O P E N I N G C A L I F O R N I A s F I R S T S U R F C A M P F O R A D U LT S H A S A LW AY S B E E N M Y D R E A M . I DEFINITELY HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WAS GOING TO LOVE IT D AV E C I N Q U I N I - FOUNDER
O U R F I R S T G U E S T S I N M AY 2 0 1 3
NADIA
ÂŤBest vacation everÂť I had the best time ever in San Clemente! The surf guides are very professional and I never felt unsafe or insecure. They teach you everything. They drive you to very cool surf spots and you are going to be spoiled !!! It was more than I imaged. After the surf lessons, they still look after you, go out with you, have diner or drinks... Very private and personal. Christina Pecnik May 2013
CHRISTINA
ALINA
What Is Surf Guiding? Surfguides are not teachers. You're not joining a class where you have to do, what your teachers say. Our guides will bring you to great Surfspots within our reach. They provide an "on the spot" introduction to the break and will lead a brief warmup. The guides are there to offer advice, answer questions, and essentially make sure you, as the guest, are catching waves and having the best time possible while maintaing safety in and out of the water.
What Does A Typical Day Look Like. The Guide picks you up between 06:30 and 10:00 and you drive to the Surf spot: 1 to 2 hours of surfing The Guide brings you back to the Camp, so by noon you are ready for lunch (unless otherwise you are on one of our scheduled "day tripsÂť Between 2pm-3pm the Guide picks you up for a second Surf Session. Your back around 17:00 for some relaxation, yoga, dinner, socializing, sleep and do it all over again
You're An Absolute Beginner: You can join our guided surf sessions and go for it with the help of your guide. But we highly recommend to take the Beginner-Class for $199 (3x2 hours). You learn the fundamentals of surfing from the first step in the "white water" to your first green wave within 3 days!
You're Already A Surfer Join the Surf guides! Guaranteed great fun from Orange County to San Diego and Los Angeles. From the 2 Star Surfer to a 5 Star surfer we bring you to the right place at the right time daily.
Sunset Surf Once a week we have a special Sunset Surf. Our Camp Boss Dave Cinquini brings you personally to his secret Sunset Spot. After a unforgettable Surf session at a nearby beach, we'll follow it up with a beach bonfire and bbq courtesy of TheCaliCamp.
MAKE A DREAM COME TRUE The story about our weekend with Greyson who recovered from a tragic accident and had just one dream: to surf in world famos surf spot trusstles. About a month ago I had received a phone call. Shortly into the conversation I realized this was a very unique phone call. The nice lady on the other end stated that she was in fact a representative of The Make Dreams Come True Foundation. She explained that they were a non-profit group based out of Florida which grants wishes to children and teens who have overcome extreme adversity in the form of illness or accidents. They had a teen who had suffered a massive brain trauma during a car accident and that this particular teen wanted to surf Trestles here in our hometown of San Clemente, California. I agreed to participate without hesitation. I began to think of how I could document this moment in his life and also what big names in surfing I could get to participate. I wrote down ideas, made phone calls to people who could "help", reached out to local pros and nothing was quite coming together. I wanted to make it
"special" for him. I was pulling out all of the stops and my vision began to crumble slightly. As the weeks until his arrival faded within days, I began to wonder if I had gone in over my head. On the Thursday before his arrival I was given the phone numbers to reach Greyson and his family. The minute Greyson answered the phone I knew that I had been wrong all along. Immediately I knew why nothing had worked with media exposure, big name pros joining us, and "help" from just about anyone. It was never meant to be. Greyson is a surfer and an incredibly capable one at that. His humbleness was intoxicating. Right away he wanted to know if this was going to be a big spectacle or not. My answer was no. Which I could tell instilled some relief in this young guy who'd been through so much already. Greyson did not want his hand held, he did not want cameras, he did not want
spot light attention or special treatment. He simply wanted to "score good waves" and surf Lowers at least once. On Monday morning at 10 am, Greyson me and the boys headed out to surf Lowers. Southern California's premier surf venue. This is the arena. The spot where pro's go to be seen, the groms make a name for themselves, and the photographers make paychecks. We exited the freeway and had caught it in between sets. Didn't see any waves. As we unloaded the car and began to walk down the iconic trail I realized we had nailed it. No cameras, no media, no interviews, no big name pros, no spectacle. Just the boys going surfing. What we came upon was nothing short of another miracle. 6 foot, sheet glass, absolutely perfect Lowers. Rated on my scale as a 10 out of 10 as good as it gets. The sun was beaming and I'll never forget the moment he had his first look. What he was
looking at was what he had dreamed of. We paddled out and within minutes I saw Greyson catch his first wave despite the crowded lineup. He mixed it up in one of the surfing worlds heaviest lineups, got waves and just like any other day, had a real fun surf. Nothing more but this is the nature of our sport. What more do you need? Good waves, good friends, good weather and thats a wrap! This is what it's all about. Surfing with good people and finding good waves. Enough so that a 16 year old, who by medical standards should not be here with us today, let alone be near fully recovered, chose to go surfing in California while he had the option to do anything he wanted. We are so incredibly grateful to have had this opportunity and would like to the thank Greyson himself, the entire Neumann family, and last but not least Make Dreams Come True. We are honored to have had the chance to be part of someone's dream and can say whole heartedly that friendships were formed that will last a lifetime. Sincerely Dave Cinquini
California is an endless summer. Relaxed, chilled out vibes, waves year round, and smiling faces can be found regardless the season. Many who have visited, would notice that not only are we sharing a great places with our guests, we are sharing our home and our lifestyles to those seeking a truly authentic California surf experience.
ENDLESS CALIFORNIA
Rates & Rooms Prices per Person: Couples & Friends are getting a 10% Discount.
Services - Airport Transfers - Accommodation in a 2 star hotel (queen sized bed) - Breakfast of Pastries, Cereal, Yogurt, Fruit Coffee, and Tea Daily - Free Wifi - Equipment (wetsuits, surfboards, leashes) - Transport to and from Hotel to Surf Spots - Video Coaching and Analysis - Surf Guiding twice daily - Summer: Surf Guiding twice daily (Monday-Friday) - Winter: Surf Guiding twice daily if possible. One minimum. (Monday-Friday) - Saturday beach/city transportation We leave the surf equipment with you so you can go on your own if you'd like!
“THE Surfcamp� Well there are surfcamps and there is TheCaliCamp. So let me skip the part about how nice and great California, the hotel and the food was, about the parties in Hollywood, Laguna or Newport or how friendly and welcoming all the people were. Everybody knows that. Everybody expects that. You'll get that here. No worries.
Markus Mach Graz, Austria
For me the CaliCamp is all about surfing. To my surprise it felt much more being on a surftrip in SoCal with my new buddies than actually being thought how to surf in a surfschool environment. Their teaching methods are quite different as well. There is no such thing as riding soft-tops in crowded white water with hundreds of groms around you. You surf alone. Every day. At a different spot. They'll hunt the best waves for you up and down the southern Californian coast. Local style. I have surfed a little before but haven't really been able to get up on the board when I got to the CaliCamp. Dave and Riley worked on my stance and timing on the wave while showing me a fabulous time in California. It has been incredible. And in case I was tired and wanted to go skydiving or jet skiing for a day while getting my sore shoulders a massage, those boys got it done. They treated me like a king and I am pretty sure Dave can pull rabbits out of his hat, even though I haven't seen him doing that. After 4 weeks of hardcore surfing and constantly pushing my limits they got an Austrian (!) snowman like me barreled.I don't wanna use stereotypes, but that doesn't happen very often. Incredible job boys. I never thought that this day would come. So regardless if you want to push your surfing to the maximum or if you are just looking for a nice and easy going vacation and catching some waves, the CaliCamp is surely the place to be in California. Unchallenged. Markus June 2013
Want to surf with locals who rip? Hers surf guide
RI
ILEY
laying into one
at Trestles.
«Best surftrip ever!» I spend more than a week in the camp and it was definitely my best surftrip ever! During my stay there was no day without waves. Every morning the surfguides (Dave and Riley) checked the spots with the best conditions and brought us there, thus we went to spots reaching from San Diego over Oceanside up to Huntington Beach in Los Angeles. Surf was guaranteed! Nevertheless, I loved surfing directly on the pier in San Clemente (closest city to Dhana Point) and spending time in the water until the sunset! Awesome! So far, I was in some camps in Europe before and never experienced such a friendly, relaxed and personal atmosphere like in this camp. Actually, I didn´t feel being in a surfcamp, but rather hanging out with some friends in California and having a really great time. I came to the CaliCamp alone, but I left with tons of friends and experiences! Everyone who is interested to live the Californian dream should definitely stop by TheCaliCamp. I highly recommend it! Ben August 2013
7 years ago, I went on a surf trip with some friends to Indonesia where I was introduced to the first “surf guides” I’d ever met. To me they had the best job in the world. I came home from the trip ready to look for my new job as a surf guide here in California. The problem was that there was simply nowhere to apply for this “job”. I quickly found out that there were no surf camps for adults and the job of “surf guide” was just a thought and not a reality. For years it drove me crazy and I wondered if it could really be done.... So the lightbulb went off and many years later, and many odd twists and turns I met Daniel here in California. I had spent the last few years in Bali working in and around a great surf camp. So when Daniel arrived and we met, he was ready for a new journey and you’d better believe I was ready to make it happen all this time later. Daniel, Riley and myself set into a series of tasks, put our heads down and came up with TheCaliCamp. California’s first surf camp for adults. Thanks to all of my partners and of course ALL of the guests who have helped carry us into another great year. To big things and big dreams :) Cheers Dave Cinquini Founder/Owner-Operator
Dave and I had never met before but I know we are going to open a surf camp together. After 20 years running my own internet business in Switzerland I thought it`s time to learn surfing for real. I downsized my company and took a half year vacation to learn how to surf. Thailand, Bali, Japan, Hawaii and finally I arrived in Los Angeles. As there was no surf camp in Califronia for adults, Tobi – who I meet in Bali – urged me to meet Dave. He told me about Dave's dream to open his own surf camp. As wonderful as my round the world trip was, after a few months I missed doing business. Something I really love besides surfing. When I finally meet Dave . I saw that fire of an entrepreneur in his eyes. He had that dream to create something wonderful. That reminded me when I started 20 years ago. That was the beginning. The rest you see in our first anniversary magazine. What a great ride. Daniel Niklaus Co-Founder/Owner
SARAH AMY S T E FA N I E
«Unvergessliche Zeit!» Wir hatten ursprünglich vier Nächte im Cali Camp gebucht, haben aber schlussendlich unsere ganzen 12 Tage dort verbracht und auch das war immer noch zu kurz. Wenn man mit dem Surfen beginnen will oder auf ein nächstes Level kommen möchte, ist das der richtige Ort!
LEA
Laura Februar 2014
RICA
PATRICIA
Dana Point Marina Inn 11 minutes to the beach, restaurants and surf shops close by is what makes the Dana Point Marina Inn the right place for a surf camp.
ÂŤBest surfing experience of your life!Âť I fell across thecalicamp on the internet and was so impressed by the reviews. I have to say my expectations were blown away when I actually went there. I had an amazing time and it was one of the best trips of my life! Dave and Riley are so friendly and knowledgeable. They are very committed to making sure you feel comfortable and have an amazing time; anything you need and they are there. They not only are great surf instructors but are amazing at taking you enjoy new cities and sites and they know all the great local spots to eat! This is so much more then just a surf camp! Definitely would recommend and hope to come back in the future! Naomi January 2014
See you in California www.thecalicamp.com