Surfing Lessons – Day 2

       

 

The alarm went off and we slowly rolled out of bed for our second morning of surfing lessons. Click here for our article from day one.  Pamela was having a hard time lifting her cereal bowl and was seriously doubting her ability to get in the water. Fortunately for us her arms started feeling a bit better and we were out the door to meet Graeme, our Soulrider surfing instructor, at the beach in South Durras.

An empty half moon shaped beach at South Durras was calling our name. It will be hard to go back to the very crowded beaches of Sydney or Los Angeles after spending so much time at these untouched gems of beaches here on the South Coast of New South Wales. The smaller waves were perfect for today’s lessons of paddling out and catching waves in deeper water.  Prior to paddling out we reviewed popping up and standing styles to correct some of our errors from lesson one. Several practices under our belt we strapped on our leash and paddled out into the blue, more like green, water of the Tasman Sea.    

          

The first few waves were definitely warm up and just refreshing or memory from the day before. It wasn’t until Graeme called out a challenge to see who could ride a wave the longest that Pamela and I both caught the same wave together and rode it into the beach.  Riding the wave together was so much fun, I really think we’re hooked on this sport. Pamela ended up riding that wave all the way back to the sand and therefore won that competition. From there it was paddling out to try for wave after wave. Thankfully we took some breaks relaxing on our boards and having a good chat waiting for the next set of waves to arrive. Graeme caught a bunch of waves to show us how it’s done and was always there providing tips, and sometimes a nudge to get us on the wave.

After about two hours of lessons we had each caught quite a bit of waves and felt a lot more comfortable out in the surf. The hardest part at the end was trying to get our weary muscles to push up on the board to stand-up. The lessons from Graeme at Soulrider have really paid off, his lessons have really provided us with what we need to know to go out on our own and start surfing. If you're looking for surf lessons on the South Coast we'd highly recommend Soulrider. We’re both excited to surf again and have started looking at purchasing wet suits of our own with the hopes of surfboards in the near future.

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave

Surfing Lessons – Day 1

Totally exhausted but very happy. That’s how we felt just after our first surfing lesson. Pamela and I have decided that since we’re planning on living the beach here in Australia that we should learn how to surf. We’d heard it was great exercise but had no idea just how exhausting it was going to be.

Pamela catching one of many waves

We kicked off the first of our two lessons on a beautiful Monday morning in the small beach town of South Durras on the South Coast of New South Wales. We hadn’t seen the sun in seven days and were beginning to get cabin fever so the surfing and sun couldn’t have come any sooner. Situated about twenty minutes north of Batemans Bay, the small town (pop 400) of South Durras, looks to be more beach that anything else. Large, empty beaches line the coast here and we couldn’t think of a better place to learn to surf.

Having a great time trying not to fall off

Having a fun fall

We met our instructor Graeme, from Soulrider Surf School, beachside at 10:00am. A bit nervous, Graeme’s chilled out demeanor put our minds at ease as we put on our provided wetsuits, grabbed some foam type boards and headed to the sand. With the sun shining on our faces we practiced popping-up/standing on our boards again and again with Graeme demonstrating then providing feedback on our techniques. Confident that we got the pop process, we headed out to the waves. As this was the first lesson we simply held onto the leash and walked the boards out to keep them pointed in the right direction. From the beach the waves looked a bit small but as we walked out the waves seemed to loom larger and larger.

Dallas showing us how it's done

Once in the surf, Graeme helped us by telling us when to jump on the board, telling us when to paddle and telling us when to jump up. For the first few waves he even helped us by holding the back of the board to keep it straight. Catching the first few waves sounded like this Paddle-Paddle-Paddle-Paddle, Up-Up-Up-Up. Within the first few minutes all three of us had stood up on boards and caught a wave. Standing up for the first time was such a great feeling. Over the next 90 minutes we practiced catching waves until we could no longer lift ourselves off the board. Our arms felt like they had anvils attached near the end there and we were relieved to pull our boards in for the day. It was a great first day of surfing and we definitely got what we came for. Up next, day two!

Dallas, myself and Pamela completely buggered from our first lesson

More photos from our first day of surfing can be found on the Soulrider Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.197471743691952.35561.142365005869293&type=1

Cheers for Now –

Pamela and Dave