Believe it or not, the Black Sea has a surf school, and even more unfathomable is the fact that it’s a great place to learn how to surf! How can that be so? Even though the ocean has much more powerful waves, which are honestly more desirable once a surfer moves out of the “beginner” level, it also has much stronger tides, rip currents, angry fish that want to stab you with poison or eat you, and any number of other hazards. The Black Sea has mellow waves that are perfect for learning to surf when they’re about a meter high. As a lifelong surfer who has surfed all over the USA and even lived in Southern California for a number of years, you can trust me on this.
Tiberiu Balica was honestly the first person I met in action sports when I moved to Romania. He has a huge heart and absolutely lives for the stoke of surfing and stand-up paddle (SUP). Unlike some areas of the world where you have to gradually work your way into the “in-crowd” of surfers to gain knowledge on the best local spots and then be allowed to ride them without worry of having our tires slashed, the surf scene here is not only gracious to bring newcomers into the circle, but actively encourages people to try surfing and help grow the community. In the Black Sea surf community, sharing is caring, and Tibi’s program epitomizes that. It’s clear that this approach is working because every season, more surfers show up to his annual Surf Fest contest in September.
Surf Fest 2021
While the Black Sea is a great place to learn how to surf, the only drawback is that the waves don’t provide much room for progression. Thankfully, half the year SurfAcademy offers surf trips literally around the world at some of the most reasonable prices I’ve ever seen. Prices so reasonable in fact that Tibi has told me many westerners don’t believe it’s legit. Trust me, everything about SurfAcademy / SupAcademy is the real deal. I highly recommend giving them a call and spending some time learning to surf on the Black Sea with Tibi and Radu. They have a great program, and great vision for what is possible in Romania… hopefully a WaveGarden surf training pool sometime in the next decade… the sky is the limit with this partnership and we can’t wait to see what happens! We are so happy to have them onboard as a valued part of the Tribe.
