A wild adventure with Surf Guide Algarve and friends
Finally I have my own Storm! Obviously our daughther is called storm too, so technically we always have our own storm. But kinda cool to see Strom Nils beeing announced. Misspeld, yes, still cool. Number 6 or 7 in a row from the start of 2026. Luckily this one is less destructive but promises to bring some good waves! 2.9 meter with 17 seconds. Time to Step thing Up a little bit. Get ready for a wild adventure with Surf Guide Algarve and friends.
Its called stepup for a reason
Honestly I am not a big wave surfer. Something is completely not allright with the few surfers chasing the real big stuff. Putting your life on the line to go down straight on a wave just does not do it for me. Of course it is fun to push things a little bit. Suggesting we should check Zavial my surf buddy calls me crazy. Yet, there is a big period what will help the paddle out. And…it is called stepup for a reason, lets get some bombs! No one out, far from perfect but epic at the same time.
One more wave
After about two hours of catching some incredible waves *and wearing some on the head too, its time to go in. Just at that moment an old friend appears on the beach. Swapping grey Scheveningen *Holland, for grey Algarve. Bro, you missed it the wind turns bad now. ‘‘O really, looks pretty good to me‘‘ Jop replies. He is right, it does still looks good. One more time I paddle out for one more wave… Last waves are always tricky. It needs to be a good one. And, the wind did turn for the worse, making things even harder. Dropping in on a bomb, shooting down the line and point my board to the beach. Thats all for today. Unfortunately the wave thinks different, as it absolutely explodes behind me it somehow rips off my leash. Swimming in these conditions is no joke, but a board on the rocks even less of it.
Take a moment to be proud
Moments before the board hits the rocks I manage to retrieve it. Olympic swimmers will be jealous of the crawl I did, but I had a good reason. Scramble up the rocks and take a little moment to just stare into the ocean. After the surf Jop and I reflect on the session and life in general. Ten years ago we met in Arrifana where he got one of my first good surf fotos. So much and so little has happend since then. Jop becomes a famous figure in the surf photography, I start Surf Guide Algarve. Both really chasing our dreams. Realising it really all comes beautiful together on this moment on the beach, taking a moment to be proud. Proud of what we achieved, who we are and what we do. Check out Jop Hermans for more of his work.
