Trust your Gut: Be Surf

I woke up on Monday and hemmed and hawed about getting up to the beach but I knew based on the forecast and life it was the best day to go for the next week—offshore, low wind, not terribly cold. I figured if I just started putting on my wet suit though, I would inevitably find myself driving north. That worked (though if I hadn’t had it on when I went up to say bye to Nick, it would have been game over. He’d put the pink salt lamp and the fireplace space heater on and it was the coziest little walnut of a bedroom ever. It was a matter of fierce will not to forgo the whole plan!).

I looked out the window before I left and realized how foggy it was over the water.

Hmm I thought.

My hope was that it would somehow magically dissipate or somehow magically not be there when I hit the beach, but the highway was foggy and as I pulled onto 1A, I saw I couldn’t even see the water from the road. When I reached the beach, I couldn’t believe how socked in it was. I pulled up just north of Rest’s. and I could literally not see the waves. I could only see the water from them crashing to the shore.

Ergh, I thought. I’ll just walk down.

It was spooky as hell, white all around, like King’s The Mist. I walked to the edge of the water and strapped my leash on. I’d never felt so unsure about paddling out. There was Fear and Doubt and a feeling that it wasn’t a good idea.

I’ll just try for one or two, I thought. I paddled out and was completely unsettled. I could barely see my car and the houses on the shore—they were obscured by the thick white gauze of the fog. What complicated matters was I was fairly certain I wasn’t close to the rocks by Rest’s but it was so foggy I couldn’t even see boils on the water if I was close to rocks.

I nabbed two and went in. I definitely found my edge and it just seemed stupid to be out there alone when people couldn’t even see me. If I’d been with Maddie or Steph or someone, I might have felt a little better but I felt invisible and alone and blind.

I stood on the beach as the sun rose higher thinking Am I just being a scaredy cat? but your primitive body speaks to you in ancient wise tongues and I feel it’s important to listen. So I jumped in the car and headed home.

Saturday's Surf Sesh. Two words: AARon BrrrRRRR.

Newsflash: It wasn’t even that cold!

I met Maddie and her buddy Lou at LS at 9:30am yesterday. Absolutely NO wind and sun was shining. Temps read 20 something Fahrenheit and I’m not sure if it was the standing around a bit, the wet Wet Sox I’d put on at home or the fact that Google had lodged a nut in my head in the morning: The weather is 11 degrees but it feels like 2. Have nice day! that set me shivering early on.

I hadn’t been out in a couple weeks and so the already brutal paddle out felt heavier, and I felt slower. The currents were incredibly strong and sometimes I was paddling sideways. I did everything I could to avoid turtle rolling but that’s always a fools errand and lasted about five minutes. There was SO much water. We’d gotten a storm early this week and I think it just pushed a ton into the ocean.

After twenty minutes or so, I finally got through to the other side, not before I realized I’d been pulled a quarter mile down, toward Restaurants. Shit, I thought.

I made my way back to Maddie. The waves were big with surprisingly little push, meaning you had to commit to sitting right under the lip essentially to nab one. I was having trouble hanging with this and the waves were breaking inconsistently, and also often double waves, which was even more confusing.

Not going to lie.

It was a frustrating session for me.

I hate admitting that. I try to make surfing a place in my life that has no pressure to perform, to be anything other than what it is, but I really wanted to snag some waves yesterday and it just wasn’t my day. I was dropping too fast down the face when I caught them, I was NOT catching them because I was resisting how far in I had to be and then two hours in I was slipping from cold feet and just face planting right into the water.

It’s true that I was out with buds, the sun was shining, we were bobbing in the ocean. Overall, we were winning.

But I walked back out onto the shore thinking: I can’t go this long without being in the water again.

I thought about it as I drove home in my wetsuit (changing was not happening) and as I stood in the hot water of the shower and I recommitted to surfing. It quite literally is one of the sources of my power in my life and I need to be tapped in to it more. It’s my church.

YEW for silver linings.

Surf Lesson Tips for a Little One's First Surf Lesson

I brought my friend’s 6-year old out on the water for a surf for her first surf lesson yesterday. The little lady had mulled over the idea for a couple wks and last wk when I saw her she said, “Sara, I’ve decided. I want to go surfing.” I practically did a cartwheel.

In advance of taking her out, I put together a couple notes, some picked up from my surfing and own lessons I’ve taken, most picked up from the fabulous Maddie who has taught every outdoor skill to every group of folks you can imagine. Here’s my bullet points to draw on and refresh on going forward. These are my own personal tips that have helped me, and not an official recommendation to those teaching surfing in any way. My # rule is safety first, fun second. Not the sexiest recommendation but it’s incredibly important to me to keep my people safe.

Prep

Find out how comfy your surfer is with the water — that’s really helpful to know. Can they swim?
Everyone should bring: wetsuit [New England], snacks, sunscreen, water
I brought my 8’ foam top Wavestorm for Ollie to ride as it’s buoyant and FOAMIE.
Sequence for lesson: Quick dry land sesh followed by water time

On land

>Go over the anatomy of the board
>”Whos the best surfer?” [The surfer having the most fun]
>Figure out stance on board [which foot will be first for them?]: Few options here:
You can just have the person fall forward and see what leg they catch themselves with.
You can say, per Maddie, “show me your ninja stance” or “have you ever slid across a wooden floor? show me how you’d do that”
You can hold their hands and pull them towards you and see what leg they catch themselves with.
You can push them lightly from behind and see what foot and see what leg they catch themselves with.
>Pop up practice
>Where the board should be [never between you and wave]
>Safety: Falling: Make a cage for your head; fall to your butt/like a starfish if you fall off the board. Never dive, never go head first.
>I put leash on her. That was something I monitored but for the most part it made sense for her to be tethered to board.
>If they’re nervous, go through what Kerri from Narragansett did — what makes a wave, the journey it takes to get to you, the fact that you alone will surf that one unique wave [helpful mystical distraction and you can both draw in the sand :-)]

In water

>Walk board out together; go over the fact that the board should always be making a T with the beach/pointing either toward the horizon or toward the shore
>Watch waves
>For a little one, you can ride with arms along the length of board and chest on board for a few waves.
>Bellyriding is still surfing. Kneeriding is still surfing. If you ride a wave, you’re a surfer. That’s what I stick to.
>If they’re really really comfy, make sure they’re on the right spot on the board, give them a push, and hoot and holler as they ride.

How to get out
>Best case scenario, your surfer is having the time of their life and they want to keep surfing forever. Three hours in, I found ice cream was a helpful motivator for getting out :-).

Cliff notes

At the end of the day, it’s all about constant communication and gauging comfort level. It’s fairly easy to tell when someone feels uncomfortable. Taking a quick breath or a break is no big deal if someone gets water up the nose or gets wobbled and scared. After a moment like that, whatever you need to do [safely] that lets the surfer feel good about the water, is what you do. If that’s chasing your seagulls off your snack pack, great. If it’s eating Shark Bites [feels a little too on the nose to do that but hey], taking a quick silly selfie or applying more crazy colored Zinc, do it. After a little bauble, we bodysurfed a bunch until she was feeling stoked on the water again. Be confident, be there, and be positive with your surfer and it will go a long way.

Sharing the stoke is probably the thing that is most rewarding in my life. To have quality time with my buddy, sharing something I love so much with her, gave me such a high that keeps warming my heart. Seeing her face when she felt the wave took her and let her ride, was so magical. So many good things.