No Way Can I Move Now

A comment from one of my writer friends inspired me to write this morning. It has been a while! Doesn’t everyone who blogs say that, all of the time? But really, I think it has been a year.

Recap:

1) I stood up last September after only 14 months and 27 days of learning. As one of my surfing friends said to me yesterday “You have to commit.” Well, I did.

2) I learned to standup paddleboard in September, thanks to my good friend John Beausang.

3) In November, I did standup paddleboard water support for the Beach to Battleship Ironman triathlon here in Wilmington, NC. I pulled a hypothermic swimmer out of the water. That was stressful! Glad I was there at the right place/right time.

4) In December I bought a new surfboard at the Hope from Helen charity surf auction. It is a 9″ longboard with the East Coast Surf label. Made locally. I finally took it out this week and it is a DREAM to surf.

5) In December, I also bought a “whopper” Starboard from John B., with a nice paddle and PFD, so I’ve been having fun paddling around the calmer waters and doing the “rec races” in the local paddleboard races.

6) In January, we bought my husband a kayak so that he could, in theory, kayak with me while I SUP. That hasn’t really happened. Anyone want to buy a kayak?

I’m not really made of money

So, where did this insane spending spree of water equipment come from? I have no idea, but I can’t move away from the ocean now.

But, that’s ok with me.

Don’t Count Your Waves When You’re Sitting in the Lineup

The whole time I was surfing yesterday, this song was running through my head:
You got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’ when the dealin’s done.

-Chorus from The Gambler, by Kenny Rogers

But, I wasn’t hearing those words.  I was hearing these words (or something thereof):

“You gotta know when to paddle, when to skedaddle

Know when to dig, dig, dig; know when to bail

You never count your waves while you’re sittin’ in the lineup

There’s time enough for countin’ when the surfin’ is done”

Everyone who hears that song says it is absolutely a metaphor for life.  Namely: enjoy, be in the moment, be serendipitous.  Also, be smart: don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.

Every surfer story I hear that ends with stitches starts with “The day would have been perfect if I could just get one more wave. . .”

Last night, I got out before I was entirely exhausted–merely mostly exhausted.  I didn’t end on my best wave, but I got out when I was done.

Saturday, during the Beach2Battleship Ironman Triathlon, while doing water support on my (borrowed) standup paddleboard, I pulled a swimmer out who was suffering from hypothermia.  Because they’re disqualified (officially) after getting out of the water early, I didn’t want to make the decision for him to bring him out.  He asked me to and I did.  He knew when to quit.  And that decision saved his life.

Postscript: he didn’t really quit, though.  After he warmed up, he finished the race, and came in 177 out of 700.  The time it took to warm up was roughly the same amount of time it would have taken to finish the swim, plus about 30 minutes.  He started the bike leg in almost dead last.  And then he finished.

Know when to hold ‘em.  Know when to fold em’.

Remnants of Nicole

The 40 days and 40 nights of rain finally ended.  More or less.  In came Fall.  Just like that, a switch was flipped and it is now a different season.  Time to wear a thicker top when surfing.  Time to take a sweatshirt for apres-surf.  Time to put hot chocolate or hot tea in the thermos instead of water.

Time when those of us with extra flab are actually a bit grateful for it.

It Only Took ’till October for a Chicks on Sticks Reunion

After a gajillion days of rain, everyone was ready to get outside on Friday afternoon.  We cut out at about 4:30 and went surfing at the north end of Wrightsville Beach.  Along for the rides were Tracy, Nancy, me, Kristen (our new SUP friend), Kim’s husband and Tracy’s husband.  Kim watched from the beach.  At SOME POINT we’ll get Melody out there.

The evening had a very “the gang’s all here” feeling to it.  Tracy’s husband had recently received 7 staples in his head because of a fin smack, so he was getting back on the proverbial horse.  And, he did it!  Caught some nice rides.  Kristen Is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 80 lbs soaking wet, so she spent most of the evening with blue lips and convulsive shivers.

A Little Help from My Friends

I mostly like to surf with other people.  It is just safer that way.  Someone to fish me out if I’m drowning.  Someone to call 911.  Someone to notice me in the lineup.  Friday, this was especially important, as we had to sit REALLY far out to catch the good ones.  And, because of rips and such, we all kept floating further out and had to paddle back in.  When you’re a few football fields out to sea, it is nice to have others with you.

Remnants of Nicole and the freakish triple-whammy of stalled cold fronts made the waves nice, but enough time had passed that they weren’t all freight trains steaming in.  Most of the waves broke pretty far out, then the powerful ones were whitewater until they re-formed closer to the beach.  That made for some nice, long rides. And long rides mean:  YOU KNOW WHAT THEY MEAN!!!  Standing up!

Crouching Katie, Hidden Whatever

I’m finally getting the hang of this surfing thing.  When I started working with a personal trainer in July, my NUMBER ONE GOAL was to be able to stand up on my surfboard.  Now, lots of lessons and technique training last year from Nancy and Tracy gave me a good foundation.  I was at the point where I could do everything but push myself up on that board.

Then, I started working with Jason at Muscleworx in Carolina Beach.  His diet and exercise regimen (mainly lifting LOTS and LOTS of weights) pushed me over the top and helped me meet my goal.  I could not be more proud, or more grateful to everyone who stuck with me on my journey.  On Friday, I stood up for several, and Nancy and Tracy actually got to SEE the fruits of their hard-fought teaching.  The last wave, I rode in a crouch–two feet down, one hand on the board, and one sticking out to the side for balance.

Then I went in.

Don’t Tempt the Surf Gods

When I played golf, if I was hitting golf balls, I’d always quit after a good shot, even if I had a few left.  I wanted to end on a high note.  I’ve learned this is a good idea, if possible, with surfing.  If you get greedy and try for “Just ONE MORE,” you end up with a busted lip or staples in your head.  Just sayin’.

40 Days and 40 Nights

After standing up on my surfboard about a week ago, I’d love to repeat the feat–this time with Nancy and Tracy in tow.  However, we’ve been having some freakish weather down here in Wilmington this week.  Starting on Monday, September 27th, and continuing even as I write this on Thursday, September 30, it has rained nonstop.  We had about 1 teaspoon of rain during the rest of September.  We’ve had 22 inches since Monday.

Here’s what the low pressure system is doing to the waves:

Monday, we were supposed to surf.  Wednesday we were supposed to surf.  Both days, I woke up to pounding rain, thunder and lightening.  Text messages were exchanged.  We all went back to bed–until our weather radios went off.  Again.

Tomorrow, we’re going to try again, but I’m not sure I feel prepared for head-high.  We’ll see.  I might watch.  I do suspect, though, that Nancy and Tracy are going to make me at LEAST get in the whitewater so that I can show them I wasn’t making things up when I updated my facebook status to say “I stood up!”  (For the record, I have a witness: my husband.)

I’ll report back tomorrow.

I stood up!

On Friday, September 24, after 14 months, 27 days and 1 hour, I stood up.

I got my front foot up and my back heel down.

My work has only just begun!

What to do in a Hurricane

Well, it appears that we’re going to get EPIC SURF during Hurricane Earl’s pass close to the coast here this week.  Here’s what the Magic Seaweed projection says:

What do you do if you’re a beginning surfer, especially a beginning longboarder, when there are double overhead conditions?

YOU WATCH FROM SHORE WITH YOUR CAMERA.

And that is where you’ll find me on Thursday afternoon.  With my visiting parents.  Who might never let me surf again if they watch the hurricane swell.

Standup Paddleboarding is also an Option

This morning, I had the good fortune to join a “test run class” with John Beausang, founder of the Distressed Mullet Paddleboarding Club in Wilmington, NC.  I’d never SUPed before.  It was AWESOME!  Peaceful, where surfing is exhilarating.  Somewhat easy, as opposed to the very difficult, nearly IMPOSSIBLE work of standing up on my longboard.  And, a GREAT core workout, to boot!  John will be starting classes sometime soon, and you can read all about them on his website http://www.distressedmullet.com I HIGHLY recommend it, and will be signing up for more classes, myself.

Some of the classes are cardio, others are scenic tours, and still others are core classes where you paddle out to a calm area, and then do yoga and lots of complicated maneuvers on your board.  (While our class was doing this, John was teaching me how to turn.  I fell off, which was nice because it cooled me off.  And, it is always good to learn that you can fall off and get back on easily.)  It was interesting to watch people doing side plank on their SUPs while floating in the marina.

This won’t replace surfing!  No no!  It will improve my surfing.  So, as if I weren’t already obsessed enough, here’s another water sport to fall in love with.  I’m going to try to get my husband out doing this.  It is like kayaking, but more fun and less in the way of butt cramps and saltwater projectiling up the nose.

Surfing my Brains Out

Nancy says that, no matter how old I am, how long I have surfed, or how good I am or not, I will always get at least one and probably multiple calls from my parents whenever there is the hint of a tropical bump hovering off the coast of Africa that might possibly, MAYBE impact the currents off my home surf break.  They might be nonchalant about the conversation, and casually slip in something like “oh, you’re not planning on going surfing this weekend, are you?”  Or, they might just come right out and say it, even though they don’t really know what they’re saying.  “So, will the storm affect the tides and stuff?”  Or, they might be out and out hysterical:  “I JUST SAW ON TV WHERE SOMEONE IN MARYLAND IS MISSING BECAUSE OF A RIP CURRENT.  STAY OUT OF THE WATER.”

I feel better that even my surf teacher gets those calls.  And, I’m thrilled that my parents care enough about me to worry.  And hurricane swell is what surfers from Wrightsville Beach live for.  We don’t have regular reef breaks that produce reliable rights or lefts that you can ride for 90 seconds with a cup of coffee in one hand and the newspaper in the other.

We have mostly wind swell, and sometimes groundswell.  In the same surf session, we’ll have waves that feel like a freight train hitting us and waves that feel like someone’s blowing bubbles at us.  We don’t know until we catch them, or they hit us when we’re paddling back out.

Speaking of paddling back out.

So, tonight, Nancy caught a nice wave and was starting to paddle back out.  I looked over my shoulder and saw a wave coming.  It looked good, as in, I thought I could catch it, and it wouldn’t die before it got to me.  So, I went.  I paddled for it and caught it, right in front of Nancy.

Shortly before catching it, I had been saying to her “See, I can catch these waves, but then I immediately pearl. (Dive face-first down the steep face of the wave)  What should I do?”  She said “oh, maybe scoot back a little on your board.”

Then she had a front row seat to see what I was talking about.  Once I re-surfaced, grabbed the leash up by the tail of the board, and checked my thigh to make sure I wasn’t bleeding where my big fin smacked me, I heard Nancy yell “WHAT WERE YOU DOING?  I WASN’T EVEN ON THAT WAVE AND I WAS SCARED.  HOLY CRAP!!!!!  IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT?  THAT WAS THE PROBLEM YOU WERE ASKING ME ABOUT?  I have no IDEA what to do about that.”  She continued “I hate to say I don’t know what to do, but good GRIEF.  Maybe try to get out in front of it?  Paddle harder.”

Let me tell you what: after a year of surfing, I’ve learned that the answer to almost any question is “Paddle Harder.”

In the parking lot, I had been telling Nancy that she was the only one who would go surfing regularly with me.  After this performance, she said “Well, if you’re trying to get them to take off on THOSE waves, no WONDER they won’t go with you.”  Lesson learned. I also decided that if there’s hurricane swell when my parents visit next weekend, I’d better stick to the inside, because if my DAD watches me do what I did in front of Nancy, I’ll be lucky to not look out the front window and watch him breaking my board himself before a wave has a chance to do it for me.

We’re probably going to have to have back to back to back tropical systems out in the ocean this week, so I predict a lot of surfing.  While we were packing up tonight, Nancy said “Same place, tomorrow morning, 6:30 am?”

So my question is this:  is it a two-fer if you surf twice within 24 hours, even if *technically* it is on different days?  When we were surfing tonight, it was already Monday morning in Australia.

Wave Watching and The Buddy System

This morning, Nancy and I went out surfing just to the south of Johnny Mercer’s Pier in Wrightsville Beach.  Thank GOODNESS it wasn’t as drifty as Tuesday, or we would have been UNDER the pier .05 seconds after getting in the water.  And, well, that’s no fun.

We still managed to drift just north of the “DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING CLOSE TO THE PIER ON YOUR SURFBOARD” sign–enough north to warrant the big WHOOP  WHOOP siren indicating we needed to paddle south or else.

Other than that, we had our little, um, 4ft wave, to ourselves.  Now people in California.  I know what you’re thinking: a 4 foot wave is little.  Not so much.  Not here in southern coastal North Carolina, where we all consider ourselves VERY LUCKY to have ANY waves during the summer. Where was I?

Oh yes.  The Buddy System.

The Buddy System

Right after I nose-dived down my biggest wave of the day  (OH COOL, I CAUGHT IT.  OH WAIT, NOW I’M ON THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN.), Nancy looked over at me and squealed.  “I just freaked myself out.”  “How?” “Something bumped against my ankle.  It was my leash, but. . .” “SHARK?”  (We’ve had some shark bites around here recently.) She laughed.  Yes, that’s what she briefly thought.

Yesterday, I was talking to my Mom and mentioned the bite on Sunday up by Shell Island that required 40 stitches.  She got a little nervous.  “Here’s the thing,” I said.  “I try to go with a buddy whenever possible.  That way, it is unlikely that I’ll bleed out before the paramedics can get to me.  My buddy can call 911.”  She said “I don’t think I’m getting in the water this fall.”  DANG.  I wanted her to get on a board with Nancy or Tracy.  Maybe I can get my Dad to.

Wave Watching

The other thing that came up today:  my increased ability to spot the right waves to paddle for.  I’d like to think that watching the Reef/Sweetwater Pro/Am for three ENTIRE DAYS IN A ROW helped with that.  One of my surfer-dude friends said “I’d rather catch ‘em than watch ‘em.”  Well, he’s already good!  I learned a lot from just watching the waves roll in, watching the contestants catch them, and listening to the commentators call out approaching sets.

I also went swimming a LOT this summer before I finally got out on my surfboard.  I’d like to think I won’t wait so long next spring, but my swimming did help.  I swam out around the wave break and felt the different waves come in.  Which ones looked powerful, but weren’t.  Noticed when they re-formed on the inside.  I even body-surfed a little bit.  I think you can feel certain aspects of the waves when you’re actually IN THEM, as opposed to ON THEM.  Just my two cents.

When we got out of the water, Nancy said that I seemed much better at knowing when to paddle and when to stay put.

Surf Book Reviews Ahead

I’m reading Sweetness and Blood right now, a new book about the spread of surfing around the word in the 1950s.  The spread from California as more of a pop cultural phenomenon, than anything.  It’s pretty interesting.

Soon, I’ll be reviewing Kook, which was thoughtfully sent to us by the publisher of the book, Free Press.

See you in the water!

On My Knees

Wow.

My brain is still fried and I’m just NOW getting re-hydrated after working the Reef/Sweetwater Pro/Am all weekend long at Wrightsville Beach.  Thanks to the lovely and talented Jennifer Butler for bringing me on for the weekend!

I haven’t been surfing since NOVEMBER 2009.  I know. I know.  How can someone with so much stoke NOT go surfing?  I dunno?  Time. Fatness. Nerves.  Whatever–watching everyone run around in bikinis and seeing the wahines shred it along with the groms last weekend made me want to get back out.

Oh, that, and the fact that my darling husband got me a Buddy Pelletier Surfing Foundation license plate for my birthday, and I feel like kind of a fraud not surfing, while driving around with it on my car.

Anyhoo: I finally went surfing today.  First time in 2010.  Despite the fact that there was a 20 mph wind blowing from south to north, meaning that 30 seconds after I started paddling on my surfboard, I was about six football fields down the beach.

I’ve been working with a personal trainer this summer to 1) lose my fatness and 2) become strong enough to stand up on my surfboard.  It appears that all of my hard work is working because. . . drumroll please. . .

I GOT TO MY KNEES TODAY

In all of 2009, I couldn’t make it past a cobra.  I wasn’t strong enough to hoist myself up.  Well, today, TWICE, for approximately 0.5 seconds, I actually made it to my knees.  On the second try, I actually got my front foot up, too.  WAHOO!

I think 2010 is going to be a good surfing year for me.

2010: The Year Katie Will Stand Up

2009 Was the Year I Learned to Surf.  I was eating lunch in the jam-packed Tidal Creek Coop today, when my next-door seatmate, Jane, asked me “What possessed me to learn to surf?”  (I’m pretty sure she used the word “possessed.”) I told her that she’d laugh, but it was because of the movie Blue Crush.  I want to be a cool surfer girl.  She asked how it was going.  “Uh, pretty well,” I told her. “Someday I might even stand up.”

My Mom always makes New Year’s Resolutions.  I generally don’t, because mine are always the same:  lose weight, exercise regularly, stabilize my employment situation, clean out the garage, and save money.  Those are ongoing goals, so they don’t really warrant special attention this year.

HOWEVER, I was sitting here at home after enjoying a healthy lunch and a brisk, and I do mean BRISK (wind chill: around 20 degrees), walk on the beach, when it dawned on me.  My New Year’s Resolution. Here it is:

In 2010 I WILL stand up on my surfboard.

That means I will do what is necessary to be able to stand up, which includes: losing weight and building upper body strength.  July will mark my 1 year anniversary of surfing, and I’d like to be standing up on or before that.  So, it all has a purpose.  Because, while I enjoy saying that I surf, I’d like even better to be able to post my first photo of me standing up on my surfboard.