Surfing wake up call

[ragboy]

I forgot about these pictures, just loaded from my camera....

About a month ago, I had a scheduled trip back to SoCal with the whole family to visit my aging grandfather who partially raised me, and I am very close to. Ever since the kids started wakesurfing, they have always asked about what it was like to surf in the ocean when I was growing up. So before we left, I found a shop and instructor that was willing to take on 4 kids at 9am on a Sunday in Port Hueneme. Close to where I used to surf all the time in High School.

It was a great experience for the kids, and a huge wake up call. I told them it was MUCH harder, and catching a wave is both an art and a science. They believe me now. Especially RJ, who excels at anything ahletic, was humbled by the power of the ocean even with the small conditions. He did pretty good though.



Some beach instructions





Maddie posing



My youngest 2, kicking it, first time in the sand on the beach.



Some action shots













OUCH

[ragboy]

Some more

Maddie took one hard, and called it a night



Ashley is not as gifted as whitney and rj are, but makes up for it with tenacity. RJ says she has bigger balls than he does.









You can see the whole album here:

http://homepage.mac.com/ragboy/SurfLessons2007/

[Razzman]

Great pics Rags, I can attest to what your saying. I grew up in SoCal through high school surfing some of the best breaks SoCal has from San Diego to Huntington. I lived in Laguna and Newport and the area has some of the best waves on the coast. Unfortunately i moved north in 12th grade and never surfed again as it was so far away, oh well.

[Bibbs]

Great pics.We took surfing lessons as a family when we went to Hawaii and go surfing any chance we can.The kids love going to Hawaii to surf--no wet suits required.

[ragboy]

Great pics Rags, I can attest to what your saying. I grew up in SoCal through high school surfing some of the best breaks SoCal has from San Diego to Huntington. I lived in Laguna and Newport and the area has some of the best waves on the coast. Unfortunately i moved north in 12th grade and never surfed again as it was so far away, oh well.

Yeah, I grew up in Ventura county, and frequented county line and C street. Every once in a while some friends and I would head down south where you were.

[Moki]

Nice pics! I need to get my kids surfing in the ocean. It looks like they picked it up and did a good job at learning.

[Guest]

Right on, looks like fun. You always take the family on really fun excursions, that is awesome! How cold was the water, BTW?

My wife and I took lessons in Costa Rica this summer and I thought I would figure it out quickly since I can surf behind the boat. Man was I wrong, it was tough! I managed to ride a few small ones about 10 feet, but that was it. It kicked my butt pretty hard. I would have to spend a whole summer to get surfing down. The funniest part was that I got really sea sick from sitting on the board and waiting on the waves. I get motion sickness really easily, I have to take dramamine when I fly and I cannot sit in the back seat of a car or I feel terrible, so that rocking and a little salt water in the mouth did it. I had to take breaks and try not to blow chunks. Made the experience all the more difficult.

[Bibbs]

Right on, looks like fun. You always take the family on really fun excursions, that is awesome! How cold was the water, BTW?

My wife and I took lessons in Costa Rica this summer and I thought I would figure it out quickly since I can surf behind the boat. Man was I wrong, it was tough! I managed to ride a few small ones about 10 feet, but that was it. It kicked my butt pretty hard. I would have to spend a whole summer to get surfing down. The funniest part was that I got really sea sick from sitting on the board and waiting on the waves. I get motion sickness really easily, I have to take dramamine when I fly and I cannot sit in the back seat of a car or I feel terrible, so that rocking and a little salt water in the mouth did it. I had to take breaks and try not to blow chunks. Made the experience all the more difficult.

How do you ride in a boat when there is wakes?

[ragboy]

Right on, looks like fun. You always take the family on really fun excursions, that is awesome! How cold was the water, BTW?

My wife and I took lessons in Costa Rica this summer and I thought I would figure it out quickly since I can surf behind the boat. Man was I wrong, it was tough! I managed to ride a few small ones about 10 feet, but that was it. It kicked my butt pretty hard. I would have to spend a whole summer to get surfing down. The funniest part was that I got really sea sick from sitting on the board and waiting on the waves. I get motion sickness really easily, I have to take dramamine when I fly and I cannot sit in the back seat of a car or I feel terrible, so that rocking and a little salt water in the mouth did it. I had to take breaks and try not to blow chunks. Made the experience all the more difficult.

The water was about 65. Thats pretty bad sick on the board! ;-)

[Guest]

Luckily being out in the boat does not make me sick, but I think that is because we have a short boat ride to board and it is essentially a river that does not get that rough. I am either boarding or driving. That and I think it is more of a situation where the slow movement of sitting in waves or riding in a car on a twisty road that gets me than the boat ride. I think if I had to ride for like 45 minutes in chop AND I was not driving it could get to me. I do remember fishing with my dad when I was a kid and sitting in the back of the bass boat and we were sitting in some 3 foot swells and I felt crappy, I had to stand in the center of the boat so I was not moving up and down as much.

[Bibbs]

When I first became a paramedic I was worried about being in the back because I used to get car sick.Not very good if the medic is in the back throwing up! I never got sick and got used to it.Now I can perform all sorts of "duties" in the back as well as right out my paperwork.A little off topic but hey my family loves to surf.Back on topic.

[Lunchbox]

wow Rag... very cool... I hope your kids appreciate you taking them on such cool adventures...

[chpthril]

I would love to surf in the ocean We live only 4.5 hrs from the beach, but my Tige puts out a better wave then the Atlantic

[talltigeguy]

Could you adopt me please?

What a great excursion! Nice pics too. I tried surfing in Maui last spring and had a rough time of it. The wife picked it up right away, of course. Even just cruising in on my hands and knees was pretty cool, though.

[LovinPowell]

Nice pics, I can relate as well, as I surfed all the time as a kid. Living in Utah makes it kind of hard, but I still try it whenever I get the chance. I don't let my kids watch me though, that would ruin their impression of what a great surfer I am from the stories that I tell them.

Take them to Hawaii, and let them learn at Wakiki, the waves there are so long and soft that it makes learning unbelievably easy. So easy, in fact, that it doesn't give the real story of how hard it is, as your kids can now attest.

I tell my kids that I used to be this good: