Surf's Up!

Ahhh, another wonderful weekend! Janet and Julie, two of my church friends, invited me to join them for a surfing lesson today. Although I am very fond of land activities, I have always been somewhat wary of water sports since childhood. Swimming is one of those things that I never felt comfortable doing as a child because of the fact that I hated wearing a bathing suit. Consequently, although I learned how to swim, I never practiced the sport nor did I develop a passion for it. However, after learning how to snowboard during high school I was always intrigued by the world of surfing. That fascination prompted me to give surfing a try today.

So Julie, Janet, and I ventured out to Bolsa Chica State Beach in Orange County (Huntington Beach). We took a quick photo before we departed from Janet’s pad in Tustin Ranch.

At the site, we were given a wetsuit and a surf board. Our surfing lesson lasted one hour, and then we were given one more hour to practice what we had learned. The name of the surf school that provides these lessons is Corky Caroll - http://www.surfschool.net/huntington/. They were very nice, and I thought the lesson was quite good. Here is a quick summary of what our instructor taught us:

- Beach safety
- The three ways to approach a wave:
1. Paddle-through: paddle through the wave
2. Up-and-over: arms locked straight ahead, trunk upright while feet on either side of board for balance
3. Turtle: roll over the side of board into water, turn board upside down over you, then turn board back over after the wave passes

- The four things to think about while paddling out:
1. Water line = line where water forms a line near nose of board
2. Feet together to prevent drag
3. Shoulders back
4. Paddle with smooth strokes one arm at a time with palms cupped at all times

- How to go from a paddling position to standing up on the board.

Although we did not catch and ride many waves (I think I stood up only once and had some partial stands on other attempts), we had a blast! =) After our time in the ocean, we had lunch at the Tustin Marketplace at a delicious Corner Bakery Café. I think Janet really enjoyed her lunch. =) Mmmmm...