The Rip Curl Pro Tofino: Well, i have been involved with this event for the past few years.It seems that whenever the old stew,now Rip Curl Pro is close people get really excited to be part of it and to go surfing. It is a lot of work and it is also great to see Rip Curl and co - sponsors investing in a core and super fun event.There is a lot behind scenes that people dont know,and to make this event happen a lot of effort from different people is needed. Anyway, i havent done any postings lately and in the past few years a lot happened in my life. My son Julian just turned four, i became a paramedic in Canada,the waters edge project is up and running in Barra de la Cruz Mexico(please check www.watersedgeproject.org) and much more. Life goes fast and one more event is happening this weekend.I did coach and organized many surfing events in the past,but this one in Tofino is a different one.People gather together to cheer for their friends ,local heros and also to have a big party at the beach. The swell is looking quite fun and i am hoping that the waves will make my job as a head judge and contest director an easier one.

I am Back and You ???

So, it has being a while since I last wrote on my blog. Lots of things happening since my last trip to Brazil...

I had a few days home and had to pack my bags again and head to Indo where i met some friends,traveled to some really fun locations,surfed amazing waves,met some new people and did a lot of car,boat and small airplane rides all over the country.

The first league of the trip I had some super fun waves at Nias Island and also got to explore a few new breaks around town by scooter. Lagundi bay was crowded but when the wave was on and the swell was pumping everyone had their chance to score some amazing rides.

With the help of a few hints from locals, we found some really good waves and had the rare chance to surf by ourselves. 14 days went by and I had to leave with my bud Keegan and Leah to the Mentawaii Islands where we were going to meet a few friends and be part of a trip that was going to be featured for SBC surf magazine.Left Nias with a really good vibe and jumped back on a plane to Medan,Kuala Lumpur,Jakarta and finally arrived in Padang.

Well, after many long hours, we met some guys that were going to join us on the Mentawaii trip.Almost everyone arrived except for Andrew.

After a few hours, his flight got in Padang on time for all of us to get picked up from the airport and droped off at the ferry that would take us to Mentawaii.
Overnight ferry ride, super nice and smooth.We all had ac cabins which made for a good night of sleep.

Getting onto the island we got picked up by the hotel boat and the rest of the story you should check on SBCsurf mag(summer 2010 issue).

Anyway, back from Indo,the Rip Curl Stew was on, I was totally jet legged but was ready to help Rip Curl to put a nice surf comp/party for the weekend.

The battle was good beetween all surfers and as always some upsets and some under dogs made it quite far.

It was a nice weekend with some great vibes.

Well, now I am home with my family,working on new projects,doing surf lessons in Tofino,surfing small waves when I can and already looking forward to the fall/winter when we will be getting some good swell.

A jet ski might be in my plans so I can do missions to some crazy places right close to home and have it all on camera.I called a few guys and if you read this article and know of a good jet ski please let me know.

See you guys in the water or somewhere in the world soon.

Cheers,

Christian Careca Moutinho.

Indonesia 2010 Video

Are the Gods mad at us?????????????????

The last two weeks were pretty crazy.I arrived in Rio de Janeiro-Brazil and they had the most rain in the last 40 years.So, imagine how it was.I have only one word to describe - CAOS.
Anyway,me and my son julian had a long flight and were stoked to be in Rio for two weeks.I had to check on sitkas surfboard production and get things moving a bit since lots of people got afected by the rain and could not make to work.My presence was very important to make sure all boards were being finished and on time.
I surfed a few waves and got to see a lot of my friends.This time a year Rio gets lots of swell.We did have a great time apart from knowing that lots of people were in some real bad situation due to the rain.I tried to help by donating clothes to the ones that really needed it.
Well, getting back to the crazy rain.Had to do a bit of running around since some people could not make to work for a week due to their houses being destroyed by the rain and some people lost loved ones in several mudslides that happened around town.It was all over the news in Brazil and I am not sure if it made the headlines in the major newspapers around the world.
It is crazy to see that things like that are happening quite often.What is happening to our world? Are the gods mad at us or we are the ones that are leading the world to an end?
Seriously,and now a huge oil spill just happened.Come on,lets do our part and fight for a better world.
I am going to Indo soon to be part of an article for SBCsurf magazine.
Hopefully everthing will go smooth and I have some good stories to tell.
As a surfer and a human being I try my best to teach people the good things I learned in life.On every trip I go and every person I meet I try to leave a good impression.
Cheers,

Chris careca Moutinho.

RC Wetsuits,cold water, Sitka boards,PB and more...

It has been a good week.I have being trying to work and surf as much as possible.Well, surfing is also work and this week has being a long day at the office.Starting last monday waves were quite fun and stayed really good until thursday.For sure wednesday was the best day of all days I had this season or maybe in the top 3. Wednesday,I arrived at the beach around 10:30 and waves were getting bigger and better until the last light in the sky.Considering that we are at the end of our surfing season, this week was the best of all for sure.It was great to test some gear that was sent from Rip Curl and also some new boards that i got from Sitka.Surfed with some new gear that Rip Curl is developing to serve us with the latest wetsuit technology and warmth in the frigid waters of Canada,oh well they already do that but i mean even better stuff.Some really interesting material and technology makes me think that people will start thinking more and more about exploring this side of the world.This one wetsuit I have is thinner than normal and so flexible that surfing real cold water like we have up here it is definetely not an issue at all and more like a pleasure to be able to enjoy surfing and nature in some remote areas on the west coast of Canada. I also was pretty stoked to try out some new boards I have.I have being working on my perfect board for a few years and got some dimensions that i am pretty happy with.I decided to change the wide point of my boards, abit of the bottom concave and also the rails and they are working really good.This last week was just amazing surf.Conditions were awesome every day helping me to try out all this new gear. Life is good and in the next few weeks there is a lot more to be done.
Going to Brazil in 2 days,then back to Canada for a week and finally surf some perfect waves in Indonesia.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/chrisjucarol?feature=mhw5

Thanks to:

Rip Curl,sitka Surfboards,Electric eyewear and Power Balance.

Cheers,

Christian "careca" Moutinho.

Are we Lucky???

It has being a really good season in my eyes.After being back from Hawaii and scoring one of the best and big wave season in the North Shore, the surf on Vancouver Island has also being amazing.Two weeks ago i saw a great swell coming and did not believe that the waves were going to be as good as they were.Woke up early,got my son ready and convinced my wife to come and watch,so this way i could have a good family day at the beach on a saturday.We all drove to the waves and getting there it was the biggest i have seing on the points in a long time.Saw some friends and decided to make the call on where to surf after hearing my good friend Andrew stokeness about the waves he scored at one of the breaks that morning.Drove a few more minutes and did not check the spot we were about to surf.It was a warm and sunny day in our canadian winter.I jumped in my new Rip Curl suit and hiked down the beach to check the waves.The view i had was amazing, a nice overhead wave peeling down the reef was enough to get me super excited.It was a long day of surfing and hanguing out at the beach.Surfed something close to 10 really good barrels followed by some super fun turns.
It is not every day that we have waves like this,but the last 2 weeks have being amazing, and i just looked at the forecast again and the smallest day is a 14 foot swell.I am getting my new Sitka boards ready to go because this is probably going to be one of the best weeks of the year.
Some people say they are lucky,others just go with the flow,but i would say i am a lucky guy that get to do what I love.

Cheers,

Christian.
Thanks to: Rip Curl,Sitka Surfboards,Power Balance and Electric.

Canada Eh?

So, back on the island,but now way colder than the last one.Havent surf yet because of some shoulder pain that keeps bugging me from the car/bike accident I suffered in the fall.I did not ask to get hit by a driver that did not pay attention while on the road.I had my right off way,had a helmet on and in a matter of seconds i was on the ground with a dislocated shoulder and a lot of fricking pain.Well, it has being a couple months and recovery is really slow and i feel that my shoulder will never be the same.Still surfing and having fun but also taking good care of my injury.If i had the opportunitie now one of my wishes would be getting to not feel this stupid pain i feel when i am in the water. I have being home for a few days and tomorrow will be the first day surfing in canadian waters,swell looks good and temperature is not as bad,well not for Canada 9 degrees in the water and about 11 outside. It has being 5 years since i arrived in Canada and I just realized that this place did offer some good moments to me and my family.Met some nice people and some not so nice,heehehe, well anywhere in the world you will experience that no matter where you are. Work is good, surf is also pretty fun and both together are a great combination specially when in a country that surfing is not a tradition.All of us that are involved with this amazing sport are really fortunate.I did not believe that it was possible coming from a country where the waves were at my doorstep and the water was in average 22 degrees celsius everyday,people were surfing in frigid waters and loving it,well with wetsuit technology it is not an impossible thing to do anymore,specially when you wear a RIP CURL H BOMB that has a heater in it,oh man Is that thing warm or what??? Tomorrow i will surf some waves with my buddy Keegan and also meet our good friend Leah Oke.By the way this girl is an amazing surfer and who would think that she is from Canada,she surfs like a man or better than 90% of the mens in Canada. Good on you RAEOKEYYYYYYYYYYY. Well above or below are some pics of my last surf in Hawaii,Got some fun waves in Hawaii and lets see what my next session has to offer me in Canada EH?

Hawaii still pumping.

Oh man, this place is incredible for waves.I arrived a while back and since the first day the waves are pumping.First I surfed in Oahu some great waves.All the famous waves were breaking everyday and the crowd is always a factor.Here you have to show some atitude to get the waves you want to go for.Surfed Pipe,Backdoor,Phantons,Haleiwa and a few waves later on in Maui that blew my mind.

After surfing some heavy waves on the North shore i flew to Maui for a few days to see my family and a few friends.We had a lot of fun and surfed some amazing Honolua bay.Julian(My son)surfed his first wave and it was a blast.Carol Anne(My wife was stoked to try paddle boarding and also to surf some good waves on a place called sandbar,which now is her favorite surf spot,i think,hehehe...she ripped there.

We did everything we could in Maui and a bit of sightseing.

Surfing was an everyday thing and even more now since our little guy Julian got the stoke for it.

Maui is an awesome place and if the waves are pumping it is a good place to go surfing and hang out.There are many surf spots that people have no idea about it.

We are planning to go back one day and surf some more,watch some beautifull sunsets,eat some good food and do nothing.

After a great week with the family and friends in Maui I returned to the North Shore of Oahu and the waves were pumping again.

Some days over here you ask for smaller waves but Mother Ocean keeps sending some swells our way,which in a sense is good.

I have a few more days on the Island and will go back home to Canada to see some of my good friends,surf some cold water and see my favorite people,My Family.

Have a great time you guys and thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Chris Careca Moutinho.