surf’s up

Last Saturday I finally got to go surfing! Toban and I drove a couple hours south down the New Jersey shore to Ocean City. I signed up for a group lesson at a local surf shop that included a beginner’s big, soft surfboard and wet suit. Toban stayed safe and dry on shore with the camera. There were 5 people signed up for the lesson (2 ladies around 30 years old, 2 boys around 10 years old, and me). Two tan, bleached hair surf dudes led the lesson. We sat on the beach for 15 minutes or so discussing ocean safety and the basics of surfing. The water was chilly at first but with the first crashing wave there was no choice but to get completely wet. I was very impressed with how warm the wetsuit kept me. I was also very impressed with how salty and powerful the ocean water is. I consider myself a decent, strong swimmer, comfortable in the water but the never-ending ocean waves immediately and continually let me know who is boss. In the water the surf dudes took turns helping each of us in the lesson try to surf. We lay on the boards, paddling in the waves as well as beginners can, while they pushed or pulled our boards in position. As the wave grabbed our boards the surfer dudes yelled ‘Get Up’. It was very frustrating to fight the waves so long and then fall off the surfboard so quickly. The surf dudes helped us for about an hour and then left us alone for another half hour. When they left I quickly realized how much they had been helping by keeping the surfboards steady and nosed up (like mom did with our water skis). I was able to get up on the surfboard a couple of times, at least long enough for Toban to snap a picture.