Westbound Boarder

Last week, I took my very first surf lesson from Bill Sharp at the Huntington Beach Surf School (read about it here!) and thought it would be a great opportunity to follow up with some beginning surf tips.  Surfing’s tough work, and if you want to get good at it you have to keep at it and constantly assess what you could be doing to improve your skill.  Here are a few tips to consider when first starting out:

• When waking/paddling out to sea, set your board down and walk it out on top of the water as opposed to carrying it or paddling until absolutely necessary.  This will save a lot of wasted energy and arm strength!
• Never carry the board in front of you when you’re walking out (ie, never hold your board between your body and the incoming wave.)  This could cause the wave to crash against the surface area of your board, bringing you down with it.
• Do not paddle with both arms, as this will cause you to speed up and slow down at an inconsistent rate.  Instead, paddle using the crawl stroke, with one arm then the other.
• One arm is usually stronger than the other, so when you paddle be aware of that and adjust accordingly.
• Catch the wave at a completely perpendicular angle (not 45 degrees, etc.)
• When you stand on your board, be sure to find your center of gravity.  Draw an imaginary line cutting your board in half horizontally, then again vertically; that is ideally where your center of gravity should be.
• While standing and riding the wave, bend your knees (as opposed to standing up straight and locking them) – this will ensure maximum balance.

Be sure to keep reading Westbound Boarder for some more Surfing 101 tips down the road!

I’m new to this whole surfing thing.  I’ve lived in LA for more than a year now, and the deal I made with myself before I moved here was that I was going to learn to surf (to make up for the fact I couldn’t snowboard as often).  But countless surf sessions and YouTube videos later, I wasn’t getting much further.  Yes, it was time for a lesson.

Last weekend I hooked up with Bill Sharp at the Huntington Beach Surf School for a little “Surfing 101.”  As much as I love LA, I always enjoy the opportunity to leave my little Santa Monica bubble every now and again.  And if you’ve ever been to Huntington Beach, you’d know why.

I arrived to my lesson a few minutes after 10am (normally I pride myself on being timely, but I had a little incident with a flat tire on my way down.  Luckily, I a guy I met on the side of the road knew a thing or two about fixing flats, and I was well on my way to surfdom in no time).  When I arrived, I walked down to the pier and the little surf shack behind Duke’s, and there was Bill waiting, a surf board in each arm, ready to get the day started.

Now Bill’s a pretty sharp surfer (yes, pun intended, thank you).  He spent his childhood years learning to surf in Durban, South Africa and began competing at age 14.  In Bill’s words, us California’s don’t even know big waves (what?! You mean the wicked 3 foot white waters I mastered last weekend are considered… small?!)  Bill turned pro at age 25, but before long he was back coaching in Durban, both aspiring pros (he coached the South Africa national surf team for years) and African kids who were part of development programs.  The African kids he taught didn’t know how to swim, which caused Bill to come up with an alternate method of teaching – a method that he still uses with beginners quite often today.

It’s called the “push-in technique,” which is where you start in waist-deep water and literally push off the sand and onto your board when a broken wave comes your direction.  Bill believes it is important to take baby steps when learning to surf, so learning on small, broken waves first before you progress to more advanced waves is absolutely key.

Bill began the lesson in a small room with a simple white board.  He went over the push-in technique before he took me out to try it first hand.  He also went over several other topics every surfer should know, such as understanding tides, where to stand on the board, and safety and etiquette.  Over the next week or two, I’ll share some of his top tips for success in the surf.

Now that I knew the ins and outs of surfing in theory, it was time to try it in the water.  Bill likes to work his lessons around the tides and shoot to head out on tides that are better for learning (typically lower tides because you have a higher chance of having nice, long, rolling waves).  So we paddled out to waist-deep water and he got me up and surfing in no time (and of course, he made sure to put instruction in terms of “snowboarding” – just to make sure I completely understood.)  By the end of the lesson I was exhausted, but happy to say that I have now mastered Surfing 101!  Bring on the 15 footers.

Overall, I learned that the key to learning to surf is comprised of three components – you have to have the right board, the right conditions, and the right instruction.  And while my conditions were a little less than ideal, I had a great board and perfect instruction to round out the package.  Now let’s see how I surf…

Tomorrow night at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, the surfing community and influential personalities alike will come together in support of people who have suffered spinal chord injuries.

The 6th Annual Night by the Ocean Gala (we first wrote about it here) is aimed at honoring those who have made extraordinary contributions to the spinal cord injury community.  It will feature a live performance by musical guests Fiction Family, featuring Switchfoot front man, Jon Foreman, and guitarist Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek, Wolfgang Puck-catered cuisine, a hosted bar, live and silent auctions and touching stories of courage and hope from extraordinary honorees.

At the event, the host foundation Life Rolls On will present a number of awards to influential people who have made contributions to the spinal chord injury community, including Jenna Wolfe and the Today Show with the Visionary Award for positive portrayal in the media of people with spinal chord injuries.  Additionally, actress Brooke Burke will be honored with the first ever Life Rolls On Inspiration Award the courage she showed after incurring a spinal chord injury.

This event and organization is really cool because it offers hope to people who have suffered spinal chord injuries.  For example, they have a “They Will Surf Again” program, where people with spinal chord injuries gather for a day of surfing.

Tickets are already sold out for the event, but if you want to contribute now or in the future head to the organization’s Web page for more information.  And stay tuned for our recap!

It’s 2009, and if you head to a locals beach where the surf has hit it’s prime, you can look around and see quite the mix of people – young, old, men, and also women.  But it wasn’t always that way.  Women have come a long way since surfing first became widespread.  Women have always been in the picture, but only recently have they transformed their image from the “bikini babes” in the background to true, featured “surfer chicks.”

This summer, Villa Villa Cola Productions and Roxy debuted Dear and Yonder, which hit a selection of art houses nationwide during its launch tour.  Created by Tiffany Campbell and Andria Lessler, Dear and Yonder features some of the most progressive riding to date.  Dear and Yonder follows top professionals including Roxy team riders Sally Fitzgibbons, Sofia Mulanovich and Kassia Meador, as they surf their home breaks (Dear) and travel the world (Yonder).  In addition to chronicling today’s surfers, Dear and Yonder spreads its roots deeper and cultivates a sense of place and knowledge of history, reaching back in time to unearth footage of iconic surfers such as Linda Benson, Rell Sunn and Lisa Andersen.

I got a chance to preview the film this past week, and it was so cool and inspiring to watch a hyped film featuring primarily all female surfers.  The film takes viewers through how surfing got started, featuring top female progressives in the sport and also their struggle to take it to the next level. It opens with a history lesson on how surfing got started and how women first got involved.  It also portrays some of the hardships women had to endure to get to where they are today.  While men were fending off masses of eager sponsors, women struggled to find sponsors to help cover entry fees for an increasing number of competitions, and most only offered little more than men’s cloths and wetsuits.

Fast forward to the present day, where seeing a group of female surfers in the water is ordinary as can be.  I liked Dear and Yonder because it featured present day females, not only surfing as a sport, but surfing as an entire lifestyle, incorporating their own, unique attitude into the sport.  For example, one scene in the film features “Captain Liz Clark,” a surfer who has been sailing around the world for the past three years, living off the earth’s natural resources and experimenting new and interesting cultures along the way.  Another scene features Ashley Lloyd, a women who spends her days shaping surf boards made from sustainable materials.  Another scene features Judith Sheridan, an awesome body surfer (seriously, pro surfers move out of the way for this woman) who recently was diagnosed with MS.  Her disease didn’t stop her though; in fact, it only gave her more of a reason to embrace her life and talent that she was handed.

Aside from surfing, a secondary underlying theme throughout the film was sustainability.  Alongside surfing also comes the importance of being one with the earth and living off its natural resources.  The women featured in Dear and Yonder do their part in giving back, from Amy Clark who uses solar energy and wind power to propel her throughout her worldwide exploration, to Belinda Baggs who sews her own board shorts on her off days from the waves.

All in all, great movie; two thumbs up from us!  It comes out on DVD next month, so if you get a chance the laid-back tracks combined with the strong message, beautiful scenery, and of course, awesome surfing makes for a nice change from the typical surfing film.

This morning, I hit the waves for my very first day surfing since I broke my hand (correction, all my fingers) in early July.  While paddling out to sea, desperately trying to remember my 123′s… I was hit stone cold with an enlightening epiphany – not all board sports come easy.     

I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I have the feeling that board sports (surfing included) should just come naturally, that I can set my board down for a couple years and be able to pick things up right where I left off.  Not always the case.  Surfing is a sport you need to work at perfecting each and every week, not only physically, but mentally as well, and I quickly realized that this morning as I was teetering and falling over and over again.  

After struggling for several wave sets, I decided to try a different approach – I shrugged out of the water and plopped my board down on the beach to start from the basics.  After practicing standing on my flat board in the sand a few times, I went out to a calm break in the water and tried it there a few more.  I made sure I had my balance 100% realigned before heading back out.  

The end result?  One wave… success!  Two waves, three and four.  I was surfing like a pro in no time, finally back to where I left off.  Well, almost.

So, what did I learn today?  Surfing takes time.  Surfing takes patience.  And it does not come naturally.  So next time you’re in a rut, frustrated, or about to give up, remember this – take a step back, and take it slow.  Master the sport one step at a time before you take a giant leap.  And never give up.

Today is the final day of a six day surf extravaganza. The SIMA Surfing America USA Championships are taking place at the Huntington Beach Pier in SoCal and end today. Check out the event info here or even watch the competition LIVE!

Earlier this week, Time Magazine released their list of the 50 Best Web sites of 2009.  Of course, the list contained the givens (Google, Twitter, Flickr, etc.) but one Web site stood out to me as pretty dang cool – California Coastline.

It’s pretty much exactly how it sounds.  According to Time, this Web site was compiled using only three things – a man, a helicopter, and a digital camera, and the site now contains nearly 50,000 Ariel photos portraying coastal locations up and down the CA beach line.

I decided to try it out for myself by typing in my home town “Santa Monica,” and 50 images of various locations in Santa Monica, from the famous pier to the Point Dume, popped up.

The site isn’t terribly innovative or visually aesthetic, but the idea is pretty sweet, which is likely why it made Time’s list.  Plus, it could be a really neat way to explore new territory (never been to Santa Barbara?  Bored at work?  No problem!  Go there without leaving the convenience of your cubicle.)

Another Web site that made the list – Get High Now.

(Yeah, yeah, made you click!)

Several weeks ago (yes, yes, before I broke all my fingers) LA was graced with a nice, warm day – always a perfect day to hit the surf, in my opinion.  So I packed up my bag, strapped my board to my racks, and hit the road for the 25-minute trek to Santa Monica (which, as any LA native knows, can quickly turn into a 45+ minute drive on beach weekends). I arrived to the beach after fighting a family of four for a parking spot (don’t worry, I can hold my own!) only to find that the surf… sucked.  Just my luck.  So I turned around and went home.

It was only later that I heard about Surfline.com – an online resource that allows surfers to check out conditions before they head to the coast.  Surfline offers live surf forecasts, and even live Web cams so you can see the conditions yourself.  Before you go.

Not only is surfline the “hub” of forecasts from coast to coast, it also serves as a good source of surf industry news and travel.  And for surfers on the go, Surfline has a slew of cool mobile offerings, including mobile.surfline.com, which allows you to check out stats from the mobile Web, and an iPhone app launched back in January.

In case you weren’t able to catch the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing this past weekend, either in person or via live stream, we’ve got a quick recap of the highlights right here:

Nine days.  Hundreds of competitors.  Thousands of spectators.  If you got the opportunity to visit Hunington Beach this past week/weekend, you’d know what I’m talking about.  The Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing attracted more than 40,000 spectators, and thousands more dropped in to watch online.  I was one of the many who (unfortunalely) was not able to make the trek to Surf City, but you bet I was there in spirit (and online).  The comp. was unbelievable, and so much talent was at stake.  But yesterday evening, after several rounds, the winners were finally announced.

In the men’s category, Hunnington Beach native Brett Simpson took the crown (but, more luringly, the prize purse o’ cash), defeating Mick Fanning in the final round.  (You might wonder what happened to Kelly Slater?  He did make it to the quarter finals, but sadly, his journey stopped there.  Surprising?  Perhaps.)  Read More.

In the women’s heat, Pac Sun rider Courtney Conlogue (a 16-year-old High School Senior-to-be!!) stole the comp.  Oh, and $10,000, of course.  Read More.

For some killer photos and additional details, check out the event coverage on Transworld Surf.

Though it’s Skate Week here at Westbound Boarder (Danielle has done an awesome job of giving you all the 123 of skating; so good that I won’t even attempt to pretend like I’m a pro skater ) it’s Surf Week in the Real World as the best surfers from around the globe are congregating in Huntington Beach this week for the Hurley U.S. Open of Surfing.  The event kicked off last Saturday, and brought big named surfers such as Kelly Slater (returning to the comp. after a five-year hiatus), Stephanie Gilmore, and Rob Machado to SoCal to compete for the biggest prize purse offered in any one surf competition – $100,000.

The first few days of the competition remained relatively calm, but the real fun starts today.  Of course, the surfing competition will continue, but there will also be numerous activities for spectators, including concerts (Tim Curren and Mat Kearney are a couple of the headliners), BMX biking, a Fashion Show, and numerous booths, so there are more ways than one to join the fun.  You can find a full schedule of events here.

In case you can’t make it to SoCal this weekend but still want to check out the event, thanks to modern Internet technology, you can!  The event will be streaming live on Ustream all weekend long, so either check out the stream below, or head on over to Hurley’s Ustream page to check out 24 hour live footage and tweets from the event.

*Photo Credit: Transworld Surf

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