SURF CAMP

I'm back in Sydney now after what was one of the greatest weeks of my life! 

Monday morning I got a coach down to 7 Mile Beach in Gerroa with the rest of my crowd, and checked in to our bunks in a caravan park. After the initial talk we suited up (though it is sunny, the water is still pretty cold as we are only just in Spring over here), and headed down to the beach.

It's been so long since I surfed, and I never had a proper lesson, so I went completely back to basics and learnt from scratch, getting rid of all of my bad habits. We started off small on white water waves, working on balance and the correct pop-up technique. The Chicken Wing method is so much better than what I was doing; I always used to lose my balance and fall down.

Chicken Wing; push upper body up, back heel to knee with flat foot, straighten arms, step through with back foot into safety position, push off arms and stand.

Up at 7 for breakfast before the morning session, then a bbq lunch, rest and session 2. Then drinks and chilling into the evening. Quiet time starts at 10, so you either go to bed or to the beach, where the stars were incredible. I have never seen them so bright!

Just like everywhere else I have been to, the people at surf camp were great. The guys who ran it were so much fun and really great teachers. I learnt so much from them.

I learnt to turn left and right properly, and ride the wave to the side instead of straight forwards. We progressed onto green unbroken waves pretty early in the week, learning the easiest ways to paddle out back behind the impact zone. At first the guys were pushing us in to the waves, telling me when to paddle, when to get up. But I quickly got my head around it. I watched them judging the swell lines as they came in, saw when they would send someone or hold back. I got familiar with which bumps in the water were going to grow into a good wave, big or small, where they would break and where the best position was to catch them. And then it was game on. I caught green wave after green wave, and headed back for another with the biggest grin. 

There was only 1 afternoon, at low tide, when the waves weren't great. And then we just got silly and had fun. Practicing silly tricks; the coffin (lying on your back, hands crossed), driving the car (bit of mime work to keep it fresh), the golf swing (you get it...), 180s, and my personal favourite, the buddha.

 Two lessons a day, 3 hours each. By Wednesday I was starting to ache. By Thursday the bruises were showing and by Friday the friction spots were all red and bloody. I feel like I have spent a week in a boxing ring - my body looks like it too.