybas Young

surfers, especially those competing in surf contests, look beyond

California for waves.

Surfers often look to stretch their dollars when on their way to

distant beaches.

“If they’re going out-of-pocket, they usually want it pretty

cheap,” Danae said.

Surfwear makers at Quiksilver have an entire division, Quiksilver

Travel, devoted to packaging surf vacations. For the lucky few who

can head out to foreign waves on short notice, the company has a

service called Quikstrike to alert surfers to exceptional swells.

“They can go down and are pretty much guaranteed great surf,”

travel director Jeff Wilson said.

For vacationers who need to plan ahead before shelling out for a

vacation, the Huntington Beach-based Surfline forecasts beach

conditions around the world. Except for those who are paid to surf,

most working people need to know where the good waves are expected

before they hop on a jet, Surfline meteorologist Charlie Fox said.

Quiksilver’s destinations include beaches in Latin America, the

South Pacific, South Africa and Indonesia, though Wilson said the

Bali bombings and December tsunami have put a damper on Indonesian

travel.

Braly singled out Tamarindo, Costa Rica, as a popular surf spot,

and Dybas cited the north shore of Oahu, a traditional hot spot, as

well as Costa Azul, Mexico, and Australia in her list of popular

locales.

Brimer said he recently took two trips to Australia. The beaches

there, he said, are clean and friendly.

“The girls, by the way, love American men,” Brimer said.

Brimer called Mazatlan, Mexico, a forgotten surf spot, though he

won’t list every uncrowded beach he knows.

“There are a couple of places I wouldn’t tell you for money,” he

said.