Surfing – “the sport of riding a surfboard toward the shore on the crest of a wave.”
Ha! Easier said than done. This past weekend I was given the experience to take a surfing lesson. I was both excited and nervous. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wake up around the crack of dawn to go surfing. Two reasons: All the pros or semi-pros are out at that time and the waves are apparently more treacherous.
For some, surfing is purely a recreational sport. For others, it's a way of life. For those who haven't surfed before, it may seem too daunting to even try.
I got to the surf school and had to go through the lame and always very boring orientation, which consisted of warnings, safety procedures, etc. After surviving that, barely, the instructors fitted me in a wet suit. I must admit, I thought the feeling of a wetsuit would be weird; it actually felt like what you would feel after jumping into a pool with your clothes on.
When I arrived, I was given a surfboard. This little piece of information was drilled into my head: Surfing starts with the surfboard. The preferred surfboard for beginners, funboards are usually between 7-8 feet long. They are longer and faster than shortboards and shorter and more maneuverable than longboards. The reason why funboards are recommended for beginners is because they are more buoyant and help ease the transition to a longboard or shortboard.
After all this, I felt geared up to take on my first wave. I very much like the girls from Blue Crush and had the song “Cruel Summer” playing in my head. Before that, I had to learn the proper etiquette. Surfing is a community. If you wish to be a member of that community adhering to its rules is a must.
• Respect the environment and the locals. Do not leave garbage lying around and treat everyone with respect. You are new to something they have been doing for years so show some humility and everything should be fine.
• Stay in your league. You are not Laird Hamilton and you have no business surfing Pipeline. Go to a beach that has small swells, which will make learning how to surf much easier.
• When in the water, there is an order in which one catches a wave. Whoever is up on the wave first has the right of way. Never drop in on someone who already has the right of way. If you violate these basic rules, you put yourself and others in danger.
• Try to find an isolated spot on the beach so that you can have the freedom to make mistakes.
Since it was my first time ever on a surfboard, I had the two instructors with me. The first thing I learned was the pop-up. This helped me find out if I was natural footed or goofy footed and it also taught me how to spot swells
Before heading into the water, I had to practice the pop-up on the sand. Beginners have to make sure that their feet are touching the end of the board and that the nose of the board is level with the sand. If the nose of the surfboard is pointing into the sky, then move closer to the nose. If the nose is pointing into the sand, move your body toward the bottom.
After being perfectly balanced, it was time to find where to place my hands. While lying down, I placed my hands on the edge of the surfboard (also known as the rails) parallel with my shoulders and positioned my elbows back, almost like a push up. With toes at the end of the board and palms facing down on the rails, I proceed to do a push up. When I reached the top of the push up, I was told to swing my feet underneath and plant my lead foot on the center of the board and be in a crouched position.
Repeating this many times, I felt more confident. Then, I was able to enter the water. Not to surf, however, I had to learn how to correctly paddle through the oncoming waves and how to paddle with a wave before a pop-up. Once I was in the water, my first thought was, “OMG! This water is cold!” Strangely, I only felt the coldness on my hands and feet. Everything else was fine. I didn’t realize the wetsuit was keeping me warm (this was a nice bonus compared to wearing regular swimwear)
As instructed, I had to climb onto the board and get into the same position as if I was popping-up. I had to use the crawl/swimming stroke; it’s mostly like swimming freestyle at a local pool.
Once I got the feel for paddling, I was told to try paddling directly into an oncoming wave. This sounded a bit scary, but the faster and harder I paddle through a wave, the better my chances of getting through it. Lucky for me, I am both a Pisces and I have always been an active swimmer with local teams
As the wave approached, I slightly pushed up onto my knees and toes. Once I was halfway through the wave, I went back into paddling mode and continued on.
I approached another wave that was about to break. I’m thinking, “Sweet here’s my chance to ride a wave!” :-) But, I was told to go through it. :-(
After sitting and waiting for what felt like hours, I saw a wave that had my name all over it. I was given the green light from the instructors and I took off. I paddled and paddled… and paddled. It felt like my arms were about to fall off when I finally got close enough. I turned around and waited for it to come closer.
It felt like the longest 10 seconds of my life but finally the wave finally caught up to me and I started going into the pop-up when I fell. Yes, I fell. I was so amped to catch my first wave and I fall. I was bummed, not going to lie. I got back on the board, though, and shook it off.
I had to do the same routine again…and again…and again. It took me 5 tries to finally get a wave. The first time I successfully stood up, it was an incredible feeling. I going to refer to that moment near the end with Kate Bosworth’s character going into the pipeline – the slow-motion feeling, heavy breathing sound, everything; I felt free!
I was able to catch another 3 waves before my lesson was over. Seriously, it was so much fun but I was so tired and my arms were sore. All that paddling around, I felt like I go a couple rounds with Arnold Schwarzenegger. I also felt like I had enough salt in my mouth to swear of potato chips for the rest of my life.
I had an incredible time learning how to surf. It was an experience I will never forget. Not to mention, I made all my friends and boyfriend very jealous with my fun experience. I did make them feel a lot better when I told them I had hands and feet that had more wrinkles in them then raisins. I wouldn’t mind surfing again, but not for at least a week. Now if you excuse me, I’m going to put my ice packs back on my arms.
Comments