The corner of my eyes feel salty. My face is sunburnt. There’s water in my ears, and a wetsuit tan line is slowly in the works, a pendant I haven’t adorned in years. I am a born again surfer.
I’ve spent more time in the water in the past two months than I have in the past two years. That might be a stretch, but not by much. I feel fantastic. I have such an appreciation for surfing right now. The windy, less ideal conditions and sessions, surf shops, surf stories, surfboards, surf gear, everything is getting me high at the moment. It’s a great feeling to have.
On Memorial Day I had a marathon session – well over two hours, fun swell in town, and a river for a current. I caught a lot of waves. Witnessed my two good mates snag a couple of keepers. I took two nice digs, one in front of each of them. The arm windmills, trying to make it off the bottom after air dropping in too late; they were laughable highlights. The wipeouts would have been the peak of the session if not for Rudy. I think that was his name.
After fighting the current for most of the session, our group got a bit separated, as expected. I finally drifted down a bit, to the point of being ready to catch a wave in and walk down the beach back to the original paddle out spot. Walking along the shoreline trying to spot my friends in the lineup, my focus is broken, “Hey bro! Can I paddle out with you?”.
Rudy is a 12 year old kid from Texas. Just turned 12. His mom is embarking on a surf trip for him, with him, from San Diego to Tofino is what he told me. Maybe a birthday trip? Either way, what a mom. “I don’t usually paddle out by myself when the waves are this big,” he tells me as we walk down the beach.
Rudy’s passion for surfing was apparent. He told me he had already surfed earlier in the morning down in Dana Point. He’s been surfing for two years now; young love. He tells me about his boards size, though he’s unsure of the name of the shaper. “I got it from my friend because he got a new one from this place called Waco, Texas.”
When you’re 12 and from Texas, I would assume any kind of swell around here is double overhead in your eyes. As we strapped on our leashes I was trying to explain to Rudy that we should walk out in the shallows at an angle to avoid being swept down the beach from the get go. He didn’t care. We were in the water, and he was focused. There was a shallow sandbar about 30 yards off the beach where there were some inside waves reforming and dumping onto about waist high water. “Okay, we’ve got about two more out the back and we should be good to go..”
Already on his board paddling and in the wrong spot, I don’t think Rudy was listening. A waist high, true double-up smoked him as he attempted a duckdive, surely introducing him to the sandbar. I was about 10 yards back witnessing, jumped over the ensuing white wash with my board as a slight barrier. Coming up a bit red faced and shocked as I wade nearer him, Rudy gives me a thumbs up in reply to my questionably concerned thumbs up. All systems go. He proceeded to take one more wave on the head before we made it to clear water. I always prefer to get the worst out of the way early, shake the nerves.
Peppering me with a few questions as we paddle out the back, I wasn’t sure whether Rudy was excited or nervous. It didn’t really matter how he felt, he was out there to get some waves. His focus and determination was very evident. Each wave that came through he was eyeing like a hawk. Even if I would turn around to have a look at it, Rudy would have gone if he wanted that wave. It was really cool to see.
Rudy reminded me of myself as a youngster. Started surfing a little late, in comparison to most of my counterparts. At least that was my situation, but I grew up in a “surfing town”. Maybe Rudy is early to the culture down in Texas. One thing I have no doubt about, Rudy will be surfing for as long as he can. He was bitten by the bug, and the passion is just now flourishing. It was contagious. Not that I hadn’t been stoked on surfing recently, but Rudy threw some fuel on my fire.
I’m pretty sure Rudy caught at least 2 waves. As I said there was some swell and a strong current. I had my eye on him as much as possible – I did feel a bit responsible for him – but I was also trying to catch a few waves. I also saw his reaction to getting a bit pounded on the inside, and I knew he could handle himself, even if he was a little uncomfortable. It reminded me to enjoy surfing. Not to be so “familiar” with surfing. Not just trying to go out and get a couple waves on break, but to really relish and revel in the entire ordeal. Putting on the wetsuit, analyzing conditions and lineups, feeling the salt all over your skin once you are dried off and out of the water, the little things about surfing. After all, I could paddle out tomorrow and only catch two waves. Surfing is not all about surfing – that is, the activity is not all about the action. It’s everything that comes with it. Cherish it, as Rudy does.
Cheers,
hwilsin