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I did it!! I FINALLY did it!! I caught my own wave and I am BESIDE myself with glee.
The ride itself is a blur because I was just so slap happy when it was happening. I guess it was a good ride but the whole time I was in disbelief that I finally got in front of a wave – under my own paddle power – and rode it into shore.
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I’m famous!!
Okay, maybe not that famous, but today I made it on the surf report that a local surf shop provides through their website: http://www.mrsurfs.com/surf_report.php.
Ok. I give. Even a strong-willed girl like me will eventually figure out when to throw in the towel. Maybe it’s not in the cards for me to catch my own waves on this trip. After all, I’ve only been surfing a month now and as I’ve been told a few times before, I may need to do a little expectation management.
So I decided to use today’s session, the last one of the trip, to practice my duck dive. This is the way that surfers push themselves and their boards under an oncoming wave while paddling out to the lineup.
We’re a few days into our vacation now and this place is an absolute paradise. We’ve been playing tennis, catching up on summer reading, and of course surfing every chance we get.
Before breakfast, Ted’s daughter and I were going to go for a jog but we decided to check out the waves before we began our trod through the muggy morning air. According to the surf report, not much of anything was forecasted for the entire week, but a stiff southeast wind began blowing during the night so we were hoping that would push up some waves by the next afternoon.
What we saw when we got to the top of a beach access was almost magical. There were waves: clean, pretty, and most importantly, big enough to catch without a push from someone. We couldn’t believe our luck! While the run would have been good, we decided to can it in favor of grabbing our rash guards and boards. A short time later we were paddling out.
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Today we arrived at what will be our home for the next seven days: St. George Island
Ted’s family spent a week here a few years ago and they have wanted to come back ever since. So this morning, his youngest daughter came over from Pensacola; his mom, sister, brother‑in‑law, and their girls drove over from Jacksonville; and his brother-in-law’s sister flew up from Miami. It’s a house full of people completely stoked about the week ahead.
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Okay, so ever since I got my new board, I’ve had this weird fear of breaking it. I believe it began after I excitedly told my ex-surfer coworker that I was the proud owner of my very own board and his response was, “Good for you; don’t break it.”
It’s just, the board is really nice, and it was a gift. How horrible would that be to break most definitely the coolest gift I’ve ever gotten?!
If all I wanted to do was go surfing before, it’s really all I want to do now that I have my own board. The first weekend after getting Greenie was packed with things I had to do but where there’s a will, there’s a way.
We scurried down to the beach around 6:30 on Saturday morning so I could make it to the baby shower I was co-hosting for my best friend at 9:00. It was a pretty small day, so we walked up the beach about 10 minutes to a spot where the waves were breaking slightly larger than elsewhere. Continue reading
After my Roxy failure, I made two determinations:
1) Don’t get a soft-top. While it would give a little if it were to sail into my noggin, my knees couldn’t take it. After an hour on the thing, they looked like those of a nine-year-old who had fallen off her bike.
2) Don’t get something too narrow. Admittedly, trying to remain upright while sitting on the board was a fun way to stay occupied when waiting for a wave (I mean, who doesn’t like a challenge?), but it wasn’t so fun when I’d miss a wave because I had inadvertently rolled over right in front of it.
I’m a pretty practical person. I still pack my lunch even though I left elementary school a long time ago, I once paid my electric bill with money my dad and stepmom gave me for an Easter dress; and I bring my own snacks to the movies. So when Ted mentioned getting my own surf board, I thought, “but those are expensive and we can just share.”
Yet, the idea did appeal to me. I never spend money, real money, on anything indulgent like this, and my parents gave me cash for my birthday a year ago specifically intended for something recreational. So after mulling it over, I decided I’d peruse local shops for a used board.