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.