Sweaty Surfers
Byron Bay, 30th January 2002
We'd been taking it in turns to sleep in the van while we were
camping. The tent was more comfortable with 3 people in and the van
was REALLY comfortable with all the seats folded down. Last night it
was my turn to sleep in the van last night so I woke up as the sun
came streaming through the window at about 5:30. I rolled over and
tried to get back to sleep. A few hours later we all woke properly
and headed down to the shops to buy a couple of boogie boards. They
cost $15 to hire for the day or $20 to buy, so we decided to buy
them. We could then sell them with the van when we left Oz.
After being bitten by the surfing bug yesterday, I decided I wanted
to practice my surfing skills, so I went to the surf school and
hired a practice surf board. I jaunted out of the shop with the
board under my arm. After about 2 minutes walking in the beating
sun, the sweat was pouring down my face. The board was actually
really heavy, about 8 feet long and very wide. As it was a practice
board, it was much bigger & heavier than a proper board so carrying
it was real hard work. But after struggling for a few hours,
carrying it under my left under, then my right arm, then balancing
it on my head, I eventually got to the beach.
The waves were a bit smaller today, not as impressive as yesterday.
To give you an idea of how powerful they were, yesterday I'd
struggle out to the right depth, then prepare myself. If I wasn't
prepared properly, then a feeling of panic would surge through me as
the wave came crashing down over my head. A split second later and I
was inverted in the water. But today, the biggest ones were as scary
as Mel "Scary Spice" B (i.e. not very).
I spotted a few bigger waves a bit further out, but all the good
surfers were swarming over it. I didn't want to get in their way, so
I stayed away, but in the end, I couldn't get any good waves. Well,
actually, I looked around and they all seemed to be riding the wave,
so I'd jump on, but I'd come to a complete stop! What was I doing
wrong? A bit annoyed, I decided to take a break and return in the
evening.
After a bite to eat and a look around the shops, I headed out to the
beach again. The sun was on the verge of setting, and there were
only a few surfers out. I tried again, but no matter how hard I
tried, I couldn't get on any good waves! Grrrrrrr! After about 20
minutes, I noticed that everyone was leaving the water. Maybe this
meant that the waves were really bad, and it wasn't just me.
I'll return early tomorrow morning and give it one last go before we
leave Byron Bay.
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