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Well then, we thought since we are in Surfers Paradise, we had better try some surfing out! LOL so yesterday afternoon we took a two hour lesson with 'Cheyne Horan School Of Surfing'!!!!!!
We all got dressed into our gear and in pairs we carried our bright yellow boards to the beach. There were two instructors, a Japanese man and an Australian man, who looked exactly how you would expect a surfer to be.
All sat in a circle, with the Japanese man in the centre, we began some stretches, arms and legs in the air in all kinds of awkward and funny looking positions, we must have looked a sight! LOL!
Afterwards we were put into two separate groups, we were both put in the beginners with the Australian instructor, he started by explaining some of the basics to us. Parts of the boards have different names, the front is called the Nose, the flat top part of the board is called the Deck, the end is called the Tail and finally the sides are called the Rails. There are two types of waves, green waves and white waves, white being the broken ones. He said ' If you try and catch a green wave, it won't work and everyone on the beach will laugh at you! Lol so catch a white wave' so we had an audience! No pressure eh! LOL!
Now we understood the basics, we had to try some of the practical stuff on land. He had us all lay down on each of our boards and get into the correct position for catching a wave, before you stand up. When he was happy with our techniques he sent us all out into the water!
The clouds had covered the sky, so no real chance of burning and the waves were between half a foot to one foot high. When the water was at about waist high, we turned our boards round to get ready to catch some waves! Three, two, one! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee lol it was so much fun! And not as difficult as we thought, however we hadn't learnt how to stand yet! :S
After what seemed to be only a short while, the instructor called us all back in with the signal of holding one arm up high. We had all learnt how to go in a straight line whilst riding a wave, but not how to turn left or right! Which could be quite important if you are heading towards a swimmer or another surfer! Lol Again, we tried this on land and off we went, back into the water! I seemed to like turning right, which was always in the direction of another surfer! Lol but no accidents so far thank god:) However, just when I thought it was safe, I turned to watch Ian catching a wave, he lost control of the board and it rolled over into my leg! Fantastic! Lol Oh well, at least it wasn't my head! :P
We got called in again, now for some standing! It was quite good exercise on land, lying on the boards, leaping into the correct position. Balance and upper body strength is definitely a must to be any good at surfing! We were both really eager to get into the water and give it a try!
All rushing into the crashing waves and getting to a good spot, we waited for a wave. One was on its way, I got ready! Got onto the board, I had caught the wave! Gosh! Now what do I do!? Oh yeah! I pushed myself up and got my feet on top of the board! I was standing! Well kinda :S it was a bit wobbly but it was a start! There was a photographer on the beach taking photos for us all, I looked right at him cheering! Lol but, surprisingly, I lost my balance and fell in! Lol Quickly I got the stinging water out of my eyes and head back out to catch another wave.
Ian was enjoying himself, he was a little unsteady on his feet at first like all of us, but after much practice, he was getting more confident and looking very much in control!
The instructor called us all back in again to explain some safety precautions. We were made aware of something called a Rip and Sharks, apparently there are sharks nets 500m out to sea! Oh good I thought, they are a long way out and there is no way I am swimming that far!lol We had another 20 mins remaining in the water, which was chaos! individual surfers and classes filled the designated area. The water was getting a little more rough too, with the waves getting more frequent, but we still enjoyed ourselves and made it out alive! :)
When we had finished our lesson, we were all awarded a certificate each to prove we had completed our beginner's level.
Overall a fantastic activity we would both love to try out again, we are nearly ready for the 20 foot waves now! ;) LOL!
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