No Idea

Surf Report

I went out into the surf with a 10ft foam ironing board again on Sunday. This time I was fairly well rested and had no hangover, I also went for an 11:30am lesson instead of a 9am so I had time for a pancake breakfast. Food, rest and no alcohol make for a much more enjoyable time in the surf.

To get straight to the point, I basically still suck. I tried to get out the back with the dudes (apparently if you have had a lesson before you are deemed an expert and get put in the expert group and have to go out the back) but as much as I tried to paddle through the breaking waves, which were once again enormous, my little arms kept giving up. The first half of the “lesson”, and I will get to the nature of these lessons later, was spent trying so hard to get out the back. I got out there about twice in an hour and got chewed out on each wave that I tried to catch back to the shore. It was so demoralising putting all that effort into getting out the back and then in two seconds you are off your wave and barreling upside down being dragged by your leashed foot toward the beach.

Actually, once I did ride a wave with moderate success from out the back. I was sitting on my board minding my own business looking around. Saw a big wave coming, decided to ignore it as other people were in front of me. I just thought I would sit it out. Wrong. The wave, without me paddling or anything caught my board and shoved me forward. Before I knew what was going on I was riding down a wave, not in the prone or standing position, but fully seated with a dumb confused half smile on my face.

That particular experience sort of ended badly because I careered into what my myopia afflicted peepers (I ditched contact lenses, not for me) deemed a hot surfer chick. I apologised plenty but she said it was not a problem and sort of laughed, probably at me. I expect I had a bewildered look on my face and jellyfish snot rolling out of my nose. In that brief moment an unspoken agreement was mutually reached that we would not see each other again. I think I loved her, but it could never have worked out.

Not to worry. The day improved. I decided to ditch the whole “out the back” malarkey and just do what I want. I wanted to catch white water waves, I am a novice, and novices do not belong in the way of amateurs just as amateurs do not belong in the way of experts and so on all the way to surf Jedi. They can do as they please, and often do.

So I stuck to the white water and had much more fun. Like a million times more fun. It still took a lot of energy to get out to any waves but they were much easier to catch. It was coming toward the last quarter of the lesson and I really felt blue that I had not stood up properly yet. I was determined not to go back to the beach until I had. Everyone else was doing it, some French kids who didn’t care for wetsuits and rolled in just their boardies were already standing up with their pompous accents and Mediterranean complexion, it was apparently their first time out.

Determined I roughed it out past the little breakers again and into the serious white water. The area where pro-novices hang out. Out there I saw a blurry mass of water heading my way and hopped on my sponge. I paddled freakishly hard, anticipating the crashing wave heading toward me. And then all of a sudden I was off, laying prone, arching my back up to keep the front of the board down, doing everything as best as I could to stay on top of the wave. I rode it for a fair bit laying prone and then did a mangled pop-up, jerking around and teetering on the brink of a wipe out. But, amazingly I stood up on my feet. Not only that, I rode that bitch all the way back to the beach. I did not fall off, I eventually jumped up and then raised my arms in the air victoriously and did the best whoop a self conscious Brit can do. I really felt rather emotional. It was such a bizarre silly feeling, I had just achieved something I have always thought was beyond my reach but something I have always secretly wanted to do. I surfed.

After the lesson was over the rest of the day unfolded into food and booze and general perfect day stuff. It was just a brilliant day all round. So now I write to you with a new wet suit of my own and plans to go out surfing on Thursday without the comfort of a lesson and the instructor that goes with it. As I was saying before these lessons are only loosely termed a lesson, there is about three things an instructor can show a group of people before he basically has to let you go and do your thing. The basics of surfing are very basic, most people can get the idea in 30 mins, after that I feel you just need to practice until you are curious to know more. Then perhaps a more personal 1-to-1 lesson might be useful. If I ever reach that level I will be very proud of myself, until then I am just going to rent foam boards and learn from experience.

I am quite aware that I have tried lots of activities and hobbies and eventually they have all fizzled out and I have lost interest. This may happen with surfing, I often love the novelty too much. If it does happen then so what, I had fun while I was trying it out. But secretly I really hope I have the bug because it is great exercise and it is a fantastic excuse to be by the beach and in the water, both of which I doubt I will ever tire of. The sea is always interesting. Speaking of which, this should worry me more than it does, it was taken this year on Australia day down the Queenscliff end of Manly beach.

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December 4th, 2007 

Labels: Tags: australia, manly, map, nsw, sharks, surfing, waves