back to Galveston

Although Brian -- the Galveston surfer DUDE -- called Thursday evening to say that the water was flat and he didn't think it would be possible to give a lesson on Friday, on Friday morning he called back to say that things had changed during the night and the waves were perfect for lessons. The sets were real this time he said, not nearly as sloppy as it had been during our past Friday afternoon sessions. The waves calmed considerably by the time Robin and I arrived for our 1:30 session. However, Brian felt like they were good for us to learn and practice some important lessons. For instance, we actually practiced the turnaround in the water. Brian explained that the whole process of surfing was a big circle. Because we weren't getting beat up by the waves, we practiced our jump onto the board, our turns, our look-back for waves, our swim forward and, finally, our pop-up on the waves. We also tried different boards including an 8' soft top (nearly impossible to stand on), an 8'6" hard top (a cool, marvelous ride; but different to maneuver), and a 9'4" soft top (my favorite). We both got approximately 6 to 8 good rides on small, but manageable waves.

What a great afternoon!

surfing in the Atlantic

A long holiday weekend trip to Amelia Island, Florida, gave me the opportunity to take my surfing to a new set of waves. The Atlantic Ocean proved to be a great place to surf and offered a different set of surfing circumstances. After calling a local surf shop and setting up lessons with local surfer Vince, my friend Robin and I were all set to learn from someone new. Although Sunday proved too rough according to Vince, Monday looked better and, by Monday evening at 7ish, we were meeting Vince at the beach access #6. He immediately launched into the pop-up portion of instruction. He was the third person to teach us the pop-up, with each one offering slightly different techniques. Robin could still do the pop-up perfect on the beach, but would she return to her old habits of going to her knees out in the ocean (yes, she did...but it works for her). I had my usual balance issues, but my form wasn't too bad. Vince didn't try to get us to stand the first night; he had us practice getting comfortable on the board in the water. On Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., we were at it again. He told us to give him five good pop-ups on the beach before going out on the water, which we did. Then he took us both out. Robin was first and, although she went to her knees first, she rode a wave in. I was second. He had me get comfortable on the board again, insisting that I use my feet to turn myself around. He also showed me a second way to turn, which turned out to be much more comfortable for me. Then came my moment of truth. I caught my wave and managed to pop-up and stand. I lost my balance eventually, but I surfed for a short while and it was magnificent. We surfed a little longer before Vince had to call it quits for the morning. (His day job was calling!) I had a blast though, and I can't wait to surf again. I'll definitely need my own board soon, probably this week.

"Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact."
philosopher William James (1842-1910)

soft top vs. fiberglass?

I'm finally serious about buying my own board. However, although I feel fairly certain I'm going to buy a soft top, when I go into the shops I end up leaving uncertain about it. Usually, I go in and the kid working starts talking to me about boards and when I ask about the soft tops, he makes a face and says something about them not being "real" boards. I then smile and explain that I'm rather new to the sport. When I say I've only surfed about a dozen times, they say I'm no longer a beginner. (I know I'm still a beginner, but it sounds good to hear that they don't think so!!) They suggest that I'll regret buying a soft top and will wish later that I bought a different board. Tonight I visited my third shop with the same result. However, the young man helping me showed me some epoxy boards. These boards aren't as expensive or fancy as the fiberglass ones, but are considered "real." As the young man pointed out, the epoxy boards are a great way to start, are very light and are priced well. He almost has me convinced until I remember an e-mail exchange I had with my surfing instructor Bryan. He says that soft tops are the best way to go when buying a first board. Bryan has been surfing for many years, but prefers to use soft tops in Galveston. He claims that they handle well in the small waves in Galveston and survive falls from the rack on the back of his truck. ummm...another good point. I'll definitely need to practice loading and unloading the board from the rack on the top of my Element, and I'm sure I may drop it a few times. And, on top of everything else, the soft top I saw tonight was pretty. While "pretty" shouldn't be a factor when buying a board, I can't help it! This particular board is bright purple and has flowers on both sides. It's 9' -- the perfect size. I think I need that board!