SUP, Family!

My parents visited over Labor Day weekend.  That was awesome!  They like to go to the beach, which is good, since that’s how we roll here in ILM.

I had just started taking Standup Paddleboarding lessons (SUP) from John Beausang over at www.distressedmullet.com, and as I frequently do with new hobbies, became immediately obsessed and wanted to take the fam.  My Mom does, like, two Pilates classes EVERY SINGLE DAY.  I work out with a trainer, but I’m still kind of a fatty.  My husband doesn’t work out at all, and my Dad fell and hit his knee the day before we were supposed to go.

OH! And our “meet up” time was 6:30 am.  The morning after I invited 25 of my closest friends in Wilmington to a rockin’ party at San Juan Cafe, all booze courtesy of my fantastic father.  (We ate ALL of their food, used ALL of their glasses, drank ALL of their liquor, and pretty much ran through ALL of their sanity.)

So, here we are, bright and early on the Sunday of Labor Day:

Note to others: it is a LOT EASIER to convince people to do something they’re not real sure about when they aren’t FULLY AWAKE.

We embarked.  John brought his waterproof camera apparatus.  We didn’t make it very far, but we sure had fun!

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get my husband on a paddleboard again.

And, yes, I’m wearing a “fanny pack.”  It is actually a “water bottle holder,” and when it is 95 degrees out, you need a “water holder,” preferably one that gets the water closeish to your mouth, so you don’t have to bend over and potentially fall off to get it.

My Mom took to the SUP like a duck to water:

All in all, it was fun, even though my poor, dear husband couldn’t really walk the rest of the day.  (That’s what tequila at Tower 7 is for.)

*All pictures were taken by John Beausang.  The awesome fanny-pack water holder is also his.

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!

Surf Lessons in Wilmington, NC: NOW IN SESSION!

Nancy and Tracy are taking students out again!

If you’ve wanted to learn to surf, and you haven’t found the time, money, or courage to start: 2010 is your year.  Lessons with Chicks on Sticks are $35 per hour, plus $10 board rental (if you need it).  You get a discount for purchasing several lessons at a time. The instructor to student ratio is 1:2, MAX.

For more information, comment to the blog and be sure to leave your email address.

Surf’s up!

Board Meeting

Yesterday was a gorgeous, clear, cool fall day in Wilmington, NC.  Perfect for a surf, or at least the Chicks thought so.  For the first time since I started surfing, there were more Wahines on the beach than guys.  And, unlike the few guys who were out there, none of us were in full wetsuits.  This is the point in the year when my extra layer of flab becomes an asset, rather than a liability. I can stay out longer.

Surfing with Hot Mamas

I’ll just dispense with the burning question right away:  No, I haven’t stood up yet.  However, I feel better today because Tracy said it took her a year to get over going to her knees.  So, I’m on track for a July 2010 standup. Woot!  That didn’t help matters when all of the Wrightsville Beach Moms I was surfing with yesterday stood up one right after another all afternoon long. WHATEVER.  It is in their genes, obviously.

Even though I’m insanely jealous of their innate surfing abilities, I do wish my husband had caught it when all three of them stood up and rode the same wave.  These ladies won a surf lesson for four from a school fundraiser.  Yesterday was a perfect day to cash in.

Surfing in the Fall

This lesson was the debut of my surfing sunglasses from Silverfish.  I strapped them on tight to my head, attached the extra leash to my swimsuit, and hoped for the best.  And, it was THE BEST to be able to see everything without worrying that the glasses would fall off.

It is so different to surf in the fall.  The water is warm and the air is cool.  Everyone on the beach wears sweatshirts, fleece hats and jeans, while we wear swimsuits.  The sky is deap blue and the air smells crisp and fresh.  “Nancy!  Everything is so sharp and clear!” I yell.  “That’s because you have glasses now, Katie.”  I guess she is right, but everything just seems to be in sharper focus without the heavy humidity of summer hanging around.

We stayed in the water until our lips started to turn blue and the tide flattened out the surf.  The ladies needed a photo op.  While my husband snapped pics, a woman and her son came walking up.  “Can the cub scout have his picture taken with you?” she asked.  “Sure!” we were glad to be the cool kids on the beach yesterday.

I Can Haz Surfbored?

Yesterday, after two weeks out of the water, I left whiny voice mail messages on Tracy’s phone, and just called Nancy about three times, without leaving a message.  (I figured that she would be able to tell what I wanted–to know if she could predict the future enough to know if I could go out for a lesson today.  She called me back about two minutes after my last call.)  While out of town for family issues, and waiting out Hurricane Bill, I’ve been reading surf books–reviews to come soon!–and I had the itch, BAD, to get out in the water.

The TEENSY little problem was that Hurricane Bill had been churning offshore for two days, and the waves were “double-overhead,” or approximately 10-12 feet tall.  NOT so great for a beginner.  My husband and I went out to watch the surfers on Saturday night.

I don’t know if you can tell from the above picture, but the waves were LARGE.  Nancy called and said I could probably have a lesson at nine the next morning.  I said I hoped things calmed down by then.

I thought the surfers lined up on the beach looked like seagulls, all standing in the same direction, their boards like wings, facing into the wind, sizing up the situation.

The Chicks of Chicks on Sticks

I went out this morning to watch Nancy and Tracy surf.  They were out in the big waves, ripping it up!

Tracy surfing

Nancy Surfing

Nancy's board has a mind of its own

It was great to stand on the shore, watching them, trying to figure out when the “magic moment” of standing up is.

A Marvelous Day for a Beginner Lesson

My friend Susan’s mom Loretta has been looking forward to a surfing lesson for several weeks.  She was crushed when we couldn’t go out on Friday morning.  By this morning, things had calmed down enough to try it.  Loretta is a YOGA INSTRUCTOR, so she is awfully strong and fearless!

Molly, another student, went out with Loretta, Tracy, Nancy and me.  Molly was standing up and looking great!  It was too bad that today there were hurricane swells, because she was ready to paddle out to the lineup.  Additionally, she’s moving to Colorado, so she really wanted out.  However, the Chicks are VERY safety conscious, so we stayed on the inside and rode the whitewater, practicing our popups, or, in my case, kneeups.

Nancy (left) teaching Loretta how to pop up and stand on the board

Loretta looking good during her first lesson!

But I Want my OWN Board

Tracy told me that she was going to allow me to BREAK HER CARDINAL RULE OF SURFING by going to my knees first and then putting a foot up.  She wants me to stand up.  Well, so do I, and that sounded good.  However, I enjoy riding the waves however I can, so I have been unconcerned with my progress.   Tracy followed her demonstration of my new approach by saying “BUT if you are still going to your knees in six months, I’m going to have to BREAK YOUR KNEECAPS.”  Sweet, no?  I said I would do my very best not to make it a habit.

For my lesson today, I tried her husband’s new board.  (THANK YOU TRACY’S HUSBAND!)  He had only had it for a week, so that was MIGHTY generous of him.  The goal of this was to see if I liked the board and wanted to buy one for myself.  After five minutes in the water, I LOVED the board and started asking “Should I get myself one?”  “When can I get one?”  “I really want my own!!!” like a really annoying two year old.  I wore them down, and Tracy and I stopped at the surf shop after the lesson.

I CAN Haz Surfboard

Ta-Da:  Behold “Fatboard” (as I’ve named it), a 9’4″ fiberglass longboard that is my very own.

FATBOARD, my new surfboard!

Tracy says it is “floaty” because it has a thick middle.  (As do I, and I do float well.)  I think it is wonderful.  I got some bubblegum wax and have been waxing the crap out of the deck.  I can’t wait to take it for its maiden voyage!  If you see a lone surfer covered in Bubblegum wax,  paddling in Banks Channel, it might be me, practicing my technique and getting stronger.  There’s no turning back now. . . only more waves to catch.

P.S. In case you did not get the title reference, and you like cats, check out the real Cheeseburger website here:  I Can Has Cheezeburger?

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Katie Elzer-Peters is a freelance writer living in Wilmington, NC. Her writing and PR business, The Garden of Words, L.L.C. serves clients all over the world. She’s learning to surf this summer, and blogging about her experiences for Chicks on Sticks.

Moving Pictures

This weekend, my parents are in town visiting.  They haven’t been here for a couple of years, and definitely not since I started learning to surf.  My Dad came with me to watch and photograph the session.  I can’t believe I’m going to VOLUNTARILY put pictures of myself  in a SWIMSUIT on the internet.  (I will probably live to regret this, later when they are cached and I can’t ever get rid of them.)   But.  Whatever.  From these pictures, you will see that if I can learn to surf, ANYONE can learn to surf.

Eight o’Clock in the Morning

It is quite lovely at the beach in the early morning.  In order to be coordinated, though, I have to try to shake the cobwebs out of my head.  Getting doused with a big wave assists with that.

Walking out with Surfboard

Nancy asks me “Did you practice this week?” (As in, did I practice my popups?) “Ummm. . . no. . ” I say, sheepishly.” Even if I HAD lied, it would have become painfully evident in about ten minutes that I had not practiced, so I decided to just come clean.

Break in the waves. Practicing relaxing.

Right after I kicked Nancy in the stomach climbing onto the board she said “KATIE. YOU NEED TO RELAX.” Now, Nancy is EXTREMELY chill. Like, nothing fazes her. However, my death grip on the board, combined with lack of practice, combined with kind of big waves (for our neck of the woods), must have gotten to her because she did speak in ALL CAPS. I went limp. I floated. “That’s better,” she said. “Just yell at me to relax,” I told her. “It might seem counter intuitive, but my yoga teacher always has to remind me to relax and it does work. Eventually, I’ll do it on my own.” Plus, it is kind of hard to hear over the waves. Yelling is OK.  Something clicked because I rode a nice little one in on my tummy.

On the surfboard, riding a wave on my tummy

For a while (and this is DIRECTLY RELATED to my lack of practice), I was putting my arms too far out front of myself. I scooted them back, and IMMEDIATELY had much more success in ALMOST getting up.  You can see my arms coming straight down from my shoulders, instead of at an angle.

Almost up on the surfboard. I finally got my arms back where they needed to be so that I can get my right foot up front.

Nancy is saying ALMOST!!!!

Or she is saying “WHY did TRACY get the tiny, waif-like, professional dancer first-time surfers?” (Maybe Nancy lost the coin toss?) No, actually, the tiny dancer surfers are the nieces of this guy who lives next to Tracy.  The girl in red is one of the new surfers. (Side note-if I want to be a “Cool surfer chick” I should ditch my ponytail.  I don’t have enough hair for that.  But I digress.)

The "NEW" surfer in red. (Her first lesson-my fourth. She got up.) But, you can tell that I am happy. I have a HUGE grin on my face in this picture. That's the important part.

So, in addition to my proud Papa taking pictures, my friend Marla came out to watch. Marla said my blogs had just about pushed her over the edge to learn to surf. She did say that, after watching my lesson, she thinks she is ready to learn. It was a little freaky to have an audience actually paying attention to me, rather than casual observers from New Jersey that I will never see again. (Even though I can’t see without glasses. Neither can Marla. In a fit of profundity not to be repeated today, I told Marla “It isn’t about seeing as much as it is about feeling.)

We got out of the water and talked to the tiny surfers and Tracy. Tiny surfers live in Chicago, and this was their first time out.  Marla asked them “Do you feel tired, like at all?”  Wisely, Tracy said to them “Say yes.  Just say yes.”

Going to get another wave

Well, I know that they weren’t tired, but I was, and took a little break on the beach before going out and swimming some more. Nancy’s got her eye on Craigslist to help me find a board. Note to surfers: If you have a longboard you’re trying to sell, leave us a comment, ’cause we’re looking.

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Katie Elzer-Peters is a freelance writer living in Wilmington, NC. Her writing and PR business, The Garden of Words, L.L.C. serves clients all over the world. She’s learning to surf this summer, and blogging about her experiences for Chicks on Sticks.

Chomp!

Noon at the beach is for the tourists.  People taking a respite from chilly office cubes or school sports practice or days at home with three kids under six.  Mornings and evenings are for the locals.  People flying out the doors of their jobs, into their jeeps, one foot in and one foot out of their swim suits.  Guys pedaling beach cruisers, holding the handle bars with one hand and a surf board under the other arm.  In the evening, the sun sets over the marshes, but not before the surfers catch some waves.

Flat and Wide

That’s how Nancy described the surfboard she brought for me to try today.   The object of this board was to keep me from tipping over as much, hopefully.  She said that the flatness was in exchange for ability to turn.  That is not going to be a problem for me today, as my goal is to stay ON the board, heading in the direction of the beach, until the wave dies.  Oh yeah, and try to get up.  The board is also well-waxed in the center 2/3 where I put my hands and feet.  That helps me grip (read: stay on).  The waves are calmer in the sense that they come in wider intervals.  They are still large.  I look out further into the water, and see people who actually know how to surf catching the waves just as they begin to break, and riding them  into where I am just starting.  I want to be out there.  But first. . .

I Need to Learn How to Hold the Leash

If you surf at most public beaches in North Carolina, you are required to have a surfboard leash.  That is a cord that goes from the back of the board to a Velcro strap that goes around your leg just below the knee, or around your ankle.  This leash keeps the board from separating from the surfer and inadvertently injuring a hapless swimmer fifty yards away.  The leash does nothing to keep the surfer from being injured, and frequently impersonates a jellyfish when it brushes up against your leg.

During my first lesson, Nancy told me that it was a GOOD IDEA to grab the leash way down where it attached to the surfboard, or to let the board float behind me while I swim.  If I held the leash halfway up, I was likely to get cut when a wave ripped the leash from my hand.  I can now tell you with all certainty that NANCY WAS NOT KIDDING.  The waves, while more manageable, were still fierce today, and I now have a nice chunk missing from the middle finger on my left hand.

Safety First

No problem.  I suck on my wound and prepare to head back out.  Another little detail we went over was how to fall correctly.  I am to fall backwards, and before I move in ANY DIRECTION, I’m to put one arm over my head and push up with my other hand.  This is in case the surfboard is directly over my head when I am ready to surface.  In addition to other small victories today, I had some EXEMPLARY falls!  Nancy said so.  Good thing, too, because more than once I did push the surfboard off of me with my hand.  That would have been my head if I were not paying attention.

Shark Week

Before going to my lesson, no fewer than five people reminded me that this is SHARK WEEK on the Discovery Channel.  One person went so far as to say “I watched it last night and I’m NEVER going into the water again.”  I had well kept this out of my mind until I was walking out with the board, and felt a CHOMP on my right foot.  “AAAAAIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!”  I screamed like a girl.  And started swimming.  I was not at all interested in touching the bottom after THAT.  It felt like a crab.  I’m sure I interrupted its leisurely dismemberment of some unsuspecting shell dweller, but it was freaky.  Luckily, I’m a good swimmer, so I swam back over to Nancy.

“AAAAAACCCCKKKK  SOMETHING bit me!” says Nancy.  “I can’t believe I just screamed like a girl,” she said.  At that point, I got on the surfboard and said “YOU can stay in the water.  YOU are the teacher!”  Of course, I could only clutch the board like a kid in tadpole swimming class for so long.  Eventually, I had to put my feet down.  And, every time the leash touched my leg, or I stepped on something, a little part of me thought I’d be leaving the water with fewer toes than I entered it.

Stop Thinking Start Surfing

In between things chomping and waves breaking and feeling water pour out of my nose, mouth, eyes and ears, I had to try to actually stand up on the surfboard!  I feel that I must be a “special student” because I don’t know if anyone else has had three lessons without fully standing up.  I’m happy to say that by the end of my lesson, I got my right foot MOSTLY forward and MORE OR LESS up.  That is good progress!

While driving home, I thought about why I maybe am slower with this crucial step of moving from the cobra position to actually standing.  Well, my first thought was “I have, like TWENTY SECONDS to go from staying on the board, to paddling, to cobra, to getting up to riding the wave before it is all over.”  If the whole enterprise was five minutes, I’m sure I could manage. I also thought “I’m about as flexible as a graham cracker.”

Then, I thought, I need to STOP THINKING so much.  I need to feel the wave and then just try to get up.  It’s like a golf swing:  If you really try to break down each individual part of the swing, you will never hit the ball more than two feet.  You have to let the movement take over. If I stopped thinking about things chomping me, I would have been more comfortable, too!  Toward the end, I sort of stopped thinking so much.  In part, to try to get up.  In part, because I was tired. That is when I managed to put my right foot approximately where it should be, for about five seconds, before falling off the board.

Chicks on Sticks

I don’t think I saw any other girls out there tonight.  I said thank you and goodbye to Nancy on the beach.  She said she was going to catch a few waves before going back home to be a “Mom.”  I walked up the stairs and stood on the platform, watching her head out into the water.  The waves rolled in, and she cut across them,  watching for one to ride in.  From far away, it all looked so easy.  She caught a good one and came in almost to the beach, her arm raised in victory.  I think I heard some onlookers cheer.  I’m sure some of them were thinking “who is that girl on the surfboard?”  I was thinking, “I want to be that girl on the surfboard.”  With little time for waves before the sun set, Nancy paddled back out.

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Katie Elzer-Peters is a freelance writer living in Wilmington, NC. Her writing and PR business, The Garden of Words, L.L.C. serves clients all over the world. She’s learning to surf this summer, and blogging about her experiences for Chicks on Sticks.

Walk Like an Egyptian

By the time I drove over the bridge this morning, I had just about gotten over the “What the HAIL” reaction to my alarm clock going off at 6:30 am.  However, when I met Tracy at the beach at 7:00, I let her know that I still was not fully awake, so now would be a good time to make me do anything she thought I would not be particularly interested in doing.  She assured me that we were all about fun, then proceeded to say that she looked forward to watching me “get up” today.  HA HA!  She was not at my last lesson!  Let me just say that Tracy is one enthusiastic and OPTIMISTIC teacher!

We headed over the dune and onto the beach.  Where I promptly put my rash guard on backwards.  After Sunday’s lesson, I made some changes to my “outfit.”  I ditched the swim trunks (they kept falling off, anyway) and added a short-sleeved rash guard on top of my swimsuit.  That worked MUCH better.  “I think I put my shirt on backwards,” I say after I’m leashed to my board.  OOPS!  Quick change!

In Which we Practice “Popping Up”

I practiced this at home on my Yoga mat on Monday night while I watched the finale of The Bachelorette.  It was a good distraction from the overall train wreck of the show.  I got pretty good–but that was on my yoga mat, on the floor, in my house, with no wind, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, no waves.  After one pop up, she looks at me and says “You’re goofy!”  (Meaning, I put my right leg in front.)  “YES! I am!” I say, and she thinks I am acknowledging my reversed surfing stance.  I really mean:  “Yes, I am personally goofy.”  She will learn this soon enough.  She had me practice this “lunge/popping up” technique on my beach towel, so I was so TOTALLY prepared to do it in the water.  NOT.

A Day with Approximately 5% Fewer Waves than Sunday

“Hm.  Normally, it is much calmer in the morning,” Tracy says.  “We have waves because I have a lesson this morning,” I say.  Why would I WANT to learn to do all of this maneuvering in calm water?  What would be the point of THAT?  She promises that I will not get the “surf call” again until we have smoother water.  I think I WOULD be OK with that.  We head out into the surf.  By the end of Sunday, I could stay on the board, even in big waves, but that was basically it.  Tracy made it her mission to get me up today.

Paddle!Paddle!Paddle!Paddle!

It was great fun for me when Nancy and Tracy pushed me into a wave and let me ride it, but in order to be a surfer girl, I had to learn to catch them myself.  Tracy got me to finally stop holding on to the rails for dear life, and to let go to paddle and catch the waves on my own.  At one point, I thought I heard her say “Are you ready? Ok GO” so I went, paddling my little heart out.  I caught the wave and rode it until the fins started dragging in the sand.  I looked back at her and she had her arms up in victory (Which is TOTALLY AWESOME AND ENCOURAGING-she did that after every wave I caught!).  When I got close enough to hear her she said “That was AWESOME!  I didn’t even tell you to go, OR push you!  I just turned around from looking at the wave and you were GONE!”  THAT was cool!

I am So (NOT) Ready to Stand Up

Tracy says “You are balancing, you are catching the waves yourself, you can get ON the board and stay on.  You are ready to get up.”  In theory, yes, I was mentally ready.  I could balance (sort of).  I understood what I was supposed to do. The problem is, I could never do chin ups, pull ups, push ups, climb, or anything that requires me to haul myself up anything.  It appears that will be an integral part to getting off my tummy and on my feet to “Walk Like an Egyptian” (except with my feet more perpendicular to the center line of the board).

“Surfing is a lot harder than it looks,” says Tracy, as I start pushing myself up onto the board.  “It isn’t as hard,” I say, climbing on the board, “as I,” SPLASH (that’s me rolling right back off the other side of the board) “thought it would be!”  Ensuing fit of giggles by both of us.  It isn’t as hard as I thought, but it will take a lifetime of practice.  Luckily, I’ve found TWO great teachers.

The Water Shines like Silver

Getting up in the morning is not hard, if I go to bed at a reasonable hour the night before.  Problem was, I needed to watch “The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose” last night, so I didn’t get to bed early, and wanted to throw my alarm clock at the wall this morning.  I’m so glad I didn’t.  I’ve never been out to the beach at 7:00 am.  Seven PM is one of my favorite times, because the setting sun turns the water into liquid silver.  But, there are lots of people on the beach then.  Seven AM was magical!  The water is even more silvery, and the marsh grasses glow in the bright morning light.

Driving away from my lesson, I decided that I will resolve to get up early to do push-ups, and ride my bike, and enjoy the day while it is fresh and full of promise.  Excercise is more fun when you have a goal.  And I WILL Walk like an Egyptian on my board. . . SOON!

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Katie Elzer-Peters is a freelance writer living in Wilmington, NC. Her writing and PR business, The Garden of Words, L.L.C. serves clients all over the world. She’s learning to surf this summer, and blogging about her experiences for Chicks on Sticks.

Kate Bosworth I Ain’t

Up until today, everything I ever knew about surfing, I learned from watching the movie Blue Crush. From the time I saw the movie, I wanted to learn how to surf. (I think that, secretly, I wanted to look like Kate Bosworth-tiny and blonde and cute, but no amount of good coaching by Nancy is going to help with that.) I was fascinated by the huge waves and the competitions and the cool kids. I’ve never been a “cool kid.” Try, tall, dorky, un-coordinated kid. I was, however, in love with the idea of being a “surfer girl.”

I moved to Wilmington in the fall of 2005, and worked with a bunch of guys that surf. I would NEVER have EVER asked them to teach me–no way! That would have been beyond embarrassing. Then, not too long after moving here, I met Nancy, and a bunch of her surfing friends. It was only a matter of time before the urge to learn outweighed my fear.

Four years later I finally got out on the water.

Washing Machine or Hurricane?

Chicks on Sticks is an absolute blessing for anyone who is a good swimmer, but is otherwise uncoordinated, not in rock-star shape, and entirely embarrassed to be seen in a swim suit with anyone other than her husband and best friends. I didn’t have a suit that wouldn’t fall off in the surf until yesterday, and after today’s lesson, I’m going to make some modifications to my outfit. My swim trunks kept falling off. That might have had something to do with the waves.

I met Nancy at the beach. She had a humongous, foam-topped surfboard for me to learn on. We started by walking down the beach, away from people (GOOD CALL, Nancy!), and she taught me about the board. What I basically remember about that is the following: The fins on the board I used are a little more flexible than some other boards, so that if they hit me in the head, I was unlikely to get a skull fracture. Important.

Also, I learned that I would be surfing “goofy leg.” That means, I naturally put my right leg out in front on the board, so the leash has to be attached to my left leg. We will find out if that is really true when I actually stand up, which could be roughly this time next year.

With that, Nancy and I headed out into the ocean, which was, she said, “Churning like a washing machine.” To me, it looked like a hurricane. Here I was, wearing goofy man-trunks, leashed to a nine foot long, heavy piece of foam, about to head into ACTUAL WAVES. Nancy took that moment to reassure me. “Don’t worry, Katie. I haven’t seen any sharks this summer!” THANKS NANCY. I WASN’T THINKING ABOUT SHARKS AT ALL UNTIL YOU SAID THAT. The thought was fleeting, though. I soon had to get on the board and stay on the board while Nancy pushed me out to the sand bar. While the waves were coming at us about every 30 seconds, I really couldn’t worry about sharks. Plus, at that time, I was on the board and Nancy was in the water holding on to me. They would eat her first.

Catch a Wave and You’re Sittin’ on Top of the World

Is it a coincidence that I listened almost exclusively to the Beach Boys growing up? In land-locked Indiana? I think not. I believe that Surfing is a little bit like golf. After my very first wave, I could easily see how you could spend your ENTIRE LIFE trying to catch the next perfect wave. (Just like you can spend your entire life golfing trying to hit the next good shot.) Let me clarify on the “first wave” bit. After struggling atop the board, in the waves, with Nancy holding onto the board, she gave me a shove. I did what I was supposed to, which was grip the board on both sides, about a foot and a half from the top, resting on my elbows, with my body flat and my feet curled under so the bottom of my toes were on the board. And then, I stayed put.

I coasted on the wave all the way back to the beach, triumphantly. And then, I rolled off the board SPLAT into the water. Yippee! It is REALLY COOL when you feel the board take off and the wave carrying you. I can see how it would absolutely intoxicating when you are standing up, and enfolded by a wave.

I think I got about three or four more like that during the afternoon. There was no point in trying to learn how to paddle (but I’m sure I’ll be expert, since I watched a LOT of that in the movie–huh, RIGHT, probably not), because of the waves.

By all measures, my first surfing lesson ever was a success! Mainly, because I had fun and did not injure myself or kick Nancy in the head. (Which was a concern-I am tall and she was holding on to the end of my board 75% of the time.) In order to ever hope to stand up, I’m going to need to practice “popping up,” as she called it, at home A LOT. Would that I could have Nancy behind me every time, just pushing me into the waves. But, then I wouldn’t be a surfer girl.

Until next time. . . .

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Katie Elzer-Peters is a freelance writer living in Wilmington, NC. Her writing and PR business, The Garden of Words, L.L.C. serves clients all over the world. She’s learning to surf this summer, and blogging about her experiences for Chicks on Sticks.

It’s Summertime!

It’s finally summer. How do we know this? Well, it took forever, but the water has finally warmed up enough to not shiver when you step into the waves.

We’ve been having a great season teaching people how to surf and have been having all kinds of fun. We’ve heard some truly inspiring stories about why people have finally “taken the plunge” and we’re thrilled that they’ve chosen us to share these experiences.

That being said, now is the perfect time to learn how to surf. You can be 8 or 80 or anywhere in between. Our low 2 student to 1 instructor ratio helps to keep you safe. This allow allows us to make sure that you receive the attention needed to have a great experience.

So join us. Take the plunge. Come surfing.