Surfing Lessons
Trip Start
Sep 05, 2004
1
14
20
Trip End
Sep 24, 2004
Noosa,
Australia
Friday, September 17, 2004
Merrick's Learn to Surf picked us up at our hotel and took us to a nearby beach with good learner waves. We were learning on long boards which are easier to start with than short boards. Ally and I wriggled our way into our shorties which were still wet and picked up our surfboards and followed our instructor and the rest of the class to the beach. Mandy came with us to watch.
At first we just sat on our boards and listened to our instructor. Then we lay on our boards on the sand and practiced paddling. Finally we were allowed in the water! But we weren't allowed to stand yet. First we just had to practice paddling, and getting ready to stand
Ally crashing into the shore
. So we did that for a bit, then went back to the beach to learn how to stand. We practiced standing on the boards on the sand, then again went into the water. We waded out about waist-level and then took turns surfing, as our instructor helped us a bit to make sure we were catching good waves and paddling appropriately. Sometimes he gave us a bit of a push. Once he told me to start paddling and I saw this massive wave coming up behind me so I paddled like mad and then suddenly he said "No! Stop! Get off, get off!" and I jumped off my board just as the wave came crashing down on me.Once I recovered, locating myself, my board, and my instructor, I tried again. Once he sent us off a couple times and we had a bit of confidence I went on my own but near enough that he could yell at me if need be. I managed to get a couple really good waves in to shore and he gave me the wave of the day! I'm such a star. It was pretty cool though being as I am not naturally gifted at any sport. Ever.
After our lengthy lesson I felt really confident and was happy with how far I got. Ally did pretty good too and we both had so much fun so I think we will be surfing again!
We went back to the truck and everyone got dropped off at their hotels
My "wave of the day"
. We were the last. We were sitting in the back of an open pickup so I talked to Heathcliff, our instructor, as we drove, and asked about surfing and teaching and all that kind of stuff. It seems like a cool job, and would be great if I had the experience so I could travel and work. But I have years of work to do before I can get to that point, and no ocean near me to work on.We got back to our hotel and packed up the car with our luggage. I think Mandy's suitcase is getting heavier. We then hit the beach for some shopping. We checked out all the cool surfer shops along the waterfront before piling back in the car for the final leg of our road trip.
