Surfing Waves

Guess who went for their first home surf today!!!??? No guesses? :P

After trying to convince about every mate of mine to come down with me (which they were all willing to do but just busy today) I eventually braved the unknown on my own and just thought...if I don't do it now it's putting it off once again. Drove down to the beach to find it heaving with people. Managed to find a parking space. Had to hire a ridiculous pair of gloves from the shop because it was the last pair they had in.... :cry: (made me look like bender out of futurama...didn't even know you could get gloves shaped like that. like mits but your thumb and pointing finger have seperate bits and your other three fingers are together....weird. As well as the strange shape they were only about 3 sizes too big for me. :( Anyhow, they did the job.

I got myself sorted and braved the walk down to the ocean. No one took much notice of me which made me feel a lot better. (The surf was only 1 foot so there was a lot of floating around more than catching many waves, perfect for me though). :) There were only 5 people in total in the surf. Once I entered the sea I actually got chatting to a group of 3 guys who were wading about. They were very friendly which was good cos I felt better to be around people as I practically didn't have a clue what I was doing. Anyway, it turned out to be a most enjoyable surf and am so pleased I just bit the bullet and went down on my own. I'm not one to rely on people generally. Get let down too easily. I'm going down again tomorrow morning. Should be good. My new surf buddy's are going along too so maybe I won't be alone in the water. :) And hopefully I'll catch more waves and properly stand up. Just sunk my board once when tried to stand cos it was a very mini wave... :P

I'm so pleased I'm now on the road to regular surfing. It's such a great feeling!!!! :D

good stuff on giving it a go! the first time you do anything new its a bit scary, especially something like surfing. i made one of my friends come out with me the first time which made me feel heaps better before i just started going out by myself. don't worry bout looking like a dick in oversized surf gears etc, cos everyone is generally way to busy battling the soup (begginners) or catching waves (locals) to even notice your existence. just get into it and don't worry what anyone says - oh and to whoever wrote the anonymous 'kook' message, what a loser, if you have nothing positive to say at least have the guts to sign on.
cheers.
erin - nz girl

yeah, thanks nz girl... :) I'm just about to drag my flatmate down to the beach for my second surf. he was up for coming in with me last night but stayed up til 4am so may have changed his mind. :( he'll be watching anyhow.

Should be cool though. cos the guys who were there yesterday are there again today so may just stick with them....if they don't mind. they told me they were coming down today anyhow so they must not mind.

Yeah, as for the comment dude.....what's your point exactly? Were you some sort of pro from the moment you hit the water? I doubt it.

Well, my flatmate did come in with me which was great fun. Tiny waves but good fun. Think he's hooked now and will be picking up some second hand gear to join me more often. :P

Was a good, fun surf today I have to say. No one else was in either which was cool, one person came in later but didn't stay out for long. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

you'll get better real fast if you keep going everyday. there's the south island surf comp's down at my beach and so havn't been able to go surfing yesterday or today...grr...i guess i could go out but would feel like a kook snaking their waves! na would have to go to a different part of the beach...too many people watching though aye....! i might have to try and get my flatties hooked on surfing as well so i have more people to motivate me to get up for early morning winter surfs....

gloves??????????????? wait wait to paddle and stuff?

cause u could of just used your hands and since the waves were only 1 footers that'd be mondo easy to get out into the water

yeah, the gloves weren't for the paddling. They were for preventing frost bite from setting in. :P

No, there are some people who go out with no gloves on at the moment. I'm sure I'll give it a go. Just don't want to have to get out because my hands are frozen up, would rather know I can stay in as long as I like cos I'm cosy and warm.

the surf's 4ft today as well...but i'm hungover and shouldn't really drive. :? have to work tonight too....that sucks!!! Guess I should probably leave the bigger waves to the pro's. Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Think I might give up drinking for a while. That way I don't have to worry bout being hungover etc.

OOOOOOOOOOOO gotcha, yeah i keep forgetting people are from different parts of the world ;)

the gloves 'funny shape' is because mitts keep hand warmer than gloves, because of the shared heat of fingers being together, but you need to have your first finger free to properly hold onto your board :) which is why the gloves are odd looking.

Got my own pair of gloves now, yipppeee! no more hassling with hiring a pair. Got them from the dive shop though which I didn't realise was so close to where I surf. quite handy really. Got a chafe vest too cos my neck was getting hassled by my wetsuit on sat. Quite a bargain in the end. I'm lank pleased.

Tempted to see what the waters doing today but have to work tonight and try and sleep before then and eat. Hmmmm, maybe I'll save it for tomorrow and Wednesday....definitely going then. :D