First Try at Surfing

Who wouldn't want to try surfing with such great weather and beaches so close by? Every time we go to the beach, either for a walk or to stick our toes in the water, the locals are having a blast playing on the waves. Michelle and I each have wetsuits now, so it was only matter of time before we gave surfing and body boarding a try.

Yesterday morning we went with Keith and Laura to the North Wollongong beach. The surf was supposed to be good due to storms in Queensland. Keith had a blunt-nosed surfboard (what beginners use) and a couple of body boards. The waves were indeed good, but moreso for experienced surfers instead of us beach weenies. The locals called those types of waves "dumpers," because they will essentially dump your butt right into the sand. Dumpers have lots of foam, obvious churning at the shoreline, visible streaks of sand getting washed out to sea, and are not small. Dumpers can also cause injuries to the unwary, the most serious being back sprains.

Obviously, it's easy to guess we got about as far as struggling with the waves and that was it. To call it surfing or body boarding would be to mock those two sports. The waves were big enough and breaking close enough to shore that it was nearly hopeless to get past them enough to be able to ride them. Once the waves break, there's no riding them. I did have one somewhat decent run laying down on the surfboard, and did nothing but get thrown everywhere when I tried the actual body board. Michelle had one good run on the body board, but then got tossed about roughly on the surfboard. We both came away with bruises and achy muscles, but we still had lots of fun.

Next weekend we will go to Kmart and get a couple of cheap body boards for ourselves so we can do this again and more often. I would like to get a surfboard at some point, but good ones are expensive ($300-$500). Riding the waves is addicting, and it's a great way to have fun and get some exercise.