first surf lesson "near drowning" disaster........

[Mermaid]

you would have died laughing at me on my first lesson in North Devon, 8ft tall piece of polystyrene (which was 4ft taller than me) which took me 20mins to get to the surf, then after safety etc took us out into the sea.

"i'll hold the board, you catch this wave" he said, well, the wave took me at full belt, he said "now stand up", which is where all went wrong! I must have moved my hands forward too much-front of board went 50ft under water, me with it and wave crashed over my head. Sounds of underwater doplhins and angels playing harps.

After 100hours under water spluttering for my life i found the surface thinking i had died, and wondered how far out i really had been taken------
the instructor was right in front of me, with the water up to his knees, i was 2ft in water!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wot a fool eh!!! he laughed for ages!!!!!
yes im a doughnut.

[PapaW]

Got to start somewhere....

We've all made school boy arror... and we all still do!

[RoxySurf]

Aww well dont let it scare you away!

[WaveJunkie]

I especially like the part where you hear dolphins and angles playing harps. *G* That's a riot. Probably the best thing about girls surfing -- beside being girls, fun to look at -- is that they don't have any testosterone in their systems that drive them to "prove themselves."

Dropping that defense mechanism allows you to open the doors to making errors, and learning.

I've posted elsewhere that you always feel like the last person in line if there's no one standing behind you. I just stepped into the line -- behind you.

[drowningbitbybit]

the wave took me at full belt... stand up", which is where all went wrong! ... board went 50ft under water... wave crashed over my head.
...100hours under water spluttering for my life ... found the surface thinking i had died

Happens to me all the time!

Isnt that whats supposed to happen..?

Stick with it - it only gets better!

[Chaz]

The three parts to surfing are being in the water, being on top of the water, and being under the water!! As you get better, you might try bigger waves etc. The bigger the waves, the bigger the wipe outs..... Having said that I don't like wiping out in 2 feet of water or in 10 feet of water!!!! A wipe out is a wipe out! But I do like surfing on top of the water! When you fall in, as surfer's are sometimes prone to do , try to keep away from the board, wait an extra moment or two for safety and surface with your arms around and above your head, especially if you can't see where your board is. DO open your eyes under water to see where you are. Be prepared for another wave breaking ie take a deep breath as you wipe out and or a quick breath when you surface, in case you have to duck a second wave. Get back to your board as quickly as you can from the ocean side, untangle leash etc.etc. It's the surfing that's pleasant, we just endure (and try to survive!!!!!) the wipe outs!! Getting back to the board quickly is the most important in rough conditions. It's surprising how quickly you forget the wipeout part when your mind is focussed!!

[schanti]

I especially like the part where you hear dolphins and angles playing harps. *G* That's a riot. Probably the best thing about girls surfing -- beside being girls, fun to look at -- is that they don't have any testosterone in their systems that drive them to "prove themselves."

Dropping that defense mechanism allows you to open the doors to making errors, and learning.

I've posted elsewhere that you always feel like the last person in line if there's no one standing behind you. I just stepped into the line -- behind you.

i dont want to piss on your parade here but do you really think it takes testosterone to drive you to prove yourself as you put it?

Maybe you meant -impress other guys- rather than prove themselves...

cause i sure as hell dont need testosterone...

[San Diego Longboarder]

I love doughnuts.

[RiPcUrLcHiCk]

i dont know why but i loved getting dunked when its deepish, i just relax and let the wave take me.

[farmersurfer]

Yea i Love that too, depending on how long im held under for though , it is a fine line between tranquility and despair!