Surf & Turf 2018: Thank You Everyone!

Robert August - APR 01, 2018

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[vc_row full_width=”full_width”][vc_column][vc_column_text]It was my pleasure and privilege once again to host the annual Robert August Surf & Turf event, a golf and surf competition supporting the CEPIA Association. The outstanding efforts of this organization have been benefiting underprivileged children in Guanacaste for 18 years.
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As some may know, CEPIA was created by a lovely woman named Laetitia, who came to Costa Rica from Belgium many years ago. After falling in love with Costa Rica, Laetitia (like many of us) decided to live here permanently. Around the same time, I had become settled down here surfing and doing work with the community, including hosting several Surf & Turf events on a small level. One day, Laetitia approached me and explained her passion for giving back to the community, and we teamed up. Her idea was to reinvest the profits from Surf & Turf into a small community center in Huacas, about 10 minutes from Tamarindo. I thought, great! This will be a nice little place with some palapas and the local families will be happy. But it was just the start.

It has been just amazing to see the evolution of CEPIA and how it has become such a positive element of our community. What Laetitia initiated in Huacas became a huge success. CEPIA eventually developed and built a top-ofthe- line learning and training facility incorporating about 40 computers, English classes for kids and adults, and free day care. There is an industrial kitchen on site where adults can become certified to work in a restaurant. CEPIA also purchased a couple of vans to pick up kids from the community and bring them to the center.

Surf & Turf is a two-day event in Tamarindo, most recently held on March 10 and 11, 2018. Participating fourmember teams spend the first day in Hacienda Pinilla playing a “best ball” round of golf. The following day, everyone heads to Avellanas for a surf competition.

Now, I’m a pretty mediocre golfer, but I can still surf pretty well. So for me, the beauty of this competition is the “best ball” factor in the golf tournament — only one person on the team needs to have a good shot. Likewise for surfing; it’s a team score, so as long as everyone manages to catch a few waves, they’ve got a chance at winning! Overall, things played out as usual this year. Our team was pretty mediocre on the golf course but stacked as a surf team with myself, Juan Diego, and Gerry Hersh. The waves in Avellanas that day were perfect — four- to five-foot with offshore winds and nice peaks. I couldn’t believe how bad Juan Diego was at golf, but holy cow, he got some fabulous waves for the surf contest. I even snagged a few good ones myself.

So the competition ended up with our team scoring highest in surfing. The team capturing first place in golf was certainly

NOT ours. But you know what? With the combined results of both days — golfing and surfing — our team came out on top. This was the first time I have won first place in my whole life! The event ended with a fantastic awards ceremony at the Vaquero.

Everyone was in great spirits knowing that all the proceeds from the contest would go back to CEPIA and the community of Guanacaste.
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_gallery type=”image_grid” images=”4894,4893″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”full_width”][vc_column][vc_message]CEPIA is a tremendous organization and can use all the help they can. Please consider donating directy online at
cepiacostarica.org/en/donate.html