 |
| |
Learn to Surf in Barbados
|
Surfing is synonymous with the word "cool". The sport, the people, the whole culture, can be summed up into that one little word.
Ever since the Beach Boys went "Surfing USA" the sport has become something of a phenomenon transcending age, race, and class, and generations of the coolest of the cool have taken to the shores in the pursuit of the perfect wave.
Barbados has long been a favourite stop on any true surfing safari and many a wandering surfer has stood in awe of our sparkling seas. Thus, after living my entire life on this beautiful island and never having taken up the sport myself, I figured where better to begin My New Favourite Sport Search than with surfing?
Luckily for me I was able to drag two of my girlfriends along, since I was way too terrified to try this on my own. It's not like there are tons of female surfers here, and definitely not too many over the age of fifteen.
Needless to say, we were all a bit intimidated by those statistics when we first set foot on the beach. But our instructors, both of whom are something of superstars on the local circuit, were exceptionally encouraging and soon our anxiety was quelled.
We started with basic exercises on the beach like learning where to lie on the board, how to paddle, how to get up and once up, how to stand correctly. As beginners we were using long boards, which, as the name implies, are longer and wider than a regular board.
The extra surface area allows for more stability and so, is easier to learn on. Once through with the land exercises we headed for the water and practiced what we'd learnt on small waves close to shore, then the fun really began.
On my very first wave the board took a nosedive and I went feet over head, catapulting into the water. What a way to begin! Like I said, our instructors are superstars so any little problem I presented to them, they came back to me with a simple solution, and soon enough I was no longer nose-diving.
My friend also had their share of glory and defeat. One of them got up on the board quite quickly, but the staying up proved to be something of a problem. My other friend had more of a problem with the paddling, especially getting back out to the line up after having caught a wave. Not that she was alone in that department! Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, surfing is a fantastic work out.
Between the three of us, I would say we did incredibly well. We initially went into it as kind of a joke, kidding around about which one of us would do the worst. I think we were just a little shocked at how well we did and how easy, after many unsuccessful tries, with the right instruction, it actually is.
Now we try to go to a lesson once a week or thereabouts and are considering keeping it around for a bit. Could it be that I found My New Favourite Sport on the first try? I think not. Next month...... Yoga!
|
|
|
|
|
| Feedback and Reviews |
Back to: Surfing
Visitor Rating: 0.00 from 0 users
Information Assumed Accurate On: Feb 22, 2008
Rate This Article
|
Visitor Comments:
There are currently no comments available.
Submit a Review or Comment |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| Barbados Newsletter |
|
|
| |
|
