Open Ocean Surf Lessons

Dave is the best. Took the kids for a week long Surf Camp during our trip to Half Moon Bay and it was THE highlight of our entire vacation! For us, it was easy to schedule with him. When we got there it was obvious he has spent his life on the ocean. We saw Dolphins, sea lions, a whale… but best of all, we caught wave after wave with the help of his knowledge and instruction. Kids and I felt safe and had a blast! Be prepared to be tired afterward though. Surfing is harder than it looks. We were all exhausted by the end of each day.

Dave is the best! I’ve never surfed before and his class was perfect for a first timer. He’s patient and makes sure everyone is completely comfortable throughout the lesson no matter what their age or experience level is. I can’t wait to go back for another class!

Dave was awesome. Called me and texted me in the days leading up to the lesson, my first EVER, and made things sound easy and hands-​on. I drove from Oakland and arrived at Maverick’s Surf shop to rent a wetsuit, and followed easy directions to meet up with Dave and grab our equipment. There were 6 of us in a class, which felt plenty intimate enough – the safety portion on the beach was really brief, because our classroom was really the ocean. We each got in a lot of chances to catch waves, with Dave essentially pushing us into them and letting us know when to stand up. Felt great for a first time, and like he set us up for success. He’s got a really friendly demeanor and helps you be a beginner without feeling like a total idiot. Well worth my $ 60 (in cash) and my $ 10 wetsuit rental for a few hours in the beautiful Northern California ocean trying a new skill.

I began surf lessons with Dave almost two years ago, beginning by taking weekly lessons and now just sporadically as I need them.
Dave is an excellent teacher. From the start of your first lesson on the beach where he explains surf etiquette, safety and makes sure you can pop up, all vital before getting in the water, to the ocean where he’ll help you in to waves (to begin with), then as you progress teach you how to paddle in, read them, about tides, currents, swells… his knowledge is endless. He’s fun and encouraging whilst always remaining alert to your safety. I never feel safer in the water than when Dave is in there with me.
I also wanted to address those reviews that have given one star, based on ‘scheduling’ issues, it perhaps takes a little while to understand this but there are very good reasons:
1) The waves don’t work to your schedule (unfortunate but true). Whether you’re a beginner or not Dave has to make sure that he not only puts you in water that is safe but that is also suitable for teaching in. He may check out a number of different spots before deciding where to hold a lesson, this inevitably involves a few call backs etc. This is all for your benefit though, so he can give you the best surf experience you can have in the conditions available. Look upon it as part of your surf lesson because learning about the right conditions is as important as catching a wave.
2) His office is the ocean which is why you can often expect phone tag, he is not sat by his phone waiting for calls but in the water teaching people to surf. He will call back.
Anyway, the long and short of it is, I couldn’t recommend him highly enough.

Dave is the best and only person I will take surfing lessons from. I’ve been to two other «surfing schools» and they have you riding really big boards across the white and you never get to actually surf a real wave. Dave will have your riding real waves as soon as you’re popping up and he seriously knows his stuff. Every time we’re at a beach, there are 3 or 4 people who paddle by and give him the thumbs up — all former students or surf buddies who will vouch for his seriousness of the sport and the ocean — and all of them have become excellent surfers. Some people gave him a low rating because scheduling is difficult. I’ve never found this to be the case. Not even once. He spends a lot of time checking the surf and choosing the beach based on the conditions – which is why you call him the night before or morning of – not because a beginner needs the *best* waves, but because putting a beginner in waves that are nasty (double overhead, etc) just isn’t right. If you don’t have the flexibility in your weekday to plan around the waves (and most of us… including myself… don’t), try to schedule a day on the weekend. It really is soooo worth it to take a class or two with Dave.
PS. A few weeks ago, before the start of a private class, I watched him with the little kids. He is one of the few people I would ever leave my child with in the middle of the ocean. Calm, patient, and completely level headed — and most of all — the kids totally trusted him. And so do I.

Difficult to deal with — scheduling a lesson was almost impossible and mandated to always be morning of and wave dependent. I need more predictability on my schedule and as a beginner don’t need perfect waves. I did four lessons and requested a refund of the fifth. Overall, I feel like I wasted last season waiting to get lesson time, and when I did go out it didn’t feel like I learned all that much.

Flaked on us morning of. Supremely frustrating to deal with. Don’t bother; may be a great teacher but it doesn’t matter if you can’t actually schedule a lesson.

The low star is because I never met the guy and couldn’t talk to him in person! We played phone tag mostly but I would have apreciated confirmation of where to meet, ugh, as the SFGate DailyDeal for 2 hrs lists his home address as where to meet. I am pretty busy and only glanced at their website which lists where to meet and specific directions. But Dave always does call back so I guess he is ok,…and his school is closer than Santa Cruz,…

It’s been a life long dream of mine to learn to surf. I haven’t done it yet, but the class I had with Dave pointed me in the right direction. It started with learning how to «pop up», then it was out to try it in the water. There was only so much I could learn in one day, but with Dave or someone from his team holding the board, giving me a push and telling me when to pop up I managed to stand up a few times, get to my knees a few more, and naturally wiping out a lot. I was surprised at how hard it was, I had lots of aches and a swollen toe the next day, but it was worth it. I plan on saving up my vacation time so I can come back next year for maybe a week and learn how to do the whole thing on my own. To sum it up, I had a great time and highly recommend Dave!

The kids agree! Surfing with Dave was the highlight of our trip to nor-​cal.
I was worried that surfing in 60 degree weather would be a nightmare, but it is actually no problem with a wetsuit. My son is a skateboarder. He got up, stayed up, and had a blast. My 14 year old daughter was very apprehensive at first, but she got up the first time and could not get enough. Dave is an excellent teacher. The kids loved him and I was impressed by his attention to safety. If you have only one thing to do with your kids at HMB, take them surfing with Dave. You will not regret it!
Also consider hiring Peter the photographer to preserve your memories.
Dave will set you up. He is excellent and surfing photography is his business.

It was a little challenging making a schedule with Dave but I was patient and he was just so nice when I talk to him on the phone.
Dave was a really good teacher. On shore he discussed safety, the tides and things we need to know. We practiced our pop up and stance before heading out to the water. And once there, Dave stayed close to each of us and telling us he wants to help.
Surfing is such a work out. Being lighter, my son was up on his board every single time. We were all trying so hard but having so much fun at the same time.
I recommend Dave and his classes. I’m glad that with the new skill he taught me, I can take advantage of the warmer waters of the Caribbean in the summer time.