PRIMA DONNA ON A SURFBOARD...

How one girl went from amateur to diva in one weekend
By Catherine Meza

Have you ever seen something cool and adventurous on T.V. and thought, “Wow, I’d love to do that”? No, I’m not talking about the ones that say “Don’t attempt this at home.” I mean the shows in which someone attempts a new hobby, whether it’s rock climbing, knitting, scrapbooking, or rugby.

More than a year ago, the Fine Living channel aired an episode featuring a restaurateur who wanted to take up surfing. I was lucky enough to catch this show because my boyfriend has Tivo (a genius invention), which is set up to record anything with surf, surfing, or surfer in it. In the episode, a thirty something woman was hooked up with a surf camp located in San Diego, Calif. called Surf Divas – a surf camp run by women, and for girls and women of all ages.

As soon as I heard about that, my ears perked up and my mouth began to salivate. The woman looked like she was having a great time, and I thought, “San Diego isn’t that far. I think Surf Divas would be perfect to help me learn how to surf.”

As soon as the episode was over, my boyfriend and I immediately went online to find more information about Surf Divas. We learned that for the past ten years, Surf Divas has been teaching numerous females how to surf – from weekend clinics to private lessons to boarding schools. They provide the necessary equipment, such as wetsuits, boards, and rash guards. I was immediately smitten and swore that I would soon experience this myself.

My boyfriend was excited for me, but also a little bummed because he had been my surfing teacher for the last two summers. I reassured him that he is a patient, motivational, and non-pressuring teacher, but I always experience the need to impress him, not to mention, I feel like a tool with him pushing me into waves like I was 12 while surrounded by a bunch of men.
Then I explained that surfing with females would allow me to relax and feel more like “letting go” in the water (no, that wasn’t a reference to relieving oneself in the wetsuit). He immediately understood - which is why I love him!

Months passed as I tried to secure a foursome of gal pals to experience the trip and split hotel expenses with, but due to a slew of unfortunate events, one by one they all fell through at the last minute. Needless to say, I was quit bummed at the loss of fellow surf divas, but thankfully, my best friend pulled me back up and said even without my friends to keep my company, there would still be plenty of girls to surf with, meaning I wouldn’t be alone.

After I ended my pity party, I realized she was right and that I shouldn’t let my yearlong desire go to waste. She offered to still come with me to San Diego and said she would watch me surf and take pictures. Her friend met up with us while we were down there, so there were still three of us to share a hotel. It wasn’t perfect, but at least I was going to still get the Surf Divas experience.

For the first day, my best friend and I got to the beach early to survey the situation. The beach was packed and the waves were overhead, which are big from a beginner’s perspective. We found our area and I put on my full suit (not exactly a popular choice in our group). After all 15 girls arrived three instructors greeted us.We went through introductions and then the instruction began.

The ten rules were reviewed, such as do the stingray shuffle, keep your board to the side, lift the nose over waves, and don’t chew gum. We geared up and chose a foam board. The girl in me selected the light pink longboard. We practiced pop-ups, which I have done plenty of times, and the girls learned their footing. I’m still goofy!

After several minutes of practicing, we balanced the boards on our heads and headed several hundred feet down the beach to a clear location. It’s amazing how heavy a longboard can be when your boyfriend isn’t carrying it!

The instructors assigned themselves to each group of five and we ventured into the water doing our stingray shuffle. I was impressed at the clean and clear water. We were told to stay in the whitewater and I waited for my instructor to push me into a wave. I finally got my chance and as I attempted to stand up, I felt that riding the whitewater is quite a different sensation then riding waves. After I ate it and recovered I charged back out and waited for my turn again, which never came.

Once I realized that my young instructor wasn’t going to be much help beyond making sure we didn’t get pushed out by the current, I had to find my own motivation to tackle the waves. I thought, “Well, no one is here to make you do it, so you’re going to have to do it on your own.” I pushed the self-doubt away and started going for it.

Time after time I would pop myself up to a crouching position, but hesitation was my enemy. By the time I stood up, the ride would be over and because there wasn’t any momentum, I would fall off the board. This happened repeatedly.
When I explained this to my instructor, she said I needed to pop up faster. She pointed out a teenager who was already looking like Bethany Hamilton.
I exclaimed, “Oh sure, I’ve got 15 years on her! Of course she can get up faster.” A fellow thirty-something surfer overheard this with much delight and said, “I’m so glad someone said something to that effect!”

I tried popping up quicker, but I only had two waves left before we were called into shore. Although I got a little closer to what resembled a standing position, I still didn’t quite have it. I carried my board back slightly defeated.
Self-doubting thoughts of “I’ve been practicing for three straight summers, I should be further along than this” kept spinning through my head. I reminded myself I still had another day of practice with Surf Divas.

During our wrap-up session, the instructors reflected on their students and I earned the nickname “Crouching Tiger” because of the way I was riding the waves. I wasn’t sure if that was flattering or not.

The next morning I put on my still soaking wetsuit with a bit of determination. Again, we spent half the session on the sand, which I was slightly disappointed about. I was anxious to get back into the water!

The instructors had us do several stretching exercises because we were all sore from the day before, then they spoke about surfing beyond the break and what to expect. They didn’t anticipate us venturing out beyond the whitewater, but wanted to inform us of what to do and not do.
I was appreciative of the information; however I had no interest in surfing overhead waves. We were given a demonstration of what to do if we encounter a wave too high to paddle over – turtle and duck diving. The instructors also talked about surf etiquette, such as the lineup determining whether you get to catch the wave. This was all information I knew, but it was helpful to have a refresher course.

Finally, we carried our boards to our spot in the water, and I knew not to rely on anyone to get me started on the waves. The first few waves I attempted never happened because I was paddling too soon, which meant they never caught up to me.
It took three waves to realize I was being overzealous on the paddling. Then I made my way over to the other side of the spectrum by not paddling fast enough and was overtaken by a few waves. It took several tries to find that “just right” level of paddling but I was still struggling with getting to a complete standing position.

Thankfully we had a floater instructor, who saw my increasing frustration and offered her assistance. She pushed me into a few waves, and I began to get a little closer to my goal. Before my last wave she offered the helpful advice of placing my hands against the board rather than gripping the rails to push myself up. I felt I had more oomph with the change of hand placement and I got “this close” to riding a wave standing up. I felt that if we had had more time in the water, say ten minutes, I would have gotten it.

The last few waves with the floating instructor helped build up my confidence and I walked out of the water craving some more. As I carried my board back to camp with my tired, noodle arms, I made myself a vow that the next time I went surfing with my boyfriend I would show more independence and paddle into my own waves. The training wheels and the water wings are coming off! To hell with the male surfers around me, they’ll have a surf diva to contend with and she’s going show them what Gidget began forty years ago.