Stand Up Paddle Party waves in Costa Rica

Not a world record, but certainly looks fun! 
It seems that every year we get a story about a Tidal Bore delivered to our inbox. Those standing waves of murky brown water, slowly moving down a river and occasionally big enough to stand up paddle surf. But this ones a little different!

Instead of a professional surfer or stand up paddler flying from their tropical paradise to sample the ‘rare occasion’, and getting it all to themselves, this ones a big party.

We tried to count how many people were on this party wave, but there’s too many! From stand up paddlers to longboarders, kayakers and people on surf ski’s, you name it, they’re on this one wave! It runs for ages, and those who fall off the back of it simply paddle into the next one, which is only a few meters behind.

Along the way you’ll see a hilarious pile-up, which ends in nothing but smiles and laughter (how it should be), some crazy surfing contraptions and not a single aerial, cutback or barrel. Well, there might be some barrels floating near the riverbank.

The tidal bore is a phenomenon that only a few places in the world ever get to see, and even fewer get big enough to surf. What happens is the incoming tide is so strong, and the river is shaped in such a way that the incoming water rises up over the still outgoing river, it forms a wave that runs slowly upstream until it eventually dissipates or the tide turns, whichever comes first. Riding these waves is a marathon effort, some of which run for more than 30 minutes before dissipating!

Have you ever surfed a tidal bore? Tell us about it in the stand up paddling forums!