THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 15, 1994 TAG: 9407140050
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: THE WATER LOG
What can you do on the water in Hampton Roads? This is the last in
a weeklong series of firsthand experiences by staff writer Craig
Shapiro.
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 211 lines
EVEN IF the sign-in sheet had been correct, I'd still be senior moon doggie.
``Craig Shapiro. Age: 16.''
Brent Calhoun, who was running the surfing class, did a double-take. It was a hoot.
I'm not sure what my classmates thought. Virginia Beach Parks and Rec has been holding surfing lessons for 13 years, and they're always a big draw. Nine-year-olds take them. So do grandmas and granddads. Last summer, a mother and daughter learned together.
The first class of the first session of 1994 didn't have that mix. Instead, it looked like cotillion: Boys huddled over here, girls over there. Everyone 12, 13 or 14. Except the big kid. Thank goodness the last time I bought a suit - the jacket-and-pants kind - I needed one tailored to an ``athletic fit.''
Our athleticism was put to the test straight off, too. The first class is held in the pool at the Great Neck rec center, where everyone goes through a series of drills - a 50-meter crawl, treading water 15 minutes, swimming underwater 20 feet - before getting near a surfboard. Makes sense.
About the boards: Parks and Rec supplies them. And they're not the Fiberglas kind with stiff fins veteran surfers use; they're made out of the same spongy material used in bodyboards. That way, no one gets hurt. Makes sense, too.
Other than that, the boards are the real deal. Brent talked about the rocker (the concave part) and the rails (what you grip) and showed us how to fasten the leash (in back, on the ankle, of the leg that will be at the rear of the board). Before letting us go, he and Shane Jamison had all 10 of us paddle around the pool a few times just to see what it's like.
Brent also showed a future as a diplomat. The maps to Camp Pendleton that he was handing out, he told us all, were in case your parents didn't know how to get there or you were driving and didn't know either.
I appreciated that.
Here's news. Don't count on the surf at Virginia Beach. The program flier even says as much: Sorry! Waves cannot be guaranteed!
So when Brent greeted us the first morning at Camp Pendleton with word that it was ``a lake'' out there, no one was surprised. To tell the truth, that was OK by me. A baptism in the pipeline wasn't how I wanted to write chapter one in my endless summer.
That doesn't mean a lake can't be ridden.
Before starting out, though, we got together on the beach to go over a few more things, like when and where you can surf in Virginia Beach and that it's a $50 fine for not using a leash when you do it. We also met our instructor, who was David Dodd of Wave Riding Vehicles, not Brent and Shane. They'd be standing by the next five mornings with a first-aid kit and rescue float.
One of the first things David showed us was how to enter the water. Hold the board to the side. If you've got it out in front and a wave breaks, you'll get bonked. That was important, because it was time to get wet.
At 8 in the morning, no matter how hot it is outside, the water is COLD. But not for long. One of the best things about the class was starting the day with an hour in the ocean. It's a natural high.
So is watching a bottle-nosed dolphin cut the surface - or six brown pelicans, in a formation the Blue Angels would envy, skim the water.
Surfing is a rush, too.
Not that I got close to getting up that first morning. I never even made it all the way in on my stomach; the nose of the longboard kept going under, and me with it. Big deal. The idea of the class is to pick up the basic skills at your own pace. No pressure. But my dismounts, like the somersault that filled my trunks with sand, should have gotten points for creativity.
Switching to a shorter board the next class made a lot of difference. I got up on my knees several times, mostly because the board was easier to maneuver and the waves were better, breaking from the north.
That was me. Most of my classmates, fearless as only teenagers can be, were going for the whole thing - and getting it. Made me think of when I went ice-skating the first time. I was almost 20, hogging the rail at an open-air rink in Boston, when this kid started dancing around me. Backward. On the tips of his skates.
Hey, you got it, you flaunt it.
Which I did when we hit the beach for the third time. It was funny, too, because the weather that morning was the worst during the two weeks, gray and colder but with a steady southeasterly wind kicking up a decent surf. David talked about angling the board to the wave and using your back foot to maneuver, like you would on a skateboard.
And, as he did for every class, David was in the water with us, making sure everyone caught a wave. So I'm sure he saw me when I finally stood up. I didn't do it long, but I did it several times. My hip, knees, back and right elbow know all about my success.
True confession: The final day of class, I was feeling a little banged up. So even though I made a half-hearted stab at a few waves, the real attraction was in bobbing on the surface under an early July sun.
It also gave me a good vantage point when David asked if anyone was interested in an impromptu contest, the idea being a point would be awarded for each wave caught. Five guys took him up, and at the end, David good-naturedly declared a five-way tie.
But I know better.
Next to Jason Bowles, everyone else was a moon puppy. I watched him get up. I watched him work the board. He did it over and over. It was pretty neat.
And I'm not just saying that because Jason, who turned 15 the day before, was the second most-senior dude in class.
big kid. Thank goodness the last time I bought a suit - the jacket-and-pants kind - I needed one tailored to an ``athletic fit.''
Our athleticism was put to the test straight off, too. The first class is held in the pool at the Great Neck rec center, where everyone goes through a series of drills - a 50-meter crawl, treading water 15 minutes, swimming underwater 20 feet - before getting near a surfboard. Makes sense.
About the boards: Parks and Rec supplies them. And they're not the Fiberglas kind with stiff fins veteran surfers use; they're made out of the same spongy material used in bodyboards. That way, no one gets hurt. Makes sense, too.
Other than that, the boards are the real deal. Brent talked about the rocker (the concave part) and the rails (what you grip) and showed us how to fasten the leash (in back, on the ankle, of the leg that will be at the rear of the board). Before letting us go, he and Shane Jamison had all 10 of us paddle around the pool a few times just to see what it's like.
Brent also showed a future as a diplomat. The maps to Camp Pendleton that he was handing out were in case your parents didn't know how to get there or you were driving and didn't know either.
I appreciated that.
Here's news. Don't count on the surf at Virginia Beach. The program flier even says as much: Sorry! Waves cannot be guaranteed!
So when Brent greeted us the first morning at Camp Pendleton with word that it was ``a lake'' out there, no one was surprised. To tell the truth, that was OK by me. That doesn't mean a lake can't be ridden.
Before starting out, though, we got together on the beach to go over a few more things, like when and where you can surf in Virginia Beach and that it's a $50 fine for not using a leash when you do it. We also met our instructor, who was David Dodd of Wave Riding Vehicles, not Brent and Shane. They'd be standing by the next five mornings with a first-aid kit and rescue float.
One of the first things David showed us was how to enter the water. Hold the board to the side. If you've got it out in front and a wave breaks, you'll get bonked.
At 8 in the morning, no matter how hot it is outside, the water is COLD. But not for long. One of the best things about the class was starting the day with an hour in the ocean. It's a natural high.
Surfing is a rush, too.
Not that I got close to getting up that first morning. I never even made it all the way in on my stomach; the nose of the longboard kept going under, and me with it. Big deal. The idea of the class is to pick up the basic skills at your own pace. No pressure. But my dismounts, like the somersault that filled my trunks with sand, should have gotten points for creativity.
Switching to a shorter board the next class made a difference. I got up on my knees several times, mostly because the board was easier to maneuver and the waves were better, breaking from the north.
That was me. Most of my classmates, fearless as only teenagers can be, were going for the whole thing - and getting it. Made me think of when I went ice-skating the first time. I was almost 20, hogging the rail at an open-air rink in Boston, when this kid started dancing around me. Backward. On the tips of his skates.
Hey, you got it, you flaunt it.
Which I did when we hit the beach for the third time. It was funny, too, because the weather that morning was the worst during the two weeks, gray and colder but with a steady southeasterly wind kicking up a decent surf. David talked about angling the board to the wave and using your back foot to maneuver.
And, as he did for every class, David was in the water with us, making sure everyone caught a wave. So I'm sure he saw me when I finally stood up. I didn't do it long, but I did it several times. My hip, knees, back and right elbow know all about my success.
True confession: The final day of class, I was feeling a little banged up. So even though I made a half-hearted stab at a few waves, the real attraction was in bobbing on the surface under an early July sun.
It also gave me a good vantage point when David asked if anyone was interested in an impromptu contest, the idea being a point would be awarded for each wave caught. Five guys took him up, and at the end, David good-naturedly declared a five-way tie.
But I know better.
Next to Jason Bowles, everyone else was a moon puppy. I watched him get up. I watched him work the board. He did it over and over. It was pretty neat.
And I'm not just saying that because Jason, who turned 15 the day before, was the second most-senior dude in class. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BETH BERGMAN/Staff
One of the first things you learn in surfing class is how to enter
the water without getting bonked by the board.
Graphics
GETTING STARTED
The Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation offers
surfing lessons throughout the summer at Camp Pendleton.
Participants must be at least 9 years old and pass a swimming test
at the first class, held at the VBRC-Great Neck, 2521 Shorehaven
Drive. The fee is $24.
Classes meet three mornings a week for two weeks. Sessions are
scheduled Aug. 1-12 from 8 to 8:50 and 9 to 9:50 a.m.
Call 471-5884
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
I WAS LOOKING for several things when I mapped out this series.
Sailing, water-skiing, jet-skiing, kayaking, wind-surfing and
surfing - each a first-time experience.
I wanted to see if I could do it, and maybe enjoy it enough to
want to do it again.
The answer to both is yes.
But I was trying to make a bigger connection, with the water.
I did. In the span of a month, on our rivers, lakes, creeks,
inlets, Bay and ocean, I developed an appreciation I've never had.
I won't lose that connection again.
No more excuses.
Here's why:
I now own two bathing suits.
Craig Shapiro
by CNB