May As Well Still be Wearing Hiking Boots - January 2, 2011

We just got back from a trip over to Jacksonville to visit Ted’s family and there have been reports that the surf was going to be on today.  Between my new board and the booties my dad and stepmom gave me for Christmas, I was ready. 

When we got to the beach, I saw a lineup unlike any that I’ve seen before.  There were probably 30 guys in the water, many of whom were doing some seriously impressive “shredding.”  This is essentially the opposite of the longboard wave riding I mentioned in my Thanksgiving post.  Shredding refers to the cuts that shortboarders make back and forth across a wave but there has to be enough wave in order to pull this off.  Today, there was definitely that.

There’s only one thing more intimidating than walking up to a surf that’s bigger than anything you’ve seen, and that’s when there are plenty of (good) surfers to watch you get your A handed to you.   Adding to that was the fact that I hadn’t been out since Thanksgiving and it’s now a whole lot colder than it was on that 70-degree day.  The water temperature is now 58° and I don’t believe the air temp got over 52° today.  To make matters worse, there was no sun to warm up the black neoprene of my wetsuit, which was supposed to insulate me from the dark gulf waters.

As we took our first few steps into the water, I was very thankful I had booties and I wished I had something for my hands.  My first few paddles were painful, but I guess they eventually acclimated…that, or went numb.

It felt weird, paddling on a shorter board.  I wasn’t really sure how far up I should be, but I know my toes touch the very back of Greenie, so I figured I’d go for the same on Olive.  Wrong.  Because this board is six inches shorter, I should really be further back with my feet hanging off the board. 

I didn’t put this together until the end of the session; therefore, I spent most of my time out there pearling because I was too far forward on my board.  Getting worked in these waves was not fun.  Not only did each nose dive lead to a shock of cold water shooting down my back (it doesn’t take much of a gap for water to get in), but the force of these big waves sent me tumbling like a ragdoll in someone’s Maytag.

Somewhere in the middle of the session, as we were sitting in the lineup watching some ridiculously good surfing, I saw a guy who I recognized…sort of.  It’s hard to place people when they’re in wetsuits, their hair’s wet, and their lips are blue, not the mention the fact that my eyes were bleary from the cold – at what temperature do ones eyes begin to freeze?  But right before he caught a wave that he launched off the back of doing a 360, I realized it was Warren Smith.  I went to high school with him, after which he went on to surf professionally and has enjoyed several appearances in surf magazines.  Not kidding. 

Yep, that's him, on the cover of Surfer magazine...doing an aerial, no less.

Last I heard he was in South America, or South Africa…or was it the South Pacific?  I’m not sure – but I’m pretty sure he’s been all over the world to surf and probably the one time I’ll ever see him in the lineup, I looked like it was my first time on a surfboard.  When he paddled back out, he went to a different spot so I didn’t have the chance to say something cool like, “Hi, do you remember me from high school?  I had frizzy hair back then and would occasionally wear hiking boots to class.” 

After about 45 minutes in the water, Ted and I were both so cold that we could hardly move.  So we paddled in, wearing the word defeated across our backs.  I’ve never experienced this before, paddling in without at least one wave.  Even if I could only catch a sad excuse for one, I’d at least get one.  But I was crazy weak.  As we were walking up the beach, Ted actually had to help me step up on the sand cliff that I usually have no problem with.  I just didn’t have any gas left in the tank.  

When we got back to the car, my hands, now purple, were shaking so badly that he had to put up my board for me.  They continued to shake involuntarily the entire 15-minute drive home (even with the heat on).  Once we got back, I struggled for about 10 minutes to take off my booties.  In fairness, it was hard for me to get them off when I first tried them on during the Christmas morning gift exchange; so getting them off with shaking hands and zero strength was a real trick.  

At one point, I considered just getting in the tub (filled with hot water), then after I had warmed up, I’d try and tackle them again.  But the more I thought about it, the more I knew I wouldn’t live that down (the fact that I kept them on for the ride home was bad enough).  So pride enabled me to muster up one last fit of strength to get them off.

I don’t think I’m going to wear anything but wool for the next few months days.   You know I can’t stay away from the waves for that long.

Christmas Came Early! - December 23, 2010

Oh boy, oh boy!  What a MAGICAL time of year!!!  My first Christmas as a surfer has been full of all sorts of sugarplum fairies (only these fairies were wearing board shorts) and it began on the 23rd when I arrived at Ted’s for our Christmas dinner. 

I had just come from getting my fourth-ever pedicure – seriously, why pay for those when you can do them yourself (without the risk of a weird bacterial infection from the foot tubs) – and was met with the aroma of lamb and butternut squash roasting in the oven.  Ted’s got a serious aptitude for the culinary side of life, I’m learning. 

When I walked by the wall where he mounts his snowboard, I immediately noticed something different all together: a surfboard with decorations shaped like giant Christmas lights hanging from it! 

It’s a gorgeous 7’ Kane Garden board.  Even though it’s only half a foot shorter than Greenie, that makes a big difference on a surfboard.  It’s yellow on top and olive on the bottom with a fin system that allows for a thruster or quad setup (meaning three fins or four).  I’ve been thinking about going down to a shorter board that’s more maneuverable, and this is perfect because it will certainly be easier to turn, yet it will still be super stable because of its fish shape, which are wider in the middle than at the nose and tail.

A 7' Fish should be a perfect next board

I could barely sit still through dinner because I was so excited about my new board.  I wanted to take it out RIGHT THEN!!  Once we finished our roasted lamb with mint jelly, we moved to the living room to open gifts.  Now, since I already had my big gift for the year, I figured it would be all socks and book marks from there on out.  Not so.  One of the packages he wrapped was suspiciously large.  Not that size is an indicator – my brother is famous for disguising small things in big boxes (gift card in an old VCR box, anyone?) – but this time the size of the package wasn’t a decoy…

It was an Indo Board!!  Ted’s been telling me about these for six months now and I’ve been dying to try my hand at one.  Indo Boards are trainers for board sports because they help with balance and board control.  They are roughly the length of a skateboard, but much wider, and you lay them over a cylinder like a see-saw before standing on it. This is where the balance practice comes in.

To get on it, you first step on the side of the board that’s on the floor, then rest the other foot on the side that’s sticking up in the air.  Then you slowly transfer your weight to the second foot while pushing that side of the board down until it’s parallel to the ground.  In order for this to happen, the cylinder must roll slightly so that it’s centered under the board and your weight is distributed evenly...like so:

Well done Tedward

The key is slowly transfer your weight, but that’s the tricky part.  When I first got on it, the board kept flying from one side of the cylinder to the other until I was completely out of control.  The board looked like a pendulum arching back and forth.  It was scary, sure, but so much fun!  Of course when I got overly confident, I flew off and hit the floor with quite a thud.  Luckily, I landed on carpet, so there were no pre-Christmas trips to the ER.

Right before I flew off the board...

I don’t know what I’m more excited about…the surfboard or the Indo Board.  This is up there with the Christmas morning when my brothers and I walked downstairs to find a Go Cart beside the tree.  Really.