Let's Surf Schooly
by Surf Sista Amy
posted 2006-08-31
Many people say, "You have to try this" or, "You have to do that while in Maui." With so many things to choose from, what do you do? Well, I'll tell you... The one thing that you absolutely, positively, can't leave Maui without doing is to.....learn to surf!
On Wednesday, August 16, 2006, I learned to surf... My parents dropped me off at 505 Front St. in Lahaina, Maui with high hopes that I would be rippin like Kelly Slater. I was so excited the whole way there because it was going to be my first time ever learning how to surf. Right when I jumped out of the car, the Royal Hawaiian Surf instructors suited me up in a rashguard and booties and made me carry a monstrous, 11 ft. soft top longboard from Front St. all the way to the beach balanced on my head! I finally made it to the beach. Whew! What a relief! I laid the board fins down on the beach and waited for the instructor to come.
photo by Rick Schultz
My instructor introduced himself as Renton. He taught me the basics of the board. You know, like where the nose is and where the leash goes. All that good stuff. Then he had me and about 5 other *schoolies lay on our longboards and practice the proper way to stand up on a surfboard. First, you lay belly down on the center line of your board, with your toes touching the tail of the board. Second, you paddle as hard as you possibly can to catch your dream wave. Then, you do a half pushup on your board. Next, you pull up your right leg (left leg if you're goofy footed, like me) so your knee is on the board. Then, you take your left foot (right foot if you're goofy) and place it in front of your right knee, making sure that you stay in the crouched position.
Now, you're ready to stand up. However, you must pivot super fast at the same time you stand up. I know it sounds extremely complicated, but if you try it at a surf school with a professional, believe me, you'll be amazed at how simple standing up on a surfboard really is. What most people have a BIG problem with is staying up. After learning how to stand up on a surfboard, Renton made us practice this new technique about 30 times, until we really got the hang of it. Then, we were off to the tropical waters of Maui, to put all that practicing to work.
I paddled.... and paddled ....and paddled; until I finally reached the white buoy. You see, all of us Royal Hawaiian students were learning how to surf with another surf school called Goofy Foot. So, to keep the two schools separate, the instructors thought of the brilliant plan to have Royal Hawaiian surf students, line up at the far, white buoy, and to have the Goofy Foot students line up at the close, orange buoy. But, I can't complain. I love paddling, so it worked out better for me.
Once all of us newbies reached the white buoy, we lined up in an orderly fashion. However, our straight line didn't last for more than a few seconds since we were all so anxious to just get out there and ride. I waited for Renton to call me over for my very first wave. At the very moment he raised up his arm to call two of us over, I raced from the white buoy like a rocket. I paddled as hard as I possibly could to be the very first one from my group to catch a wave. I talked with Renton while waiting for the perfect wave. He was really nice and one of the funniest people I have ever met. I really bonded with him. The perfect wave, or "THE BOMB" as he called it came. Renton pushed me off and I paddled like a mad woman trying to catch it.
photo by Rick Schultz
I followed all of the steps and before I knew it, I was surfing! I could feel the wave gently push me along. Then I laid back down on my board as I approached the shore, and then I paddled back towards the white buoy. I couldn't believe it. I rode my first wave, standing up all the way to the shore without falling! I was ecstatic! The next few waves were like the first, smooth and easy.
Then came a monster wave. I stood up, rode it for a few seconds, and then completely wiped out. I couldn't believe that a wave had that much control over it's surfer. It was like I was the ocean's guest, and had to follow the wave's every move. Even though I got thrashed around pretty badly, I quickly got up and tried riding the waves again. Every time I fell off my board, I shook off the crash and got back on with high hopes of riding to the shore again. Surfing is kind of like riding a bike. If you fall off your bike, are you just going to stop riding and leave your bike sitting and rotting in the garage? No, I don't think so. You're going to get back on your bike and ride again, no matter how many times you fall off. The same thing goes with surfing. If you wipe out on a wave, you don't just give up and cry about it. You get back on your board and try riding again.
Even though I was a trooper, and kept on rippin it up, most of the other schoolies had had enough. They were all just laying on their boards talking near the buoy. So, the instructors asked me if I would go up to them and ask if they still wanted to surf. So, I did just that. However, I didn't exactly get the response I wanted. The "surfers" (I put that in quotes because they weren't exactly surfing, they were mostly sitting) sort of ignored me and asked each other if they still wanted to surf. With that lack of response, I continued my routine of paddling, riding my wave, getting off, and paddling back to the buoy. Pretty soon, there were only two of us left. A new friend that I had made during my surf lesson and myself.
