Surfing has always been an activity I've wanted to try in my adult life. A major stumbling block in this endeavor, up to now, has been opportunity. Unlike skiing, surfing isn't something the novice generally designs a vacation around. At least I've never thought about it. I live reasonably close to the Delaware and Maryland Beaches but body surfing and sun soaking has always been the name of the game out there. That and I have yet to witness people getting any sort of instruction on the beach. Trust me, a good lesson is key.
Deb and I took a trip out to Barbados recently to visit a friend and stumbled upon a little free time during our last day there. Actually we had the whole day to ourselves and I pushed for surfing lessons pretty hard. My wife was quite nervous about the idea partly because she didn't know whether she could do it or not. I'll give you one guess who the better surfer turned out to be. It must be because she's shorter. By the way, this video is pretty much all you need to know about Barbados. Remember what I told you about a good lesson. Well, the instructor is a big part of that. I can't imagine a better guide than Jonathan (Jona) from Barry's Surf Barbados Surf School. He had us up on the board almost immediately. It was apparent after watching other instructors on the beach that we lucked out.
I picked this video because I think it best captures the proper technique to successfully stand up on a long board. That and it's the only video I had. The hardest part for me was remembering to look up toward the beach. Your tendency is the check out your feet placement after standing up but that will almost assuredly put you in the ocean. I'm a little wobbly there at the end but to my defense, it was my third time out that day and the sea was rough my friends. Well, rough for a land lover. Definitely something everyone should try at least once.
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