Catching a wave

Not that anyone reads this blog….lol. With my consistency I don’t blame you (last post in December). Yet, I’m going to post my lessons learned from surfing yesterday in Jacksonville Beach.

I’m on vacation this week with the family in JAX Beach and have always wanted to try surfing.

1. As a Hoosier that has skateboarded and snowboarded for over 10 years this seemed like a logical step to round out my X-Games training.
2. Like skateboarding, surfing looks effortless, as if just anyone could pick it up.
3. Falling doesn’t look painful. After all, it’s only water.
4. The lure to surfing is obvious. I see hundreds of surfers every day and have yet to see an overweight one.  Tan, ripped, tattooed, and generally speaking cool looking dudes (in a beach sort of way).
5. And my friend had an extra board so it would be of no cost to me.

Well, that is what got me out there let me confess the reality of what happened.

1. I’m a horrible swimmer. Always have been. Try balancing on a board and paddling, both against current and dealing with oncoming waves. AND watching the experienced surfers all around you to not get in there way. Paddling, balancing, watching= exhaustion by the time I got far enough out to “catch a wave!”
2. Duck diving is what they call it when you are supposed to push your board down and go underneath the oncoming wave as you swim out. “Swim under and through the wave.” Duck diving sucks and requires a skill unto it’s own. I never did figure out duck diving and was rolled back 15 feet each time.
3. Don’t suck in the salt water when paddling and being rolled in a wave. Major nausea to deal with for many hours.
4. The boards do really hurt when they smack you in the head while being being rolled in a wave.
5. The  water is a lot stronger that it looks! And the boards do break when they nose dive down, while yes again being rolled in a wave.

So, needless to say I didn’t catch any waves but was caught up in more than my share.  A good first effort though, and I lived to tell about it!

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