Sometimes it’s hard to wrap your head around the fact that there are nearly 5777.3 miles of open ocean between us and Antarctica… and yet somehow almost no swell is making it to Nicaragua today! We’re so used to the conveyor belt of Southern Hemisphere swell that anything below waist-high feels strange.

Today is definitely a lay day for the shortboard crowd, but it’s perfect for beginners and longboarders. Those of us with stiff knees and sore backs who no longer feel like crouching into barrels are left watching everyone else frolic around, grateful they’re not out there dodging bombs for a change. It’s a perfect day to take the little ones out, or to get a lesson that you’ve been putting off.

The good news? This flat spell won’t last long. The current swell fades over the next couple of days, but the forecast already shows another solid pulse arriving this weekend, followed by only a brief dip before another swell fills in behind it. That’s more like the Nicaragua we’ve come to expect between March and November.

If you’re thinking about learning to surf, days like today are exactly why Punta Miramar is such a great classroom. While conditions like this can happen anytime, the most consistently beginner-friendly season is generally from mid-November through mid-March, when the waves are often small, the offshore winds blow almost every morning, and the crowds stay light.

Water temperatures right now are a tropical 84–85°F, thanks to El Niño. During our winter months they cool to a refreshing 78–80°F. Around here that’s about as close as we get to needing a wetsuit—maybe just bring a wetsuit top… and a tissue for the runny nose if you think 78° is cold.

In the meantime, get in the water. You might want a little extra volume and a little extra length under your feet to make the most of these soft little peelers. But any day you’re in the water is a good day.

Go surf!