Weekend surfing and more

Instead of cycling on Saturday, I decided to go surfing. Actually, Saturday was very windy and was threatening to rain, so I loaded my boards (I took my long board and my new funboard) and headed to the island. Once I got to the beach, I realized I probably would be just using my longboard. The waves were mushy, but rideable. I took the board and headed out. I had a fairly decent day, and was glad I had chosen surfing over cycling. It would have been a miserable, windy ride. (On a side note, even Rob decided not to ride; he opted for spin class.)

The next day, I headed to the island again for surfing. This time, I only took my new "used" funboard. I had it waxed and ready to go. I had a blast! I didn't ride waves for very long, but I was able to get up, which is more than I thought I would be able to do. I successfully paddled out (I mistakenly say "swim out" often and get chastised by Brian, who insists I say "paddle out.") Anyway, I paddled out, sat on the board, turned the board and caught a wave. I was awkward and only stood for a few seconds, but it was phenomenal. I caught two or three, but eventually got so worn out from trying (and falling) that I had to give up after a couple of hours. I sure had fun though.

Brian told me that he bought new boards for his school and named them after his wife (Karen), me(the other Karen), Andrea and Robin. How fun!

Another board?

After my trip to Nicaragua, I decided that I wanted a shorter board. While visiting there, I had the amazing opportunity to go watch and "hang out" with real, experienced surfers at beaches with consistent, incredible surf. They made surfing the shortboards look easy and appealing. The shortboarders seemed to dance on the waves, moving back and forth so quickly. I knew then that I wanted to be able to do that one of these days. Ashley, ChicaBrava owner and surfer extraordinaire, said that she actually started her surfing experience on a shortboard. She mentioned that it took her almost a year to stand up for the first time. She was patient though and has certainly conquered the sport. Don't get me wrong, I still love surfing my 9' Softop and my marvelous 9'6" Senator board and I have in no way conquered surfing those boards yet. I'm still such a beginner! However, the shorter board just looks like so much fun.

When I decided to buy a shorter board, I wasn't sure what to look for in a shortboard, or in my case, a funboard. (Funboards are between 7-9 ft., while shortboards are anything under 7 feet.) I noticed on one store's website that they had a 7'2" board on sale for $199. The board was pretty too, not that it should matter what it looks like. But, pretty is definitely an advantage in my book. It was really thin though and considerably underpriced compared to the other ones. So, what's the big deal you might ask? Well, I couldn't get the you salesman to explain why it was so cheap. In fact, I couldn't get the young salesman to answer any questions about the boards. Since I was making a pretty big leap by trimming two feet off the length of the boards I already had, I wanted to know what the advantages were in all the different smaller boards. I came to a couple of conclusions on my own, despite the salesman's vain attempt to just sell a board. First of all, I thought for sure that if the board was too thin, I'd definitely have trouble with it. I also realized that if the nose was too pointed, the board would probably "move" too fast for me. (Not sure if I can adequately explain what I mean, but even the "mute" saleskid seem to agree with me about that.) I opted not to buy the board, which I think was a "Surf Betty" (aka NSP) make. It sure was pretty. What was odd about it, was that the board was $200 cheaper than most of the other 7'2" boards in the store. The salesman couldn't explain why other than to say that only that one board was going for the cheaper price and that it would probably sell fast. (As of this writing, it's been over a week and the board has not sold yet.) I left the store that day trying to decide what I really wanted in a board.

Almost a week later, I went by the store again to look at the boards. (I was only going to that store because it is the only one on the mainland near me that sells surfboards.) I had pretty much decided that I would probably not buy one from them because of their poor customer service. However, I just wanted to look at the different boards again. The same inept sales kid was working there and his demeanor indicated that he didn't want to help "some old broad" with her surfboard questions. He and one of the other young salespeople made some sort of inside joke that caused some laughter, but I wasn't deterred. I just needed a question answered about the boards again. Once I got a half answer, I was gone. I decided to call my surfing friend, Robin, to discuss my adventures in surfboard shopping. She reminded me of a board her niece had and might want to sell. She wasn't sure of the size so the two of us went by to look at it. I was sold. It was a 7'2", which was just like the one I was considering at the store. I wrote a check and so began my funboard experience. I hope the board helps propel me to the next level. We'll see.

UPDATE: On Sunday, I took Petal (my 9'6" Senator board) and my new board, "Lil' Sis" to the beach. Of course, on Saturday, I had to strip the wax off, as well as some stickers. I found a few dings, including one that took the epoxy off all the way to the styrofoam. I added extra wax to protect it and off we went. My first discovery with the new board was that getting out in the surf would be different. My board was under the water so that when I swam out, the arch in my back had to be more pronounced. After one short ride in, though, I was sold. I popped up right away, but it wasn't pretty. I definitely need a lot of practice. I changed my profile photo to include "Lil' Sis." What fun!

The line-up

I didn't get to surf last weekend. Friday was flat, Saturday was busy and Sunday I left for Austin. I went to a two-and-a-half day CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) Conference. While there, I was excited to pick up a bronze award for my former co-worker Summer's story in the fall 2009 Egret magazine. But, alas, there are no waves in Austin so I didn't get to surf. I was ready for this weekend though. Although Friday was a little overcast, the south winds were causing waves to form. I took my softop board because I hadn't taken it out in a while (What a blast!). Because of it being a holiday weekend, the beach was packed. A ton of surfers were out. I went out on my own, but shortly after my first wave ride, Brian showed up and wanted me to go way on the outside with him. I had no problem with the swim out, but I felt uncomfortable in the waves, which were coming from multiple unsteady directions, so I stayed mostly on the inside, with only an occasional appearance on the outside. Brian stayed further out and had his portion of the waves to himself. The rest of us were on the outside, but not nearly as far out as Brian, who said his waves were created by a sand reef.

I'm excited that my new pop-up seems to be working for me. I am also thrilled to say that I don't get nearly as tired as I used to when paddling out. I can successfully take the rip current without getting pushed off my board or even having to fight very hard. I still have to work on timing! Although my pop-up is a good one, I'm not popping up fast enough. On Saturday, I decided to go surf instead of cycle. I knew I probably wouldn't get to surf on Sunday, so I thought, perhaps, I should surf when I could. Although Brian thought the waves were a little better on Saturday, I enjoyed Friday's waves better. The 43rd street pier saw more surfers though than I've ever seen while surfing there. At least 15-20 of us decided to surf. They were down early too. I made it down by 7:30 a.m. and the place was packed with surfers. I swam out, but immediately got intimidated by the others. I watched and listened. Several of the guys got into some altercations, with one of them yelling accusations to the other, while many just sat silently and waited their turn. One young woman surfed a couple of good waves on her short board as did a couple of the guys. However, I soon realized that I might have as much right out there as they have. They weren't that much better than me. At least their board-handling skills didn't impress me. One of the scariest things was finding out that many of them do not know the protocol on catching the waves. It definitely wasn't the same line-up I saw in Nicaragua, where everyone seemed to know the "rules" of the waves. I'm actually a little less intimidated now thinking about it than I was when I was out. I don't think I'll be as "concerned" next time in the line-up as I have been.

Another interesting thing I noticed about the people surfing this past weekend was that most of them were on short boards. I immediately lusted after their boards. I love my two boards and took them both out -- my 9' Softop and my 9'6" Senator board. (Someone actually complimented me on my Senator board; he, too, was the owner of one and had enjoyed many rides on it.) However, I would really love to give a short board a try. Of course, now I found one on sale from a local store and would love to have it. Can I justify it? I'm not consistent on the two boards I have, why would having a shorter board be any better? Oh well, we'll see.