surf's up

Once we moved to our current house, I found myself often going to the beach, less than a mile away, and watching the surfers. Finally, I decided I just had to try that myself. So in June I talked Stella into taking surfing lessons with me in Bolinas, a cute little town about 40 minutes north of San Francisco where the waves are gentle and not too crowded. (No, that is not me in the photo.)

We had a blast! The following month I purchased my own wetsuit (you need a thick wetsuit to surf in these cold northern California waters!) and did some surfing closer to home, in Pacifica, about 15-20 minutes away. After a couple of times renting a board there, a co-worker of Stella's was kind enough to pass on his old long board to me. Beginners typically start on a "long board" around 9 feet long. Advanced surfers move to short boards around 6 feet. The longer a board, the more stable it is and easier to get up on.

So now I have my own wetsuit and surfboard! And I've found that if I start work at 6:30am, I can take a long lunch break and go surfing for a couple of hours. So I've been doing that whenever I can.

Most days I make the drive to Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, just south of San Francisco. The waves are nicely shaped there, and well spaced apart, making it easy to get out on a board. The main drawback is that it is crowded. It's hard to carve out your own spot to surf without worrying about running into someone (or someone running into you).

Some days I go to Ocean Beach, which is less than a mile from here and just a couple of minutes by car. But the waves here can be intense. They are usually spaced too close together to get out on a longboard; you really need a shortboard to surf here. But on some days, it's doable with my long board.

I went out twice last week and twice so far this week. I didn't realize how hard surfing can be. It's a challenge to stand up in one motion just as you're catching the wave. I usually go tumbling off the board and get tossed around by the wave, covering my head with my arms so the board doesn't slam into my head. But I feel I'm on the verge of "getting it". I hope to move up to a short board by the time winter sets in. Right now, though, my wimpy little bicep muscles feel like jelly, so I need to take a couple of days off. Surfing really takes a surprising amount of upper body strength, which I clearly need more of.

I think this new found surfing obsession is of some concern to Stella, though. She's afraid I'll drown, get eaten by a shark, or even worse, turn into a stereotypical Surfer Dude.

This isn't me either, although my wipeouts are nearly as spectacular!