Surfing Firsts: Surf Lesson Review

First times are always special. I’m proud to say, my first time was with my wife… first time surfing that is! She took me to a beach by her old stomping grounds in Oahu. I rented a board, her friends gave me some pointers, and a few months later I was hooked! But that’s a whole ‘nother story.

This weekend was also full of surfing firsts for me. So many, in fact, that I’m going to have to write a couple posts to cover them all! So, first things first, I’d like to review my first ever surfing lesson with Momentum Surf.

I was a little unsure when I booked my surfing lesson last week. I’d read both pros and cons about taking lessons. Some felt that surfing was inherently something you just had to “get” on your own, while others were adamant that beginners should start off with a lesson right away, so they wouldn’t build up bad habits. The only thing I could really compare it to in my own life was skiing. I never took a ski lesson, I learned by falling about 150 times in one day, and then the next day I just picked it up. But so far, surfing seemed a lot harder, and I figured anything that might speed up my improvement was worth a try.

So, when the weekend came, I loaded up my board and my wife’s bike, and hit Manhattan Beach, where my instructor said he’d meet me. My wife hit the bike trail, and Mark and I made our way to the beach. Mark was definitely not what I expected… he was only 22 years old, but very eloquent and driven. As it turns out, Momentum is his company, and I have to say, I was quite impressed that someone so young could build such an enterprise from the ground up. He taught himself surfboard construction, clothing design, and business marketing all before most people even graduate college!

As for the lesson itself, my feelings are mixed. I had previously told Mark about my surfing experiences, and where I felt I needed to focus. Unfortunately, most of his lesson seemed geared to a true first time beginner… someone who’d never been on a board at all and was just starting out. Paddling techniques, tips for getting past the white-water… these are all important skills, but honestly I was hoping for instruction that was bit more intermediate in nature.

I did get two good tips from him. When he watched my pop-up technique, he said it was good, but that I was too far forward on the board. This would make the board harder to control and less stable. Also, he said I was popping up too early… I need to let gravity start to take me down each wave before standing up, which would allow me to build up speed, and again, get more stable. As he explained it, it was like skateboarding, or riding a bike… the faster you go, the more stable you are, and the easier it is to balance.

The remainder of the lesson mostly consisted of us surfing. He would give me some tips and critique my performance, but that was about it. All in all, I’m glad I did it, but I don’t think I would take another lesson. I think for the money spent, I’d be better off saving up and applying it to a small surf trip somewhere so I can get more practice. That being said, however, if I was truly just starting out surfing, with no experience whatsoever, I think it would be much more helpful and instructive, and would be good for getting a total dry behind the ears newbie off on the right foot.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the lesson was that I got to surf next to a seal! I heard someone say “Hey look…” I turned where they were pointing, and sure enough, a furry snout was poking out of the wave face, looking around at all the strange creatures surfing around it. The weirdest thing was, it really reminded me of my dog, a dachshund, waiting at home! I had to fight the urge to swim over and pet it! Here are some pictures.. note the similarities!

My dachshund...

Cute seal...

The resemblance is uncanny!

At any rate, if that was the high point, the low point was getting caught in a close out wave that smashed down on top of me like a ton of bricks. I felt my board rake across my legs and bump my head as I spun in the swirling water. Coming up for air, I felt a tiny cut on my knee, but it seemed like no big deal. I paddled back out, and waited in the line up. A few minutes later, I noticed another gash lower on my leg… the big fin on the board had sliced right through the wetsuit, and cut my leg underneath! Surprisingly, I hadn’t even felt it!

Well, when I’m surfing I try not to think about the “S” word… sharks. But with seals in the water, and me bleeding, I figured it was time to go. I said my good byes to Mark, and paddled in, already bummed about buying another wetsuit. I’d been thinking about getting a 4:3 West wetsuit, for surfing colder waters… Now I’d just have to put that on hold and replace my 3:2.

Wait a sec, I thought to myself… The truly green, eco-friendly thing to do would be to just fix this one. I researched wetsuit repair online, and discovered that with a needle and thread, and some handy dandy neoprene cement (available from your local surf shop) I could fix the tear. I hopped in my car, jetted off to Val Surf in Valley village, and picked up a bottle of the black, rubbery goop. I sewed up the tear, slathered on the cement, and a couple hours later my suit was good as new, albeit with an ugly black bump on the leg.

Stash this in your surf kit!

Whew! What a busy morning! So the grand tally of surf firsts for Saturday were:

1. First time surfing Manhattan Beach

2. First surf lesson

3. First time in the water with a seal

4. First time repairing a wetsuit

That’s a pretty full day, but there was still more to come… stay tuned for part 2!