The 73 year-old man bore a striking resemblance to Capitão David's deceased father-in-law. That wasn't the only surprise: the guy wanted to pay in advance. Capitão David told him to pay at the end like everyone else.
"No," the Argentinean responded in Spanish. "I have two final desires in life. One is to surf. And I hear that you don't charge your students if they finish your class without riding a wave. So I want to pay you in advance to make sure I'll get my wish."
In addition to his cash, the man seemed to be offering a spiritual chance for Capitão David to reconnect with his wife's deceased father. The oldest student ever at the surfing school, the fellow ran through the same routine as everybody else. During the next few days, the he got 90 minutes of theory, 90 minutes in the calm waters of a lake inhabited by a Lochness cousin called Kokomura, 90 minutes of contact in the foamy white water near the shore, and the 90 fateful minutes "out there" in the waves.
"We learn humility from the sea," says Capitão David. "It treats everyone the same - no matter how much money they have, whether they've got a bad leg, whether they've got learning disabilities."
In the end, the 73 year-old got his wave... And his second desire? The next day he went into town to get a tattoo.
Stories like that probably help explain why Capitão David speaks of surfing in religious terms. Nicknamed "captain" because he took a navigation course, David probably should be called chaplain. "Jesus Christ was the first surfer," he says through his ever-present smile. "He walked on water, and he had to carry his cross."
When Capitão David was growing up, Praia do Rosa beach was frequented by a few odd hippies up from Rio Grande do Sul. The gaúchos would carry their longboard crosses down dirt paths to surf. Their girlfriends would sunbathe topless in the sand.
Rosa didn't own the beach. He was just the guy who lived in the house astride a path that led to it. Locals disdained the land beyond Rosa's place on the seaward side of the hill overlooking the shore: it wasn't much good for growing manioc. The nativos, as they would be called three decades hence, were more than happy to offload the worthless real estate to the gullible outsiders. Cash in hand, they could trade up for a fertile inland plot protected from the sea breezes.
David hailed from a family of fishermen, but he had asthma and his mother wouldn't let him swim in the ocean. Yet, for this seven year-old fatherless kid from the interior, those surfers seemed irresistibly cool. "I wanted to be one of them," he recalls.
He began hanging out nearby and gradually crept closer and closer and closer to the water. Before he knew it, he was in - and on - the waves. He survived a smash in the mouth by a board, and pretty soon could be seen lugging own beat-up cross to some of the world's best surf spots - almost literally in his backyard. "I was alone," he recalls. "Surfing became my life preserver." Of course, his asthma got better.
When the time came to make a living, David could think of no better life preserver than his waves. Penniless, he hooked up with a partner to open a surf shop. Perhaps ahead of its time, the shop failed.
Still penniless, David opened a surf school. Predictably, local kids began to hang around. Again predictably, few could pay for lessons. So he began taking them on pro bono. By this time the surfing world had discovered Santa Catarina and vice versa. Maybe a world champion would emerge from Capitão David's clinics. Meanwhile, paying customers would subsidize the locals.
The local kids couldn't even afford surfboards, so Capitão David set up a workshop. "We would take any old piece of fiberglass and make it into a board," he recalled. Even with those funky boards, David's kids pretty much swept a local surf competition.
A success in the water, the school wasn't doing so well on dry land at the bank. David jumped at an opportunity to give lessons at the Fazenda Verde do Rosa. He sometimes spends 12 hours a day in the water, surfing or teaching. And the local kids still hang around.
"The fact is that everyone surfs," Capitão David says. "Our lives change like the surf. There's always that big wave that knocks us down. But you can always go back and catch another one."
Praia do Rosa Surfing Links
Photo courtesy of Bebeto of The Rosebud Pousada.
Bill Hinchberger's visit to Praia do Rosa was made possible by the support of the Associated Inns of Rosa (PROA), New Age Tour Operator, and Transbrasil. For more information about whale watching, ecotourism, surfing, or whatever along this slice of the Santa Catarina coast, visit the PROA website.
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