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.

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!

When a Werewolf Just Needs to Get Away…

. . . she goes surfing.

She? What do you mean, she?

Didn’t you know that all werewolves are female?  That makes them perfect clients for Chicks on Sticks.

Learn While You’re Young

We teach wahines (surfer girls) of all ages to surf.  But, there’s no question that the younger you are, the easier it is to learn.  That’s why we’re recommending that all young ladies start surfing by their 16th birthday, at least.  Actually, surfing lessons would make a FANTASTIC birthday present.  And, at just $25 an hour, plus board rental, they’re a LOT less expensive than a car.

Why 16 is the Magic Number

Werewolves don’t learn they’re werewolves until they turn 16.  This can be a traumatic experience for them.  There are few places that are safe for these young weres to get away from it all.  That’s why the ocean is so soothing.  Nobody, and we do mean nobody, cares what you look like while you surf.  So, if you haven’t quite mastered the trick of being “all the way human” or “all the way werewolf,” nobody’s going to look at you twice if you have a few stray hairs sticking out here or there on the tops of your ears, or palms. And, if you fully morph into a werewolf while surfing, well, haven’t you seen the surfing dogs?  Werewolves can surf, too!

Who’s Afraid of Sharks?

Not werewolves!  Werewolves are big enough and strong enough to eat sharks for LUNCH.  Also, with their heightened sense of smell, werewolves can smell sharks a mile away.  ’nuff said.

(However, we do recommend that if a young werewolf wahine has recently consumed a, um, meal, that she take a thorough shower before coming out for surf lessons.  Best not to attract the sharks with any stray blood.)

Building Confidence by Surfing

Learning you’re a werewolf can be a traumatic event, according to Christine Johnson, author of Claire de Lune, a book about a young girl learning she’s a werewolf–and everything that goes along with it.  Because werewolves learn their true identities during their formative teen years, when there are already a number of other worries, dealing with a new set of concerns can shake any girl’s confidence.

Surfing is a wonderful way to build confidence.  While surfing, girls strengthen their core muscles, improve their balance, lengthen their spines, and build their arm muscles.  Surfing makes being a werewolf easier.

To sign your little werewolf up for surfing lessons, contact the Chicks on Sticks!

And to Win a Signed Copy of Claire de Lune

and take the rest of the big Werewolf Blog Tour, head on over to http://thegardenofwords.wordpress.com! We’re celebrating the publication, TODAY, of Christine Johnson’s new book, Claire de Lune. It is about, you guessed it, teenage female werewolves.

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.

After Whining about Getting a Wetsuit

Well, after whining about getting a wetsuit for several weeks, I finally got one at the Wrightsville Beach Longboard Association Swaptopia.  I tried it on in Nancy’s Toyota truck-thingy.  THAT was fun.  Not.   Anyhoo, I got to take it out while my Brother in law was visiting from Idaho.  He’s a surfer, and was stationed in San Diego while in the Navy.  I borrowed one of Nancy’s board and we went out.  It was around the 15th of November, or so.  Probably my last time surfing ’till February.  I just can’t muster the enthusiasm for 40 degree days yet. Maybe if I get a hood.  Or a better wetsuit.

Here are some pics from that last, glorious day surfing in 2009.

Happy Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day.  Around the world, countries will celebrate all Veterans in  a holiday that began as an observance of the Armistice after World War I.  At the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the Great War ended.

Many people are familiar with Surfers Healing, an organization that helps people with autism surf.

Most of us surfers know that being bathed in the salt water, flying along on a wave (even our our tummies-if we are where I am), and just floating along near the shore are some of the most peaceful, healing experiences.

What a lot of people don’t know is that there are fantastic organizations that help wounded veterans surf, so that they might enjoy and benefit from all of the positive aspects of surfing.

Here are some interesting and inspiring articles to read.

At Camp Pendleton, California this past summer. And photos here.

At Pismo Beach

In San Diego

And, to all of our Veterans:  Thank you for serving.

No Surf Here

 

And now I know why there was dead silence on the other end of the line when I called a place on Sanibel Island called “Sanibel Island Surf” and asked if they rented surf boards.  Well, I’m still learning.

If I ever live in Ft. Myers full time, I would have to take up Standup Paddleboarding, with occasional road trips over to the east coast.

Head High

An equally appropriate title for this blog would be “Ass over Teakettle,” but for SEO purposes and to maintain guilty pleasure reading at work for all three of my fans (shout out to Natalie, Tami and Daniel!!), I kept the profane out of the top.  Let’s just say that if you AND your surfing teacher are screaming like girls, you know it is big out there.

This photo describes conditions more accurately than five hundred words of my own could. This is one of the daily photos posted on WB Live Surf, taken right around the time I was out today. The website is one of the places I check conditions before lugging all of my stuff to the beach.

Photo of the day from WB Live Surf

Notice how the wave behind the surfer standing up is roughly as high as his head. That’s what we mean by “head high.” Or, if you are a beginner, “Really effing big.”

Wherein We Test the Strength of my Surfing Sunglasses

Monday afternoon, I went out by myself (there were other people out and on the beach, but I wasn’t with “friends”) and the outside break was big enough that I gave up after one wave and stayed on the whitewater inside.  On Monday, the waves were probably two feet shorter than today.  I was also wearing my new shorty wetsuit, or “spring suit,” for the first time.  That’s a wetsuit with short pants and short sleeves.  It kept me nice and toasty.

The other instructive part of the photo above is the surfer on the board, to the right of the surfer riding the wave.  Now, imagine you are at the bottom of that wave, instead of the middle.  What does that wave look like? Yes, it looks like A WALL OF WATER.  That you have to GET THROUGH.  On a LONGBOARD. Upon which you CANNOT DUCK DIVE, so you have to go over the waves, turtle roll, or something. In a wetsuit. With a nine foot surfboard. That has fins. And a mind of its own. And can boomerang on the leash back to knock you unconscious if it wants to.  (I’m being a little dramatic, but it was a bit chaotic out there.)

After reading numerous testimonials about the strength and amazing ability of the Silverfish sunglasses to stay on in virtually any surfing conditions, I felt confident that with the wimpy little waves I am generally on, these glasses would be just fine.  That meant that today was an EXCELLENT day to see just what these super composite, ultra-mega-mega strong frames would do.

I began my trek out past the big outside break.  I paddled.  I swam. I floated. I towed my board with my ankle. I towed it by holding on to the leash where it attaches to the board.  I paddled some more.  I got SMACKED in the face with 6 ft tall waves.  I flew off my board BACKWARDS, with it sailing over me, ready to bonk me in the head.  The glasses stayed ON.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have Arrived!

Have you ever rented a car from Hertz and made use of their “Neverlost” system?  When you get somewhere, the lady in the box says “You have arrived,” with a strangely flat inflection.  Like, she’s saying “you’re here, but now you have to deal with whatever crap awaits you wherever “here” is.”  That is kind of how I felt when I got past the break.  Nancy was yelling “GREAT JOB, KATIE! IT IS REALLY BIG! YOU MADE IT!  MOST PEOPLE WOULD HAVE QUIT!”  I was watching the waves roll in and crash, not unlike the Niagara River as it hurtles over the Horseshoe Falls.  In other words, I had arrived, and, at some point, I was going to have to figure out a way to get back IN.  I rested and watched Nancy catch a few.

Optimum Positioning for Eyeglass Testing

We floated a while, feet dangling in the water.  Thank goodness it was so big that I did not think AT ALL about my likely shark sighting on Tuesday or the bluefish with teeth swimming, in all likelihood, around us.  We determined we were too far out to catch, and paddled in a bit.  While we were re-positioning, a huge HUGE wave started to break RIGHT ON TOP OF US.

“aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIKKKKKKKK!!!!!!   I GUESS WE’RE GO— rooooaaaaaaaRRRRRRRRRR”  <—That was us, as we realized we were going, like it or not. And, then, the sound of the wave breaking, or a freight train running over us.

For three seconds after the wave broke, I thought “I’m ON. I’m GOING!  WHEEEEEEE!”  Then, as frequently happens when I’m on something this big, the nose of the board tipped down and I was flying through the air, (this is where “ass over teakettle” comes in) and plunging under.  Apparently, I had it easy, as Nancy actually hit the bottom of the ocean, at which point she said she thought to herself “Well, if that is the bottom, I guess this way is up.”

My glasses stayed on through all of this.  So, I recommend that if you need prescription surfing sunglasses, head DIRECTLY over to Silverfish and get some.  They are ENTIRELY worth it.  (For reference, I have the s-rat model, black frames, prescription lenses with polarization.  And, the express lab.)

Katie’s Biggest Day Yet STARTS NOW

That’s what Nancy said as we got in.  I was not having an “official lesson.”  We were out surfing as buddies.  Thank goodness we were out together.  It was way to big for me to try it on the outside on my own.  It is nice to have someone to check and see whether you’ve made it back to the surface after a big pounding, and to encourage you to keep going.  Days like today, I’m glad I have lots of surfer girlfriends. We don’t make fun of each other if we scream.

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.