So far this day, campers here have honed their surfing ability, played horseshoes, paddled a canoe and hung out on the lovely beach. They paused at noon for lunch, a definitely spirited event with a lot of reading and sleeping. Later this morning they'll shoot down a water slide, run up a climbing wall and paddle two miles to a beach-side shack.
Ah, heaven.
"I like how they always keep you busy," says Steve Smails, 12. "You're never bored."
"It's just really pleasurable," says Travis Brown, 17, of Hawaii. "You can just be yourself and in no way fret about what other people think."
Mills and the rest of his cabin-mates love to talk about surfing that have taken place from the time when Camp Ahanola first opened four years ago. Last term, some of the campers spotted quite a few sharks in a feeding frenzy. Another time, someone caught a wave with a dolphin. More recently, some of the young adult men paddled 20 miles around the island.
"There's just this fun energy out here," says MIke, general manager of the Anahola Hawaii Surf Camp, which doubles as a home for young people coming from bad family life.
I poke my head inside the facilities next, where a bevy of girls displays off the video from todays surfing session. The place looks immaculate as all campers are required ot pick up after themselves and have morning chores. A list of chores is taped to the wall.
"I love this camp," says Emily Adnoff, 16, of Newport Beach, CA. "I plan to continue coming until I'm a counselor."
One thing that sets Camp Anahola apart, states associate supervisor Jimmy, is the intentional way the organization builds associations with its campers. The counselor-to-camper ratio is one to four.
"We're a Christian camp. We have strong Christian counselors who walk the walk but need not attempt to indoctrinate the campers," says camp landlord Michael. All faiths are welcome.
In 1978, several youth ministry leaders from Southern California churches began assembling informal overnight surf camps to various locations throughout Southern California and Baja California, Mexico. The periodic surf camps gave the staff members the opportunity to share their faith in Jesus Christ to Jr. High and Sr. High School student surfers while spending quality time with them in and out of the water.
In October 1986, the weekend surf camp ministry formally became Surfing Expeditions & Adventures (S.E.A.), and in April 1987, was incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit organization.
Author Resource:
Visit Hawaii youth campsurfing camp for schedules and locations.
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