session I 2009

Well yesterday was International Surfing Day and although I did not get to go surfing, I did enjoy the day knowing that a handful of young people could enjoy the day for the first time as Surfers.



The first session of camp for the summer was our Beach Week day camp . We had a great week of weather of which we took full advantage by body boarding, body surfing, swimming, surfing, and playing beach games, the favorite of which was of course bocci.





It was a fun week for me as well as I got to work with my best friend in the World - Lee, an Aussie who I met during an epic two month stop in Nias (a little island off of Sumatra in Indonesia) while traveling around the world back in 1996 -97. Lee and I hit it off instantly with our common interests of music, surfing, and loving life and shared some epic session in Nias - including the biggest swell of the year, pioneering spot "X", and two midnight full moon sessions where we were getting crazy moonlit tuberides! Ask us about that sometime! Anyway Lee is now traveling the world again and is bringing his ripping surfing, conscious vibe, and positive attitude to Xing Boarders.




One of our campers, Sam has surfed a bunch with his dad so he was on it from day one. In fact with the south swell pumping on Monday and Tuesday, Bolinas was firing and Sam caught some of the longest rides I have ever seen a camper get while surfing the right at Sea Drift which was all time. At one point while collecting shells with the other campers I looked up to see a boy catch a set on the outside and proceed to ride it all the way into the very inside. I figured it was Sam and pointed him out to the kids around me. The wave kept on going and going and Sam gut and turned and glided his way perfectly down the line. Lee, who was surfing with him, said other surfers in the water asked if Sam was his kid. Lee told them no and they said "well he is ripping!"





Then we had returning campers Sofia and Michy who both knew just what to do and who wasted no time getting waves. Sofia especially made huge strides in getting back into the groove of surfing and was ruling by the end of the week. And of course Michy was keeping everyone laughing.



We had cameo appearances by two older siblings/xing boarders veterans: Ben and Phoebe. Both of them represented for the old school by popping right up and surfing with style. Ben deserves special recognition for charging the closeouts on the outside and getting some brutal wipe outs.





And of course we had our new campers, the latest addition to the surfing community. Matt, Kate, Mya, Eva, and Olivia.




Matt was dedicated from day one to try and learn to surf, despite the challenging conditions at Bolinas in the beginning of the week. He had his breakthrough day at Stinson and was charging - paddling out, flipping around, catching waves, popping up, and riding to the beach. He got it.




The girls were having so much fun body boarding and swimming the first couple days some of them actually said they were not going to try and surf. One said "surfing is just not my thing". Boy was she wrong. On the first day one of the girls set the tone for the week by saying saying: "this is so much fun, and it is only the first day!" They each had their share of wipe outs in the Bolinas shore pound but all shook it off, smiled, and went back for more - a requirement if you're gonna be a surfer.



Stinson proved to be the magic spot. The ground swell running from the south was providing perfect smooth whitewash that pushed all the way to the beach. We insisted everyone tries a surfboard first and then if they want they could go back to a body board when they chose to. They all stood up and surfed waves all the way to the beach. Mya made it look easy with her cat like poise. Eva, the gymnast, had no problem popping up and getting her balance. And Kate had the cool style which reminded us of the pictures of the ancient Hawaiians surfing Waikiki.





Friday the ground swell was gone and we were left with a junky wind swell. This proved to be challenging to surf due to the fact that the weak wind swell would break and then die back out soon after we caught the waves, and then reform again on the inside providing for some solid wipe outs (right Eva?) This day reminded us that the conditions are always changing and you do not get perfect waves all the time. A frustrating part of surfing but also something that makes it unique and makes you really appreciate when it is perfect.



Of course I cannot fail to mention the daily question "Can we stop at the Parkside today?" I make sure not to say yes everyday simply to try and teach them that buying junk food (as good as the ice creams and fries are) is not the goal of the day and in fact does not help one become a great surfer (quite the opposite in fact).



What a way to start the summer!