Surfing in Hampton with a Tahitian surf guru

By Caitie Peterson

Last week, I was lucky enough to head up to Hampton Beach in New Hampshire to see famed Tahitian surf guru Raimana Van Bastolaer hit the frigid waters on his paddleboard.

Raimana Van Bastolaer

Raimana was in town to promote The Ultimate Wave Tahiti 3D, a brand new IMAX 3D movie that opened at the New England Aquarium’s Simons IMAX Theatre last Friday. The film follows Raimana and world famous surfer Kelly Slater as they explore Teahupo’o, Tahiti, the world’s most dangerous surf break.

Raimana, nicknamed “the mayor of Teahupo’o,” flew into Boston on Thursday to join more than 200 local surfers for the screening of the film at the NEAq. On Friday morning, he drove out to Cinnamon Rainbows Surf Company in Hampton Beach to try extreme surfing New England style.

The day was clear and sunny, with four- to five-foot clean waves rolling in. On the drive down the coastline, SUVs parked along the seawall in alignment with the surfers stationed in the water. The air temperature was about 40 degrees, which felt balmy to the Bostonians and arctic to Raimana, though it didn’t stop him from rolling down the car window and sticking his head out to smell the sea air as soon as the ocean was in sight.

The guys at Cinnamon Rainbows provided him with everything he needed, including a winter wetsuit, booties and gloves. It took him about 20 minutes of struggling and grunting in the dressing room to get into the gear. Something tells me he’s not used to wearing a thick suit like that with the average water temperature in Tahiti lingering somewhere around 80 degrees all year long!

Ready to hit the waves

 Accompanied by Dave Cropper, the owner of the surf shop, Raimana walked across the street and met up with some other local guys, where they all hit the waves on their paddleboards.

The water temperature? A frosty 35 degrees, a far cry from the tropical temps he’s used to. After getting a few good rides, Raimana paddled in to a smaller break, where he jumped off his board and floated in the water for a few minutes. When he came back in to the beach, he explained: “I just wanted to float there for a minute and feel like a penguin!”

A beautiful day at Hampton Beach

Raimana was a really nice guy and totally down to earth. He didn’t flinch or complain once about getting into the freezing ocean (and as a New England surfer, I can tell you right now that I would NEVER have gotten in that water!), and even though he only took a few waves before getting out, you could tell he was having a blast.

When asked if he’d ever come back to New England, Raimana replied, “Yeah, I definitely want to come back! I want to take my family to the Aquarium.”

The Ultimate Wave Tahiti is playing at the NEAq. For tickets and show times visit www.neaq.org.

Some great waves!