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Ride aboard a board upon the face of the place where ocean's bored face breaks into a wave with this Groupon: $40 gets you $80 worth of surfing or stand-up paddle-surfing lessons at SoBe Surf, the premier surfing and stand-up paddle-surfing school in Miami and Cocoa Beach. SoBe Surf's friendly, expert instructors are American Red Cross lifeguard–certified and fully insured. They're seasoned surfsmen (the owner recently launched his own line of paddleboards) who can teach boarders of any age, skill level, and ability how to correctly paddle out, duckdive, catch a wave, stand up, and think about dinosaurs nonstop without getting distracted.

Miami surfing and stand-up paddle-surfing lessons include equipment, techniques, ocean-safety procedures, and attentive coaching and instruction in the ocean. A one-hour surfing or paddle lesson costs $80 for one student; the rate drops to $50 for more than four students, so get your friends together to learn to surf. Cocoa Beach lessons are offered in two formats: full lessons and clinics. Clinics include equipment, a 20-minute technique and water-safety lesson, and individual practice time in the water ($30 per person for an hour-long session in a group of more than three people). Full lessons include an instructor in the water to keep escaped convicts away and coach you while you practice ($65 for an individual lesson).

Seeing the lip of a wave crash down as you duckdive through a tube is an addictive thrill. Once you've fluidly slipped over the surface of the water, gliding over stingrays, sea cows, and silicone replicas of Martin Maurer's ferrocement building in the shape of a duck, it's hard not to spend all your spare time on a board. Plus, surfing and paddleboarding are great high-repetition workouts that force you to focus on your core and use your whole body in unison.

Reviews

Check out SoBe Surf's TV news segments on Plum TV, FOX TV Channel 7, and Miami.com. SoBe Surf covered the paddle-surfing lessons segment of the Travel Channel's World's Sexiest Beaches series; click here to see Travel Channel's Bridget Marquardt talk to SoBe Surf's owner after her lesson.

SoBe Surf posted a few testimonials on its website:

• Girard, You gave me a surf lesson over spring break. I just wanted thank you again. I absolutely loved it! You've inspired me to take some time this summer and travel. – Julie
• I just wanted to say hello and thank you so much again for Hannah's surfing lesson last week... You took this self-conscious and awkward teenager last week and made her suddenly feel like the coolest kid around! Her confidence soared!!! – Daria
• I was a bit hesitant at first, especially since I am a weak swimmer. I finally said yes. And, that turned out to be one of the greatest decisions of my life. – Avril Garcia