I have been surfing Vilano since 1983. It’s a special place and there have been tons of great surfers to call Vilano their home break. Vilano has an arena like set up the way cars park along the hill and surfers are about 100 ft away. When the waves are good at Vilano people come from the Southern beaches, Jax Beach and lately the Flagler College dorms, creating a large crowd.

Growing up surfing these crowds at Vilano has taught me plenty about rules. Unlike random no-name breaks were it’s just a few friends sharing some waves, named, exposed brakes like Vilano have several levels of rules. Whether you’re learning the standard set of understood rules or you have advanced to learning the vague tribal-like rules of locals you will find your place in the lineup or it will find you.

Does it ever appear that someone is not breaking any rules but is catching three times as many waves as everyone else? It’s most likely that they have completely mastered the rules and know some that you don’t. They may know where to line up to catch the best peak. They may be a really strong paddler and can sit a little further out. Basically knowledge and experience at one spot can really boost your chances of being that guy.

After 26 years surfing the same beach break, I hope to utalize this space to capture some stories about great surfers and great sessions. Most of all I hope Vilano wakes from it’s dormant state to allow us to catch a few more wedging peaks.