First True Loves, in Blue

Willy was my first true board love. I bought Willy, my first surfboard (a Wavestorm) from Costco for $150 bucks plus free shipping. He arrived at my doorstep in Arlington, MA, practically the length of the porch, and I died with excitement. I wanted Willy to sleep in my bed. I wanted Willy to sit with me on the commute to work.

He saw the waves in Gloucester, Nahant, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. I learned about pearling, and stalling, and popping up, and looking up, on Willy. I learned how to carry a board, the feel of a wave consistently taking you, on Willy. For Willy I will be forever grateful.

But as I started catching things more consistently, I wanted more of a challenge. So last year, for my bday, my ex bought me a new board, Blue Moon, from Cinnamon Rainbows, an 8-foot board that I’ve been jamming on for about a year now. And we are jamming. I don’t think I caught a single wave for a one, two month period on BM. But I’ve been logging hours, double seshies, dawn patrol, out on our sweet little rollers and out on our moving mountains when they randomly roll in in the summer, and I’m having so much fun.

When I think of those two surfboards, I just feel love. I’m still getting there with my 5’6 Mick Fanning softop board I bought at Cinnamon, but slowly, ever-so-slowly, that’s growing too. I take that one out on sloppy joe days and it’s punchy and fun and a totally different ride. And I’m at the point where I’m comfy trading boards out on the water with buds and giving them a go—something a year ago I would have fallen off my board at the thought of.

It’s all about logging hours and having fun.

Willy’s in my storage unit, but I blow him a kiss every time I go in there, and will never ever get rid of him. He’s the perfect board for newbie surfer buds coming up for a fun day at the beach. In Willy we trust.

Me and Blue Moon. July, 2019. (C) Alana Martin, @alana29s

First Day Out with AmpSurf - Maine

At the beach on Long Sands yesterday, I got to help out with a group AmpSurf, a national organization established, per their Web site, to “Promote, Inspire, Educate, and Rehabilitate (PIER) all people with disabilities and their families through adaptive surfing and other outdoor activities.”

I found myself on Long Sands because a few weeks prior, on a sloppy-joe-kind-of-day at my old-time fav beach break near Boston, I bumped into them breaking down a day of adaptive surf instructor training.

“Hey you!” one of the girls in the group hollered. “You with the surfboard. Why aren’t you part of our group?”

I laughed. “Maybe I should be!” I hollered back. I’d come across their Web site here and there online while reading about the surf community in New England and beyond.

“Come volunteer with us!” she said. “The dates are on our Web site!” It was the nudge I needed from the universe. I checked out their Web site that night, and signed up to volunteer for the session at Long Sands. There were various ways to help out day of, in the water out of the water, etc. I’d be in the water, trying to make sure the surfers’ rides went uninterrupted and smoothly to shore.

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The group of people from AmpSurf who met me on the beach at the start of the day were amazing—warm, welcoming. They helped me and the other new volunteers get oriented and told me some crucial basic information. Folks told me it was key, as long as the surfers were safe, to let the them ride in to the shore and not interrupt their rides. I got that. The thought of someone jumping in and cutting my ride short gave me the willies. They emphasized fun and safety equally.

It was slightly intimidating, knowing we’d be responsible for folks’ safety, but we had a brief training and were paired up with other volunteers who had been there before in our groups. I just tried to focus on each ride and not overthink it, and made sure to communicate with the surfers the best I could to ensure they were ok. And our surfers were amazing. The stoke I saw in their eyes made me so happy and made me feel so connected. There’s just nothing like riding a wave. Once you do it, you’re forever changed, and seeing kids (we had three young surfers in our heats) with that light in their eyes and those smiles when they progressed on a wave and, just as important even when they didn’t, just totally lit me up. That stoked feeling just gives you this instant shared experience.

Awesome awesome day. After the event, I headed out for a little seshie on Blue Moon, since the waves were better than predicted (2-3 footers rolling through on a day MSW was saying 1 feet. Sometimes to know you have to go!) and had some sweet little rides before I realized my parking meter was running out and had to run before the meter maid got me.

Surfing with Confidence: Fake it 'til you make it.

How do you become confident out there in the water? I’ve been thinking about this a ton lately and, while safety is a huge priority, getting out of your comfort zone is too. “Fake it ‘til you make it” is the phrase that comes to mind.

I think it’s really important to go for waves every sesh that are out of my comfort zone, that look a little bigger and gnarlier than I’m cool with. And to be approaching it with confidence: Ok, I’m gonna rip this. Half the time I eat shit. But the other half? I may not quite rip it, but I make it, and my confidence gets a boost. I’m learning, I’m growing, I’m expanding what I can do.

You have to keep moving forward. It’s all process. And the more opportunities you give yourself to prove you can do it, the more confidence you’ll have.