Dan's Papers - August 8, 2008 - Surfing sans Surfboard

Surfing has long been the one summer sport that continues to boggle my mind. The idea of a surfer paddling far out into the ocean to catch the perfect wave and "hang ten" has always fascinated me. However, it's the actual surfing part - standing up on the board, maintaining balance, and riding a wave - that's been the problem for me. That and I've seen too many news reports about surfers around the world (over the past summers) attacked by sharks for my liking.

For these reasons - mostly my own inability to stand on a surfboard and understand the surfing culture - I prefer to participate in water sports that don't require surfboards. Water sports or activities that take place in bays or lakes are always a plus because then I don't have to worry about my irrational fear of being the target of a shark attack.

Ever since I was a kid, bodyboarding or boogie boarding was my water sport of choice. The board is easier to carry and transport back and forth to the beach since it's much shorter than a surfboard and can fit in the trunk. Boogie boards are made with foam, so if they do happen to get slammed into a car door, it's not really a problem. They are also light and usually have a cord on the front, which connects to the wrist of the rider. I used to drag my board all along the beach rather than carry it, even though the cord is intended to keep the boogie board attached to you in the water.

For me, boogie boarding was the ideal activity as a kid. It didn't take lots of time to learn and I was able to stay relatively close to shore to catch the waves. The best part about the boogie board was that it was pretty cheap. Some boogie boards cost less than 20 bucks.

As I got older, it wasn't as cool to be boogie boarding, so I had to come up with a new plan. I decided to start bodysurfing whenever I went to the beach instead. This was even easier than bodyboarding because bodysurfing requires nothing except you and the ocean. I always savored the moment after I started swimming into the waves, stretched out my arms and was able to glide on top of that perfect wave and back to shore. Bodysurfing was only able to bring me to a certain point, until I knew I would have to go back to different types of water sports. But as you know, anything with a surfboard that risks a shark attack is out of the question. That's why I decided to look into other options.

Skimboarding was a little unusual when I first began because I had to get used to the concept of riding an outgoing wave rather than an incoming one. I had to learn to stand within running distance from the point of entry into the water with the skimboard and wait for the wave. I would then run towards the water when I saw the wave I wanted to catch, and then drop the board on a thin layer of water for the receding wave. However, most skimboarding days were spent with the skimboard coming right out from under me.

After the water beach sports proved too much for me, I decided to look into summer activities that would be a little bit easier for me. I discovered waterskiing, wakeboarding and kneeboarding. I can tell you right away, I asked for more than I could bargain.

My friend's dad took us out on his boat and tried to teach us the ropes. We started with waterskiing and I packed that in right away. I was never very good at skiing down the bunny slope when I was younger, so I knew waterskiing wasn't going to be my sport. The next two sports we tried were wakeboarding and kneeboarding. When I found out wakeboarding was a combination of waterskiing, snowboarding and surfing, I didn't even try.

Kneeboarding, however, was a little easier for me. I saw that my friend Brian was able to pick it up rather quickly and decided to test it out myself. Sitting on the heels of the board was a bit uncomfortable, but I felt safe with a strap over my thighs. I was able to hang onto the tow rope and felt that kneeboarding was a little bit easier than wakeboarding and water skiing, however not very much so. The best part about kneeboarding was that I felt closer to the water when I fell, which made me feel more secure.

The real thing I learned about these water sports and being in the boat was that every boat going out with wakeboarders and kneeboarders needs a driver. I've had my boating license since I was 10 years old, so I think I'm going to just stick to what I know for now. At least until I learn to balance myself on a surfboard, that is.