Everyone experiences a surf trip differently. This time, we managed to get everyone's views of the same two-week summertime Baja mission into one Tripwire. Surfline cannot take responsibility for the effects of Cabo sunshine and too many Margaritas. Enjoy.--Ed

Quicktime Video of the trip. (9MB)
Windows Media Player Video of the trip. (11MB)



Surfline president and chief forecaster Sean Collins starts it off:

Every summer, Layne comes to California and we try to snag a good swell somewhere down in Baja before she hits another round on the WCT circuit. It seems like she always shows up a little out of sorts from working too much in Australia, as well as a little out of surfing shape.

That naturally contributes to her grumpiness and for whatever reasons I seem to be a regular target. So I take great pleasure in working her ass off in Baja for a week of surf training. Also on this trip would be Jodie and Holly, who also have a tendency to join Layne to gang up on me as well. Fortunately, I brought along my son Tyler for backup support, and photographer Jon Steele of SG Magazine who is a super cool guy and a very hard worker who passed up a lot of good surf for himself to get the shots.

We were hoping to hit some of the points in Central Baja for a change, but Hurricane Javier was threatening weather and conditions in that area so we opted for Cabo, which was behind the storm. We had a few back-to-back Southern Hemisphere swells on the way, the winds in Cabo looked good, so I made a few calls and we scored a sweet place to stay right on the beach at Costa Azul. Nothing like 80-degree water and fun waves right in front of your place for a great week.

Overall, we scored tons of surf with solid overhead waves on the best days.Every morning before dawn I'd read the conditions to figure out what the wind and tide would do for the day so we could plan on where to go. Tyler would already be up doing a couple hours of schoolwork before surf. Layne and Jon rose up pretty quickly, but Jodie and Holly were totally lagging on the wakeup call so we began rousting them 30 minutes earlier than we needed.

It was a great trip with great people, which always makes a huge difference. The only friction on the trip was from a small group of older recent gringo transplants from California who thought they were locals, surfed on nine-foot guns in head-high waves, and hassled the girls pretty good. Well, we had a little talk, and then Jodie severely insulted the manhood of one especially obnoxious guy, and they all kind of backed off after that. Funny, that same guy was heard in the water the next day swearing to his friends that it wasn't true. Ouch! Beware, these girls are rough if you have thin skin or a fragile ego.


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Six-time world champ, Layne Beachley explains how to get ready for a WCT contest at Malibu:

A well-planned and successfully executed trip to Baja will rejuvenate your enthusiasm for great waves, warm water, uncrowded lineups, fresh fish, quacamole and of course, the classic margarita. This is the guaranteed result when Sean assured us of a fun-filled, surf filled adventure.

We were so surfed out by about the 3rd day that Sean, Holly, and Jodie blew off an arvo session out the front of our luxurious condo to spend the time in the Jacuzzi at Cabo Surf drinking the best margaritas in town. I was torn, knowing just how good the margaritas were, but I was in training for the upcoming Rip Curl pro at Malibu so I was determined to fine tune my equipment. So while Tyler Collins and I worked hard in the water with Jon Steele capturing it all on film from land, the remainder of our team mates dished out a bruising running commentary from the resort Jacuzzi next door. Go team go!!

There were a couple of sessions at Shipwreck when some old "locals" from California on nine-foot rhino chasers (that will never see the waves that they were made for) weren't willing to share the lineup with three girls. So after Jodie subtly insulted a few of the guys' manhood we elected to have Sean escort us to a few other uncrowded spots. We were presented with a new unassuming danger when we ventured off the beaten track -- bikini eating donkeys hanging out by the car! The little buggers were relentless!!

All in all it was a fantastic adventure and the perfect warm-up for Malibu. Apart from the training it was a great opportunity to spend some quality time with good friends, surf perfect warm water waves, work on my tan, indulge in mind numbing margaritas and appreciate the beauty and diversity of the Mexican culture.

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TV show host, frequent flyer and pro surfer Jodie Nelson had a great time on her twinny:

Summertime in California means sporadic phone calls from Sean with his predictions of swell for some of our favorite spots in Baja. He will only call once, and when he does I have to drop everything and jump aboard. Sometimes I can't pull it off because of prior obligations to sponsors or commitments to other trips.

I've been on enough last-minute trips with Sean to know that when he calls, you go! A few years ago Layne Beachley was staying at my house when we got a call from Sean. The next morning we were on a plane and later that afternoon we were surfing some of the best waves of our lives. I had already been down to Baja three times with Sean this past Spring and Summer before Layne even got into town for the WCT at Malibu.

My best sessions were at some of Sean's out-of-the-way spots on the East Cape on my twin fin, and also when I snuck away and ran down to Zippers one afternoon and had a really fun session by myself. Sean was also surfing great doing some power hacks at Shipwrecks and East Cape. Our sessions toward the end of the trip were classic. We had already gotten some really good waves and Jon had gotten some good shots from Monuments, Shipwreck, and Costa Azul.

So in the last few days of the trip, we decided to just forget about the photos and ventured down to some less crowded spots where the swell actually ended up to be bigger. We were putting in double 3-4 hour sessions in overhead waves by ourselves. I would go out with my twin fin a hat on and goggles around my neck so that in between sets I could dive around. The sun and the heat were brutal.

This one time I went in to get some water and a Power Bar I found myself having to fend off a bunch donkeys that surrounded our car. They were funny, but for whatever reasons I was afraid of them as they were very pushy. I jumped in the car and went to shut the door but they were putting their heads in the door so I couldn't shut it. I was by myself as everyone else was out in the water. Here I was panicking over some donkeys and I was hoping no one was watching because it was pure comedy. I finally threw some trash toward them and they were distracted so I could shut the door and climbed over to the other side of the car (mind you I was soaking wet). I hopped out of the car and into the back of the truck bed with donkey's surrounding me everywhere and I was just barely out of their reach. Finally I was able to escape out to the water for another surf. I wish that someone had gotten that on video.

Expat Aussie ripper and Gallaz shoes team manager Holly Monkman almost didn't want to leave:

So what has been the best thing so far about moving from Australia to California? Easy: CABO.

I've missed home ever since I arrived here two months ago, but the best thing that has happened to me since I got here was my good friend Jodie and her mate Sean inviting me to come on a trip to Cabo with Layne and Sean's son Tyler. I couldn't believe that a two-hour flight from LAX could take me to paradise. Waves, sun, very few people and good food.

My parents had traveled down the coast of Mexico when they were young and always told me great stories of how beautiful it was. With postcard pictures in my head and just two days to pack my bags all I could do is ask Jodie hundreds of questions about what I was in for.

We landed around midday, and after some very intense bargaining for a car at the rental car counter we packed the cars and headed to our sweet little condo on the beach. Thanks to Sean and all his hook ups we were traveling in style. He knew the place like the back on his hand, totally aware of the wind, tide and swell situation so whereever we went we always got the best waves.

Our first surf was at a perfect right hand reef break. We surfed with just 2 other guys, four-foot glassy sets and a few donkeys on the beach cheering for us. What more could you need on a Monday afternoon? After that it was straight from the surf to a local Mexican Restaurant for a margarita and a round of fish tacos. What else would you have for your first meal in Baja?

Our next day was spent surfing our little right hander with fun, head-high waves and having an absolute ball, until some older guys paddled out and decided they were going to take over the lineup, calling themselves locals and attempting to cut us off on every wave. Well, I wasn't afraid to hold my ground in the line-up and ended up in an argument with some agro guy on a 9 foot Rhino. Jodie and Layne were right behind me yelling abuse that I couldn't repeat. Crazy how some men get upset when a few girls surf a little better then they do.

We continued to surf Shipwrecks but the novelty of listening to the whining crew in the line-up got old, and we decided to load up the car and search for some less crowded waves to ourselves.

Cabo reminded me of home in Western Australia where we would search for empty waves along a dry coastline, and Sean would take us to these tucked away spots. After the wind came up in the afternoons, we would return to our condo at Costa Azul, and spent some time by the pool at Cabo Surf drinking margaritas and sharing stories, by far my favorite moments of the entire trip.

Before we knew it the week was over, and it was time to head back to normality and work in California. But I'm so stoked to know that a short two-hour flight away can take me back to paradise.