For the landlubbers out there here's a quick Surfing tutorial. 1) Waves come in sets with periods of calm water in between. 2) A swell is like a weather front that brings in different sizes, shapes, and speeds of wave sets. 3) Surfboards come in a ton of sizes and shapes. The more surface area, the less powerful the wave has to be and the less you have to paddle. 4) Boards also have varying number of fins. The more fins, the more stable it is. 5) Picking the right wave, positioning, and time to start paddling is key to catching a good ride.
Yesterday I managed to snag a practically brand new 6'6" twin-fin Clyde Beatty retro fish. It's totally different and much more challenging than anything I've ever ridden. It's over a foot shorter than my other board, has fewer fins, and is made of fiberglass instead of epoxy. I've taken the fish out 3 times now. The first time out I thought I'd made a huge mistake. I couldn't catch anything. Waves I'd easily catch on my hybrid were passing me by no matter how hard I paddled. I didn't manage to ride a single wave that session and was definitely starting to wonder if I'd been a bit too ambitious. It was a pretty big jump as far as boards go. You might reasonably wonder what I was doing when I bought this new one. I really didn't just buy the pretty green one. There was definitely some debate in the process. The waves here are bigger so a smaller board would make sense. Part of me wanted to just go for an easy longer board because I knew I could already handle that. The competitive side of me wanted to go smaller, a bit flashier. I'm not totally immune to that bit of ego that makes so many beginners try to start on a tiny shortboard because the pros use them. I went with this one because it was small enough to be a challenge, but not so small that I wouldn't be able to have fun even when the swell is low. It's a small victory in finding balance for me.
Balance aside, the first 2 sessions sucked. I caught more waves on my friend's 6'3" shortboard than on the fish. Catching those waves definitely kept me from going home unhappy. (Yeah, I know, I'm surfing in paradise, but old habits die hard. I'm here to learn to let go.) Today's session started out about the same. The wave sets were small and sometimes 15 minutes apart. I was frustrated and starting to consider paddling in selling the fish and going back to a funboard. 3 hours later I was still out there and had caught at least 5 solid waves and had some really good rides. I discovered that with this board I need to keep my body further forward and that I also have to be further out in front of the wave when I start. On my old board this would have meant that I nose-dived. I'm also definitely not used to having the wave start to break before I'm up. The process is entirely different. By the end of the session, as the sun was setting I was able to stand at the peak and take the drop before carving out along the face.
The best metaphor I have to explain what it's like getting a new board to someone who doesn't surf is that it's a lot like having sex with someone new. The first time usually isn't mind blowing. It takes some trial and error to figure out what works and the right positions to use. Sometimes you walk away from the first session unsatisfied thinking you made a mistake. Sometimes you sell the board, sometimes you hang onto one for longer than you should because it's just so damn pretty, and sometimes you know there's potential and you keep at it until you get it right. And if your instincts are good, with a little luck and practice, you attain that orgasmic experience you were looking for. In surfing though, smaller and faster isn't a bad thing! And yeah. I do like surfing that much. And it looks like this time I got it right. Be jealous.
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