Is surfing part of your life???

Surfing is definitely part of my life.
Last week i got together with leah,Reid and a few other people to go for a 3 day surf trip where we could get some different surf shots for our common sponsor Sitkasurfboards.
It all started with Leah picking me up in Victoria and from that we started our driving to the North Island.Surfing was suppose to be super fun at our end destination.
We stop on the way for some gas and to buy some food so we could have enough for the next 3 days.We drove for a few hours and close to 9pm we were arriving at our friends house where we stayed the entire time.The surf was great but quite far for some surfing pics,but some great scenary and lifestyle shots were taken by our friend Kyler.Marty was with us the whole time getting everything on video so we can put a little video together of our 3 day adventure.
While in Ukee we visited some good friends and also checked some surf spots that i had never being before,but unfortunately the waves were not big enough or with the right direction to be had at those spots.We decided to check some of the beach breaks and clean conditions with some great sunshine plus minus temperatures were part of the scenary.
For the next three days we had some great surfing and some other great experiences in the wild west coast such as seals chasing me out of the water,some fricking cold weather and some crazy roads with huge frozen roles in which Reids car fell in while driving on it .We also had some great snow coming down where at a point i taught i was snowboarding without gogles.
Anyway, it was pretty fun days and really soon i will post a video with our 3 day trip.

Cheers,

Chris Careca Moutinho.

A new life(Chapter 1):

Long week full of great things and good times. Just got home from Sitka Surf Shop Vancouver store party. Met with some good people and had fun with my good Canadian friends. These Sitka guys came a long way and I am super stoked to see the progress Sitka surf shop and brand is doing since the first day I walked into their old shop on Douglas street. At that time I had just arrived from Brazil with my wife and dog Kirra. We hadn’t thought about Julian yet but sure enough he was coming into this world soon enough. A lot of hard work at the time to find a place to live and start understanding a city that both of us had no idea about. All I knew was that this town had some waves close by in the winter time and in the summer my only option was Tofino, which is 4 hours away from Vic. Pretty crazy or maybe adventurous, but I left my home country to come into a new culture and language that I was and am still learning more everyday about. I left a really good job behind, all my close family and friends to start a new life in a promising country. Surfing is in my blood and until I can’t walk anymore I will still do it. No friends, no house, but a car full of $%%$5~!@,wife a dog and a lot of time on my hands since I had no job but 10 brand new surfboards that I brought with me to surf in Canada or in my next trip somewhere. I stopped at that shop (Sitka) everyday and many others in town to chat with people and see what surf was about. I did not know that I had to drive at least 40 minutes to get some waves but I was about to find out. Did my first surf at Sombrio and the waves were quite fun but the cold, the big trees, wildlife and so on was all new to me. I had a good time in the water saw some surfers but no crowd at all. Over the past 5 to 6 years surfing has being growing a lot and that’s not because of one or two individuals, that’s because the whole industry is growing and growing fast. Some people don’t understand that it is an inevitable thing to happen but others are fine with it as long as respect it is in place. Yeah guys, surfing it is growing and we even have a recent champion from Canada that won a world surf event (Pete Devries). Since that happened lots of people that maybe did not know anything about surfing are aware now of this peaceful sport that has come to stay and make some headlines. I hope you all have a great weekend or day with your family and friends because I will have with mine. Cheers, Chris “Careca” Moutinho.

Ps:This video is from my last trip to Tahiti.I surfed some amazing waves and met some amazing “locals” in and out of the water.

PPs:I talked to a friend about my writing the other day.It does need some editing,but hey, this is ME.

A rainy afternoon with waves.

Thats right.Today is Sunday and i am by myself, since my wife left to Toronto for a week.Me and my son Julian are and will become great friends.We seem to get along pretty good hehehhe.
Anyway, today the surf was pretty good i heard,but when you dont have family around,the wife is away and all your friends are living their life,you will have to hang with your son and not go surfing.Thats ok,i have plenty of time to get waves and Julian is a lot of fun and keep me super busy.
You know here in Canada if it is 2 foot people say it was overhead,so not too worried,hehehe.I am sure it was great.
Every year I go traveling for work or pleasure and end with my passport full of stamps.Next year wont be different.
2 years ago I had a great time in Indonesia with Noah,Leah and Dean Azim(Photographer).We surfed some great waves and had a lot of fun around Bali and a few other Islands.This trip was for a Canadian Magazine SBCsurf(Sbcsurf.com) and apparentely we will go on another trip pretty soon but this time to the Mentawaii Islands.
In the meantime i will surf some fun swells on the Island and wait for my trip to Hawaii that it is coming real fast.
Surfing in Canada is a mission and you must love surfing.Living on the south Vancouver Island you depend on your car 100% and the surf is at least 40 minutes away from home.But, when the surf is good,the drive is totally worth it.
The weather is a bit better now and Julian is sleeping,so i might go and make myself some food while i have some time.
Attached are a few pics of my last trip to Indo.I hope you guys enjoy.
Have fun in the surf and dont think you are too cool because there is always someone better than you out there.

Cheers,

Chris "Careca" Moutinho.

How to be happy in the surf

Two years or so ago, I had a chance to surf a Rip Curl heated wetsuit.At the time they were developing the suit to finally get to a perfect model which nowadays they call the H Bomb. Surfing in Canada is always cold,but in the wintertime the water gets really cold and so is the temperature outside.A few months ago i got the H- bomb from my wetsuit/clothing sponsor Rip Curl.All I can say is that the suit is super flexible and warm.It is heated with 2 small lithium batteries in the back providing the warmth you need in the frigid waters of Canada.Paddling is super easy due to great flexibility from the E3 material and also from the fact you are surfing a 4/3 mm suit when everyone else is surfing a 6/5mm or 5/4mm with 5mm gloves and 7mm booties.Since I surfed last time i went from 5mm gloves to 3mm and from 7mm boots to 3mm.If your core is warm during your session your body's extremities will be super warm as well. Anyway, i just loved to be able to have this suit and recommend anyone to get one. Surfing has being really good over the past few weeks and it is looking great for in the next few days as well. See you in the water. Cheers, Chris "Careca" Moutinho

We do what we can...

Since the Oneill cold water classic competition i havent done too much.I mean,i have being doing lots but whenever you are doing things you enjoy it seems that you did not do too much.
Anyway, havent surfed in a while and last friday i taught it would be good to go out and try to get some waves.It was messy and windy at this spot i surfed ,but it was good to see some real swell rolling in and be back in a water again.I could not surf as i normally do,due to a shoulder injury that happened a month ago when i got hit by a car riding my bike to the gym.
After that me and my friend Keegan decided to leave and go home.We were both super hungry,because my lovely beagle ate our breakfast when we were outside the car checking the waves at JR.Oh man that dog is fast,she ate 2 baggles in a few seconds and did not leave anything behind to tell the story.
We stoped at this other spot and the waves were looking pretty good.I decided to stay and find a ride home while Keegan kept going.I suited up and went back in the water.Got some great waves and felt a little bit better but not even close to what i normally surf.At least i was in the water again.
Since, i want to do a few more things that only money permits me to i decided to get a side job painting windows for shops and other few places with my good buddy Mario Labonte(www.artistbc.com).The money is good and the work is pretty sweet.Check the pic i posted on this article and let me know what do you think.
I am tired of writing and will watch some tv and dry my wetsuits so i can go for a full day of surfing tomorrow.

Cheers.

Christian Careca Moutinho.

check: www.artistbc.com - Artist Mario Labonte

CWC title stays home.Congrats Pete.

A lot of people dont realize how big this is to Canada.A final with a canadian winner at a 6 star wqs event.It is awesome how well everything developed.I knew from the beginning that he was going to win.Travelling with Pete and watching him surf so many times in all different beach breaks in Tofino i knew this guy was going to make it happen.
Everything started at 9:30 this morning when Pete had his first heat against Glen Hall.Glen was surfing amazing during the event,but an inspired Pete was hard to beat.Moving into the semis he had Corey Lopes a former wct competitor and also inspired during all this comp.Once again Pete had some amazing scores and performed really well moving into the finals.The crowd support was amazing and every single heat Pete was in and on fire, lots of people were there to support him and cheer for every wave he surfed.It was amazing to be there and watch how much support Pete had.It felt like one big family.
In the final was no different.This time every single person from Tofino was at Chesterman supporting Pete in every wave he surfed.He had some amazing scores leaving a former WCT surfer Jay Bottle Tompson needing a combination of scores to become a leader.Sure enough it was Petes day,the day that he will never forget.
I am proud to be a resident of this beautiful country and their beautifull people.

Way to go PETE.

we love you brother.

Cheers,

Christian "Careca" Moutinho

Tofino Sensation PT is on a mission - Quarter Finals Tomorrow

What a day.Once again organizers had some tuff surf to deal with.Conditions were not epic but surfers did show some great surfing skills battling on 3 foot messy surfing at North Chestermans beach.In the beginning the surf was a bit messy but some waves did show some great potential and high scores were surferd.
The comp started at 9ish with heat number 6 at round of 24.Glenn Hall had an outstanding performance on his heat against Blake Torton.Glenn kept busy and scored an amazing 9.5 and 8.5 with some solid turns to advance into the quarters.Our Local surfer Pete Devries came against Joan Duru from France.Pete performed really well leaving Joan needing a 7.5 at the end.Joan is already qualified for the world tour next year.He had an outstanding performance in wct event this year in France taking names like 9x world champ Kelly slater and Joel Parkinson.
Tomorrow we will have quarters,semis and the final.Hopefully the surf will be good and Pete will keep advancing all the way into the final.
Pete is on heat number 2 against outstanding surfer Glen hall from Ireland.
We are hoping for Petes win.It will be a tuff heat,but i still have all my money on Pete.

Cheers,


Christian "careca" Moutinho.

Devries fighting for some milk at CWC.

Once again the contest was on.Started with some small waves in the am after a second call was confirmed at 9:30.Conditions were small but still contestable.
Pete Devries and our Ozzie friend Shannon Brown were still in the comp.A local crowd came down to Cox Bay to cheer for Pete and Shannon.Devies demolished the small waves at Cox bay showing how it is done.I did mention that Devries was going to do that in my last posting.Shannon did not have the smae luck but he was pretty close to advance and as i said before only 50% of the 4 man heat advanced to the next round.After that lots of heats went down and once again the local crowd showed up to watch Devries against Glen Hall and Brian Toth.Glen surfed really good and came first followed by Devries in second making into the next round.I can see a very inspired Pete and all my money is on him right now.
This guy is one of the best surfers in the world in the conditions we have and an amazing person.It will be sweet to see a Canadian winning and having it all at home.Baby Devries is on the way and a 20.000$ prize money would pay for lots of powder milk,diapers and baby food.
Lets see what happens tomorrow.
It was a great day and hopefully another great one for tomorrow.

Cheers,

Christian "Careca" Moutinho.

Round of 96 Oneill coldwater Canada_Peter Devries in the am.

After a good night sleep i woke up with the message saying that the contes was going to start at 9am at Cox bay tofino.After last night bad surfing conditions heat 23rd got together and decided not to go in the water and then surf today first thing in the am.Contest director was not too happy about that but at the end everything went well.
It was a great first heat in the morning and our friend Shannon Brown ripped some great waves and advanced into the next round.Shannon is a great guy and super easy going.Tofino locals and crowd was super stoked to see him doing well and hopefully keep advancing into the main event.Peter Devries,Tofino sensation was waiting all day to go in the water but due to bad weather and bad visibility,contest director decided to make the call and have only two heats done of the round of 96.
The day was full of high scores in the 3 to 5 foot surfing conditions.Offshore winds were on all day making the waves look great.Some upsets and some stoked surfers,well, surfing competitions are like this.Only 50% of the 4 man heat advances,so some upsets are likely to happen.
Tomorrow morning wew ill have another call, and hopefully waves will be super fun again.
We have Peter Devries(Tofino local surfer) on the second heat in the am.
Come and check it out Pete showing how it is done.

Cheers,

Christian "Careca" Moutinho.

Round of 144 is in the bag.

Waves were not as good as yesterday,but the sun was shining and the wind was pretty strong coming from the north.Instead of offshore winds and 4 to 5 foot waves , the contest was held at Chestermans beach with onshore winds and 2 to 3 foot surf.

Canadian surfers didnt have as much luck today and Raph Bruweiler did not have as much luck as his brother Sepp but i am sure he tried his best.Guto Cunha(Canadian resident from Brazil)also made his way into the round of 96.

Next call will be tomorrow and hopefully conditions improve for more great surfing.

On my way out i met with my long time friend Yuri Sodre from Brazil and we went for a little tour in town and also to grab a bite to eat.

The weather is pretty nice up here with lots of sunshine but howling onshore winds.

I am going to have a nap now and will update the blog tomorrow with some more information about the coldwater classic in Tofino Canada.

Cheers,

Christian "Careca" Moutinho.

First day at Oneill cold water Canada

7:15 Marc Fuller(event coordinator),woked me up to get ready for a long day at the beach.

By 8:00 we knew the comp was going to be held at Cox bay.Conditions were good for a contest and the weather,guess what?Rain off course but not too bad.

Lots of great surfers and people came to watch the show.

Local Canadian Pete Devries had an outstanding heat where he pulled one single gigantic air to get the local crowd going and also make his way into the next phase.Sepp(local surfer)also made his way into the next round.Shannon Brown(Ozzie,living in Tofino),had some great waves and also advanced to the next round.Unfortunatelly some of the other local surfers involved did not make throgh but did show some great surfing.

It was a rainy and cold day,specially for the ones that had to be at the beach all day like me.

Waves were good and contestable all day,but after 18 / 25 minutes heats, contest director Matt Wilson decided with head judge to call the day off.The surf was from 3 to 5 feet sets and offshore winds making some riders pull in and out of some great barrels at Cox Bay beach break.

Today it was fun and tomorrow we will have some more surfing and rain.Hopefully organizers keep running the contest,otherwise will be a lay day.

Thanks for reading and i will come back with some more info tomorrow.

Stay tuned,

Christian "Careca" Moutinho.

A day with Noah Cohen at the Oneill cold water Classic.

I met Noah a few years ago.Nice kid with a lot of energy.I remembered surfing with him at Cox bay and he was looking at me and wondering who i was.I finally approched him and start to chat about surfing and etc.

Since that first day I knew that he was going to go far and surprise a lot of people with his nice attitude and progressive surfing.

Anyway,i just got the LBL and had breakfast,i looked to my left and there is Noah giving an interview to some lady.All media and surfers were hanguing out and checking the surf from the main lobby area at LBL.I came over to Noah and gave him a big hug.After a few minutes the kid was free as a bird and also lost in the middle of all cameras and people that were checking in and showing up for the event(all members of oneill are staying at LBL).

I grabbed a coffee and started to walk outside with Noah when Jer(Photographer) told Noah that they were going to get some pics at a local spot in Tofino.We headed to the beach and so did this other van with some big ass cameras and a camera crew.

When we got there we checked the surf and conditions were quite fun.Noah suited up and the camera guys folowed him to the beach.He looked at me and laughed .I was stoked to see that this one kid I saw surfing at Cox bay back in the day was making some progression and living the life of a pro surfer.

At the beach lots of great surfers,cameras and people watching some great surf action.

Tonight is the first night and all media,surfers and staff are meeting for an introduction meeting at LBL.

I am pretty sure the contest will start tomorrow and plenty of swell is on the way.

Check in tomorrow for some more news and pics of the contest and surfers.

Cheers,

Chris "Careca" Moutinho.

Oneill Coldwater Classic in Canada.

Thats right,Canada.
Oneill is having a 6 star WQS in Tofino Canada.
I woke up this morning and had to do a lot of different things.
Started on the phone , had some breakfast and checked the bouys at Neah bay.The surf looked pretty fun,but unfortunately i am still out of the water.So, for now i am just waiting to hear from my friends how sick it was and off course they will say it is even better than what it was.
At least the winter swell is showing up and the guys from Oneill will have plenty of surf to run a good event.
Lots of good surfers are coming from all over the world to try a spot in the WCT next year.From here Oneill move to Santa Cruz and also the whole crew of surfers to fight for some more points and money to qualify for the WCT.
I am heading up tomorrow to hang out and work for Oneill.It will be good to see some of my friends up there and be able to judge the trials in the contest.
Rip Curl Canada crew will be up there as well.Good crew to hang out with.
I am bringuing my camera and will snap some shots of whats going on in places that only VIP have access to.I will bring you guys some cool shots of the surf and the crew involved.

Wait and see.

Cheers,

Chris "Careca" Moutinho

Just got started

Travelling arround the world and meeting new people is something I get to do a few times a year.
Surfing,cooking,yard maintanance,personal training,working out,house work,taking care of my son,riding my bike to get to places,skateboarding,hanging out with my family,training,working,travelling,internet surfing,sleeping,planning trips,jumping in and out of airplanes to exotic locations,surfing the world's best waves and my hometown cold water surf are also in my everyday life.
How I do all that and more and still have time to breath?I am not sure,but sometimes I ask myself the same question.
Life is full of great things and one of them is doing what you love and working with what you enjoy and be paid to do that.If the fun or excitment is not there you might as well do something else and quit what you are doing.
So, have fun and enjoy everyday in your life,like is the last day of your life.
Family and friends are like gold.Make sure to treat them well.
Anyway,too much writing - from now one I will be posting some exciting things that happen in my life to share with the world.

Abraco,

Chris "careca "Moutinho.