Board Meetings

You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf, as the saying goes. Of course, it can be a humbling sport when you start out, but the experience of being able to balance on a board, with water surging uncontrollably around you, can pay almost mystical dividends. It need not be expensive either: a rented surfboard, a lick of sunscreen, some advice from the local beachboys (and beachgirls), and a lot of gung-ho spirit can have you lining up alongside the pros.

With surfing beaches in Europe, the U.S. and the Pacific coast becoming crowdedand...