Solo Session

Today was my first time out by myself – Yep, my training wheels are no more!  Ted wasn’t able to go with me but the waves were too pretty to pass up, so I borrowed his Fj and took my board down to the beach.

It was just past 7am when I got there, and the waves were cleanly shaped 2-footers, perfect now that I can catch my own waves.

We’ve been going out like crazy lately because there has been a great swell for the last few days.  We even hit it up before and after work on Thursday.  You’d think I’d be exhausted by now (which I am) and ready for a break (but I’m not).

Yep, it’s official; I’ve totally got surf stoke.

Each morning, I check the local surf report and look up the charts on http://www.swellinfo.com/.  The green, blue, and red graph that depicts both the wave height and the conditions (clean/fair/choppy) has become a daily fixture on my computer screen.  I’ve even conjured my coworkers into driving by the surf on our way to meetings when we’re on the beach.

So back to this morning.  Paddling out by myself, I felt so independent.  Up until now, I’ve probably looked like the girl whose trying to surf only because her boyfriend does – but now, I feel more legitimate.  Granted, I’ve got beginner slung across my board each time it launches into the air after being pearled into a wave, but it’s clear this is my hobby and not just something I’m doing so I can hang out with my guy.

I was out there for almost three hours and it was quite a session.  After so much time in the water this week, I had full-on belly rash.  Even though I was wearing a rash guard by this point, I hadn’t up until now and the skin on my stomach was rubbed raw by the combination of surfboard wax and salt water.  So each time I had to lie down on my board, it was all I could do not to yelp.

There was one other surfer out and we both had our share of waves that passed us by because we couldn’t get in front of them. And likewise with the waves that led to pearls – even when we made a conscious effort to pull the nose back out of the water once we saw it going in.  It’s just that he, no more than 15 years old, had far more successes.

Still, when I got my last ride and headed in, I looked back to the kid and threw him a wave.  He immediately reciprocated and it was like there was an unspoken respect for each other.  Even though we didn’t talk when we were in the lineup, we shared a passion that connected us.

This passion drives us surfers to jump out of bed early before work – or, even more notable, on a Saturday, our only day off – just so we can catch a few waves before we begin the day.  It makes us willing to keep gutting it out after we’ve gotten tumbled around in the waves time and again, swallowed untold amounts of salt water, or become bleary eyed from the constant glare.

This passion for surfing even enables us to ignore our belly rashes that remind us – each and every time we jump on the board – how stupid we were not to wear a rash guard until it’s too late.

So…when’s the surf gonna be up again?