Aryana first time surfing...

Aryana Ashlie, 5 yrs old, from North Carolina. Here are some clips I put together of her surfing for her family to take back home with them. She was so cute and had a blast!

A message from her Mother: At five years old Aryana Ashlie loves to move and is fearless so when the opportunity came for her to paddle out with Mary Osborne she jumped at the chance. Being no stranger to speed, Aryana was relaxed and took her cues from Mary out in the ocean. When asked how it felt being on the board she said, "It was so much fun and when we stood up we went fast, really, really fast. The goodest part was falling down at the end. You get your hair wet then pop right up and if a big wave comes you can jump over it. It was awesome with Mary and cool and funny. I was brave because Mary would never let go of me."

Check out my new surf camp website at http://mosurfcamp.com/Videos.html. It's a work in progress. I am teaching myself how to do websites right now.

Cheers!

Fiji...day one...3 hours...a long journey ahead

A women's soft voice whispered in my ear "Mary, wake up. We are here. We have landed."

I opened my eyes slowly and took a gaze outside my window. It was true. I had finally arrived in Fiji.

I remember boarding the flight in complete exhaustion from my busy week prior in Ventura. I walked down the aisle of Air Pacific's flight 811 where I found myself awarded the very last seat in the plane parallel to the toilets. A lovely Fijian woman took her seat next to me and began telling me her life story. Her Fijian accented voice was soft , subtle and sweet. Her green eyes were glowing brightly amongst her tanned sun-kissed skin. She had been visiting the US because one of her 5 children was attending University in San Diego. She proceeded to tell me how much she loved the US and how lucky we are to live here. I agreed with her but honestly all I could think about was how awful of a check in I had combined with the hustle and bustle of the LAX airport frenzy. As she continued to speak, I envisioned crystal clear water refreshing my pale skin, green palm trees blowing in the wind, perfect Fijian swells and the next 14 days of pure bliss aboard the Tui Tai. Our conversation banter continued about an hour before we finally lifted off the runway. The last thing I remember her telling me was, " Mary, you are going to the island of Nami. It is sacred, magical and identifies beautiful." Suddenly my eyelids began to feel heavy, my attention slowly faded and I was out like a light.

Our crew consists of 5 female surfers, two photographers (one from LA and one from National Geographic Magazine), Tim the tour guide, a female yoga instructor, one family vacationing with us and apparently 18 staff members aboard the 140 foot yacht known as the Tui Tai.

We are currently sitting in a local hotel getting to know one another, reading magazines, sipping on Fiji Water, cyber spacing, and killing time before we head onto our next adventure. Due to the large amount of surfboards and equipment we cannot take a small inter island flight to our destination. We will be enjoying our first sights of Fiji by a 3 hour taxi ride followed by a 13 hour ferry ride. If all goes as planned we will be boarding the Tui Tai sometime tomorrow morning, November 24th, Fijian time.


Check out the gorgeous boatt http://www.tuitai.com/


Ill try to email again soon but I doubt I will have much reception after this point.

Bula and Cheers!


Mary

Peirpont Hotel Surf Packages

I have recently teamed up Pierpont Racquet Club and Inn with Surf-Spa-Sleep packages.

Click here for more information

The Californian Need a little fun in the sun? Learn to ride the waves with surf lessons by professional surfer Mary Osborne and spend the day enjoying the sun, sand and surf that only California can offer. After a thrilling day at the beach, return to the Pierpont Inn for a restful nights sleep in one of our beautiful guestrooms and in the morning feast on a delicious breakfast while overlooking the ocean at Austen’s. One night accommodations Upgrade to an ocean view if available Breakfast for two in our ocean view restaurant 1 ½ hour surf lessons with Mary Osborne, professional surfer Board and wet suit provided $299.00 (double occupancy) Reservations need to be booked by calling the hotel. Two weeks advance reservations are required.

We also include full spa treatments. Please email or call for more information

Solymar Tan and Surf Lessons with Spa by Diane Loring in the press...

Check out today's newspaper article in Ventura Star.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2009/jun/17/surf-n-spa/

Cheers!

Surfing Reel

I was asked recently to put together a quick movie about "myself." A friend of mine, Shea McIntee, put together this great video for me. I loved it and thought I would share it with everyone. Now let's hope the movie producers like it  ;)

Lightest pack job in my history

The hardest part of traveling is deciding which surfboards and clothing you are going to take with you. It's almost as difficult as a girl packing only one cute dress and a pair of high heel shoes. The problem with me is that I am not only a girl, but a girl who surfs! I love bringing not only multiple pairs of high heel shoes but as many surfboards as I can fit in one board bag with wheels. It can become a difficult process. I have been basically living out of a bag and traveling for the last five years of my life. I still can't ever get this process down. One too many pairs of shirts, dresses, shoes, bikinis, surfboards, brushes, hats etc. I always make the mistake of bringing too much. Then again, once I made the mistake of bringing too little  and I was the smelliest girl on the trip with the dirtiest t-shirts. (just kidding)

Today, I must say I figured it out. When you decide in life what works... you stick with it. Why change it? Right now, I am getting ready to board a 22 hour plane ride to the Maldives for a ten 10 boat trip. I am so excited to get on the plane and fly away to one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I'm not writing this to tell you about this fantastic trip, yet the fact that I have conquered my packing issues.  

Patagonia is the key. This may sound like they paid me to say this, but honestly it's the truth. I am taking three surfboards that are so light my board bag feels empty. I honestly feel so confident that one board would be perfect (yet I like the emergency back up) This is a first for me! In the past, I have struggled to lift my boardbag on my car alone and have knocked over innocent civilians in the airport. Not only is the weight a huge issue, try checking into a flight. Overweight luggage is a horrible factor these days. The amount of money I have paid in luggage fees is  enough for a down payment on a house. I have three great surfboards I love and they are going to be so ideal to travel with. I have one small roll away bag with several options of clothing. The best part of Patagonia clothing is that you can roll up all your dresses, shirts, skirts and when you a ready to wear them there will be no wrinkles. This is key, especially when you never know how nice you need to look. I have everything a traveling surfer girl will need from trunks and bikinis to a nice black dress. I even managed to squeeze in a extra pair of shoes ;)

Cheers!

The Sounds of the INDY 500