Surf fail

She's already better than me, and better looking to boot.

It's summer and nearly time for my relocation to Southern Virginia, the location of what was my grandmother's house. It's still in the family and a cost-effective way to have an extended beach trip. No more blogging for me for awhile.

So a couple years ago I had the bright idea to learn the old sport of surfing. Every now and then I'm sitting around my house watching the wheels and I get these ideas, often painful to those around me, and run with 'em. One year it was ice hockey, another collating pictures, and another was extended correspondence with catastrophic results.

I also saw the benefits of this for the kids: get 'em out of their comfort zones, something new and different to do at the beach. Sounded good, right?

So last summer I enrolled them in a surf camp and learned the basics of pushing a kid into a wave. Thanks to the generosity of the instructors at this camp (Wes Laine's Quiksilver camp in Va. Beach, I am not a paid endorser) I took a little funboard (all foam) and gave the sport of Hawaiian kings a try.

Too heavy for the boards. Oops.

But the kids loved it (my 3 older ones, that is). I got funboards for them all and took 'em out a few times. The 8 and 9 year-old (Bobby and Camille) loved it, and made it look easy, they just popped right up. My eldest had some trouble but seemed to enjoy it nonetheless.

I kept on trying, all summer. Couldn't stand up, could barely paddle out. I tried paddling into the swell during Hurricane Bill last July or August and wished I hadn't. I now know what clothes in a washing machine must feel like.

So, I sucked it up and bought a lesson. A fellow named Dylan who owns a shop in Pungo, Virginia (The Pungo Boardhouse) was really cool and lent me a real fiberglass board. It was night-and-day, would support my weight, and I got very very close to actually surfing.

But I didn't, never actually stood up. Yet.

I'm stubborn enough to continue to try. I'm convinced I'm not too old yet. On quiet mornings I can paddle out and enjoy the peaceful bobbing amongst the waves. There's hardly ever anything EPIC about the swell in Virginia Beach, so it's mostly peaceful and calm and there are dolphin pods nearby to observe in between trying to catch a wave.

I know I'm awful, and look ridiculous. I don't think I really care, it's one of the best things I've participated in the past few years and the chance to do it with the family makes it all the better. If I can actually get the hang of it, I see a future where all 6 of us paddle out and ride free and easy.

Or we'll kill each other, be shark bait..... something like that.