My Fifth Surf: 12th June 2009

At last - after a very flat week - a new swell and some waves. As I waded out I met CP (Adventures in Trim) who introduced himself and immediately scooted past hanging five. Jealousy mingled with delight as I watched him paddle round, catch another wave and do it again. (And again...) Give me a few months and I'm gonna be there! It's very different to be in the water and watch good surfers than just watching from the beach. (Thanks for the chat and advice CP.)

I had mixed feelings about the day's surf. Meeting someone to talk to, floating about and enjoying just being there was fantastic, however, my surfing didn't meet up to my own expectations. Somehow over the past week I think I had convinced myself that I had progressed more than I had. Still, on the bright side, I am now a verified surfer as CP witnessed me catch a wave! The first one I have properly caught and felt me and my board speed up and shoot down the wave a bit before it broke (normally I am just launched towards the shore by a wall of whitewater). The excitement was palpable and I had to stop myself from giving a little shout of delight. It has become clear already that the beauty of learning to surf is enjoying discovering the whole framework of surfing while it is punctuated by moments, pinpricks, of success, drama and excitement.

I took the photograph a couple of hours later as a low cloud/mist came in and made an incredibly beautiful and mysterious setting for a surf.