Nat Goes Surfing!

Okay folks, this is it. The one you've been waiting for, though you didn't realise it until now:

NAT GOES SURFING!!!!

*cheers and whistles from the audience*

Well, how could I live at Pleasure Point and not? I'd never be able to look any of my surfie friends in the eye ever again.

Now, I've only ever tried surfing once before, at Coffs Harbour, where I had a lesson in really easy conditions.

Luckily for me, my landlady, Annie, lives right next door, and she's a professional surf instructor. Even luckier, we were only 2 blocks from getting in the water. This meant very little distance to carry our boards. Gnarly, dudes!!

So I organised to take 5 lessons from Annie, but what with her being away for various reasons, and The Best Camping Trip Ever, it came down to my final week. This was kind of a good thing, because I got to have more continuous instruction.

How To Be A Proper Surfie - Rule Number One:

The tides and waves do not respect normal working hours, so learn to get relaxed about not getting to work on time (that's for you, Natalie).

Okay, so my second lesson was on the Sunday after Sean arrived. My first lesson (the previous Thursday) had gone pretty well; I'd managed to stand up quite a few times with Annie pushing me into the waves.

Let's see how I did on my second lesson (with thanks to photographer Sean).

Waxing the board before getting wet (the 4mm wetsuit is totally necessary for the cold waters of Monterey Bay. We did see one girl out there in a bikini one day, and we both agreed she either was insane, or had antifreeze for blood):

Annie explaining to me how to read the waves, while I try not to drop my humungous board:

See? It's huge!! But MUCH easier to stand up for learners than on than shorter boards.

Annie was concerned about the conditions for this lesson. It was windy with a pretty intense swell. Once I got in the water, I could understand her concern: it was a bit like being in a washing machine. Annie stressed it would be harder to catch the waves.

Paddling out, and pushing up over a small wave (I even "turtled" under some of the bigger ones!). 

It was a tad crowded. (Luckily the fact that you're a complete novice becomes blantanly obvious very quickly, and, rather like the nice Santa Cruz drivers, the "proper" surfers make sure they give you plenty of room, and no-one gives you a hard time. Thank you, nice Santa Cruz surfing dudes).

Unlike the little waves I encountered in my first lesson, these were a bit more serious.

Uh-oh, Nat. That's not how it's done:

Annie worked out that I wasn't arching my back enough, and I was letting my legs come off the board. Not ideal!

This dude had it all over me. He even had time to walk out to the front of his board and back.

Show-off:

Annie urges me to arch my back more as I paddle:

Actually, we spent most of this 2-hour lesson paddling. It was difficult to find suitable waves given the conditions. And after all the paddling to get to the right spots, I was almost to tired to try and surf. How pathetic! But I wasn't going to give up. Plus it was a great opportunity to work on basic stuff. Like....paddling.

Here were are, looking like a bunch of little seals. No wonder the poor sharks get confused!

Yes, Pleasure Point is a pretty place to surf (I think Sean was getting bored with my lack of progress!): 

More paddling:

Annie tells me to paddle for my life and try to catch this wave. The feet aren't looking too great here.......

Oops.

Check out the air on that board! But at least I had the whole cover-the-face-when-you-fall-off thing down pat. Safety first!

Back on board again! See what I mean about the washing machine?

In amongst the white water and peddling for the meddle:

Oooh yeah, this is looking a little better: 

Stupid diving booties I was wearing! They stuck to the board. I couldn't get my feet up easily. But getting there:

Almost.....

Uhhhhh....... 

Ooooooo...

Aaaaargh!!!

I think that bird is laughing at me: 

Okay, this one I'm going to get:

She's caught it, now can she get up?

Got the knees under it:

Hardly "popping up", but I look kind of cool here. Except that my hair is doing really weird stuff that makes me look like a guy! (Enlarge the pic and you'll see what I mean. 'Tis not a glamour sport).

Happy and worn out after a long lesson requiring much stamina.

So, perhaps not the flashiest of progress was made here. And afterwards I was ready to eat the furniture and then hibernate until August. But by learning what not to do, it was a great investment for future lessons. Plus, this was only my 3rd lesson ever, so not too shabby.

Thanks, Annie for being such an awesome and patient teacher! You're the best!

Stay tuned for where I dragged Sean out of bed to document my 5th and final lesson. We'll see whether any constructive progress has been made.......