MaureenDempsey.me
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.
Continue reading
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.
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.
All I’ve been thinking about since my first lesson is getting back out on a board. Let’s face it, I’m hooked.
Luckily, the winds have kicked up a little surf, so this morning before work, I had Lesson Two. It was fun loading up the board just after sunrise and driving down to a quiet beach while most people were still sleeping. This is what surfers do – they hit the waves before the rest of the world hits their snooze button.
I grew up on the northwest panhandle of Florida, about 20 minutes from the beach. As a kid, I loved the water and often tried to convince my parents to allow me to sleep in my swimsuit. Yet, I never learned how to surf.
I tried once as a 17-year-old but I can’t really call that a success. After what I can only imagine was an arm flailing of a paddle, I miraculously stood up on the board long enough to let out a screech of delight before falling back into the water.