9/05/10 Ring Ring… Who’s There? The Ocean

Yes, the ocean was calling.  It was lonely and it wanted us to come and visit.  Apparently the Taiwanese didn’t visit her often enough because of their aversion to the sun.  I don’t know if I’ve already mentioned this, but tanned skin is still widely associated with poverty and the working class since it was traditionally the poor who worked outdoors as labourers in the fields.  You’re more likely to find Taiwanese at a covered outdoor or indoor pool than in the ocean.

Our first surf outing was a letdown…not a wave to speak of.  But today was different, plenty of ocean motion.  I decided to forego the intermediary step of a waveboard and rented myself a surfboard.  With a minimum of instruction I paddled myself out to the waves.  I thought “how difficult could this be?”  I’ve done well at plenty of sports that hinged on balance, this should be no different.

After a couple of failed attempts to catch a wave I was told I needed to paddle harder, and by harder they meant furiously hard.  Before I knew it and in one swift motion I was standing on the board; first try!  It didn’t last long, maybe all of 5 seconds, but I was hooked.  The Beach Boys started playing in my head… “Catch a wave and I’m sittin’ on top of the world”.

Quick and undeserved success has a way of deceiving you.  What you thought was the result of skill turns out to have been dumb luck.  Life is funny (and cruel) that way.  I struggled to repeat my early performance let alone improve on it.  The failures were taking their toll: a nose full of salt water; a gulp of the ocean so big I wouldn’t have to salt my food for a week; tenderized ribs (Mmm ribs.  The fat guy in me will not be silenced.); and then my arms gave out.  It had been less than 40 minutes and I was spent.  Time for a rest.

I watched the others to see what I was doing wrong.  Many of the surfers just sat out in the water waiting.  Waves that looked good to me were ignored by them.  I don’t know if they were just resting up or if they were waiting for the perfect wave but I did learn that I would have to be more patient out there.  After all, at the very worst, even if you miss your perfect wave, you’re still floating out in the ocean relaxing in the sun.  Even if I was drowning in surfing failure, I would still be basking in life.

I paddled out once again to meet the group.  I must have chosen a bad time because the waves kept breaking in front of me and pounding me back to shore.  It felt like an eternity later but I finally found my place among the group beyond the break.  I waited; and I waited.  I even let a few “perfect” waves pass me by.  Then I saw it, my wave (cue Soundgarden) I paddled furiously and then furiously…er…est.  I was in it now and was on my way to standing when the nose of the board dipped into the water.  I went down hard, very hard.  Tumbling end over end and smashing my head into the sandy bottom if only to add insult to injury.  And on and on it went; failure after failure after failure.  Getting close to standing but always chickening out because I couldn’t find my balance.  The trick, I was told, was to skip past the part where you kneel on the board and proceed straight to standing.  Why find your balance twice if you only have to do it once?  I’d try it after my break on shore.

Space's wave (click to view)