Surfing

I did something that I’ve wanted to do for about as long as I can remember- I went surfing.

Stacey has two boards, so one of them was mine for the day. She gave me the wider, more stable one. We loaded both into the back of my pickup, grabbed towels, warm clothes, food and hit the road.

Since it was a Friday morning there was hardly any traffic on the drive down to Pacifica. We got to the surf shop a few minutes after it opened and the guy behind the counter looked me up and down and quickly sized me up for a wetsuit rental.

I stood in the beach parking lot, towel wrapped around my waist, bent over and pulled on the tight, damp wetsuit. Over my ankles, up to my knees, to my hips and higher and higher. My hands and feet were the only part of my skin that were exposed. Both were peppered with sand grains. I already felt like a different person.

I didn’t know what wearing an wetsuit in the ocean would feel like, but soon learned that you feel cool but not wet.

Wading away from the shore, then laying on the board and paddling out to join the several dozen other surfers felt like joining an exclusive club. It wasn't until a few hours later that I realized many of them were beginners not too different from myself.

I understood that surfing was going to be difficult and frustrating. I didn’t expect to be able to stand up on my first day out. But I wasn’t ready for how frustrating it truly was.

On my first wave attempt, I ended up getting in the way of one of the other surfers who was already up and actually riding the wave. I felt like the biggest jerk and idiot. I didn’t see him early enough to move out of the way, and even if I did see him, I wasn’t sure that I would know what to do to get out of the way.

 

The next hour or so went even worse. I have pretty poor vision and not wearing contacts meant that I could barely see anything beyond 15 feet. I can make out different shades of color, but there was hardly any contrast out towards the open ocean. The bluish-gray sky didn’t look much different from the grayish-blue sea. I couldn’t see when waves were coming in or how big they were. When I did try to get on a wave, there was way too much happening to be aware and in control of where I was, where others were, and what I was doing. I was trying to learn to do something new without being able to see. There were some wipeouts and much swearing. Frustrated is a light way to put it.

But, it got better.

Stacey, who has been surfing for the past few years, kept giving me tips between attempts. Paddle earlier. Pop up straight to your feet. Paddle straighter. She would also be my eyes, spotting sets coming in and waves that looked rideable.

After a while, the frustration started to melt away, especially after one particular wave when I actually stood up! It was only for about two seconds, but I was up.

That taste of success was enough fuel to keep me going for another hour and another dozen or more wipeouts.

Most of Friday morning was spent sitting on the board waiting for a set or wave to come in. I learned that the experience isn’t about riding a wave, it’s about being in the water, being in the ocean, without distractions or reminders of daily life. It’s just me and the sea and the board. It’s refreshing in many ways.

The first day out on the water was frustrating and difficult and left me with some bruises. And I can’t wait to go again.

I hold no misconceptions. I know that I have a long way to go until I’m even halfway-passable. There’s a lot about surfing that I don’t know. I don’t even know what I don’t know yet. Maybe that’s what I like about it. An uncharted world to explore and grow into.

 

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Being a video guy, I felt that I needed to document this adventure. I have a GoPro and bought the surf mounts so I could place the camera at the nose of the board. I recorded much of the day and have many clips and stills of me wiping out and splashing into the water. But here are some of the best photos from the day.