Epic Lesson Yesterday

Yesterday's lesson was so epic I have to write about it. We will call my pupil "AC" for the sake of internet privacy. AC has taken lessons from a few different schools - in Costa Rica and in New York. She has her own board and suit and has given surfing a few gos on her own before contacting me for private lessons. The first two attempts we made at a lesson were gnarly to say the least. The first one the waves were 3-5 foot with 25 knot on shores. AC made it out the back a few times and took a few on the head with gusto, never losing the board except when close to shore. After about an hour we called it a day and rescheduled. Lesson two, two weeks later, was much smaller but the winds were even harder - probably about 35-40 knots with gale force out of the southwest. I thought, "Well when you're learning it's good to just catch a few whitewaters even if it's blown to bits." So we suited up and went down to the beach. The 9'6" red tank was like an airplane wing. It felt like some kind of Navy Seals training drill carrying it to and from the water. I started to doubt our plan, but New Yorkers don't have much time, so I figured for her sake and mine it was still worth a go. We tried catching a few whitewaters but it was so jumbled and chaotic that that ended shortly. Then we paddled out the back. The wind was so strong it was pushing us eastward so I had AC grab onto my ankle and I paddled us in. I pushed her into one wave which she stood up on and then we called it a session. On the way back we concluded that we'd keep a close eye on conditions for the third lesson. This means I'd text her an hour prior to heading out - so that I could be sure about winds and swell. Yesterday everything (except traffic) seemed to align perfectly. The cams were clear: 1-3 foot, light side shore, low tide going high. My fish is in ding repair so I just brought the red tank and AC brought her board - a 7'10" Al Merrick tuflite (surf tech). The was actually the first lesson that she had her own board - it was up in Boston the previous two. On those occasions she rode the tank and I was on my fish. This time it seemed best for her to get to know her board and if it seemed too small, she could hop on the tank and I could ride her board and get a feel for its strengths and weaknesses. The weather was nippy first thing in the morning, but by the time we got to the beach the sun was beaming and the temp seemed to get up to about 60 degrees. We did the obligatory surf check and to our delight saw empty peelers with light winds. Surf lesson on - we suited up both in our 3/2 full suits (no hood, no gloves, no booties), put on plenty of sunscreen, I donned my yellow surf lesson trucker cap, waxed the boards, and headed down to the beach. We went over more style points on the beach and I explained our strategy to AC: first we'll paddle out the back and practice more board control, then we'll head into the whitewaters, you'll catch a few, and we'll take it from there. She paddled out on her board and I on the tank. When got out the back we sat on our boards both relieved and stoked that it was not a kazillion miles an hour onshore. She was a bit unstable on her board but didn't have problems paddling it out. After twenty minutes of turning in circles we headed inside to catch a few. She did stand up a few times on her board but it didn't have the glide or the weight to carry her inside with ease. I made a decision: you're riding the tank. We switched boards and walked out into waste deep water. AC caught a white water, stood up and cruised all the way to shore. Stoked, but she was crouching a little too much and looked a little stiff. In an effort to undo a few bad surf lessons from previous schools and instructors, I suggested she try to surf parallel stance (both feet facing forward) on her next wave. This she did. It looked great. When she was walking back out I caught a few waves on her board and was reminded why I hate surf techs: they are way too light. It was not difficult for me to catch waves on per se, but I did have to use a ton of strength and forward momentum to get into them. When on the wave you ride too high and floaty, never really feeling your rail sink in the way you do on a fiberglass board. Also putting myself in the mindset of a beginner, this board is just too light for someone who is still developing their paddling abilities and wave judgment skills. The same size, the same shape, just in a big heavy fiberglass finish, and with a single fin instead of tri fin set up would be perfect. Probably wouldn't hurt to be about a foot longer too - anywhere from 8'6" to 8'10". No offense to AC on the purchase - there was at that point no way for her to know this. At any rate, it was clear that I'd keep AC on the tank for a majority of the lesson. After she came back out I coached her into a few more whitewaters. The cockroach crouch, like cockroaches themselves, is hard to squash. She definitely wanted to revert back to that, so I said, "On your next wave just try to stand as tall as feels comfortable while staying relaxed." And that she did and it looked excellent - like Daizy Shane at the beginning of Glass Love (well maybe not that good, but getting close!). We had to make a few adjustments to the way she started paddling for the whitewaters - off kilter to the right a bit - it just took a little more guidance from the outside right hand on the tail of the board. Since she was progressing so rapidly I knew it was time to learn to crouch with style (almost in the barrel stance, but not that exaggerated). We went onto the beach and I showed her the body movements for going from an entirely crouched to an entirely upright stance. It takes a lot of hip twist and flexibility in the back knee and ankle. Many people want the back knee to fold outwards, when what is really needed is for it to fold forward with the back foot sort of pivoted on the ball and toes - heel up just a touch. I went out and demonstrated on a few white waters. Then we went back out and she did it herself. From this point on the cockroach had been finally squashed. It was time for her to start paddling for and catching her own waves without standing in waste deep water. I asked if she wanted to try it on her own board, just to see. She said, "yeah," so we switched again, but it became readily clear that it wasn't going to happen after about 3 or 4 tries. Switched back. And she successfully paddled out, turned the board around from the sitting position, and stroked into a few, stood up, and surfed gracefully towards shore. Her feet were getting numb. The water was about 60 degrees. Still not cold enough for the full winter get up. I didn't get cold. Sometimes it's all about individual circulation. At any rate, it was time for her to catch her last wave. We came into the beach and I said, "You're going to paddle out on your own, judge your own wave, turn the board around, catch it and ride in. I'm staying on the beach to watch. You got it." This of course is the highlight of the session. She paddles out and sits down. I see a set approaching then I see her start to turn the board around. I'm thinking, "She sees it! She's going to go for it." She gets the board facing shore in one fluid movement, lays down and starts paddling. The wave has broken out the back and she catches the whitewater, stands up casually and surfs in, getting bobbled off close to shore. So rad. It is amazing to see this sort of progression in such a small time frame. Next up for AC is green waters, rail grabbing, and getting the pop up to be even smoother and faster. In a sense, the first two lessons weren't for nothing. If anything she gained valuable paddling and ocean knowledge, which set her up for such success this third go round. Every time I teach I seem to get a new insight into techniques I employ usually without thinking. The student forces me to make these techniques conscious to myself and thus I learn how to explain them clearly. Well that's the end of the surf part of the story. The drive back was bit traffic-y but it was cool to go over the session and AC taught me about her job in finance and about the crazy stock market, Bloomberg machines, and why you might want to invest should Greece default.

Fantasy Surfing Etc.

This is a pic I took of Owen Wright at the Quik Pro New York. This was on the first day of competition. I surfed down the way at Lafayette but it was completely mushy. Then I went and did the obligatory comp check. Was great to hear the fog horns - reminded me of the days when I used to compete. But then it started raining and the guys all looked like little specs of black and I realized that I was going to be really late for my 1pm meeting, which I was. I also realized that I prefer to watch the comps live online in high def with running commentary and instant replays. Otherwise I'd just rather be surfing. But I must admit that I am addicted both to surfing and to watching ASP world tour events online. If any of you reading this have taken a lesson with me, you know that part of the lesson is a complete explanation of the way pro surfing works and its history on the car ride home. And for those of you thinking of taking a lesson, well then, perhaps one of the benefits is said breakdown. I also play that dumb fantasy surf game because I think it makes watching the comps a bit more exciting. The stalwarts of my team for the latter half of the year are Owen Wright, Kelly Slater, Julian Wilson, and Gabriel Medina. The other four slots I just kind of mix up each event. It's not working for me that well - I started the year rated 1400th and now I've fallen to 1700th (at least it's out of 14,000!). I think this is due to the fact that I am horrible at stats. I always have a guy in the final but I lose a lot to friendly fire. At any rate, it's fun to play when you're as big as a surf nerd as I am. As for lessons, weekends are pretty open going into late October. Water is still 65 degrees. For those of you thinking Spring will be warmer - you're wrong! If you want to get in while it's not ice blocks out there get in now. You have about another month or so. Then it's hardcore only until June. But I am more than happy to teach you then.

Marine Layer Productions

Hello All!!! Wanted to share with you one of my favorite surf blogs: Marine Layer Productions. It's Dane Reynolds' surf blog and features awesome videos of him surfing and other random stuff. Was having a conversation with a student yesterday about surf style after finding out that the surf schools around here are instilling the cockroach style of surfing in their beginners (arms and butt sticking out, wide stance). I want this to stop! Keep your arms near your body! Watch Dane in the "Sperm Whale" video. Surf like that! Well we can't all surf like Dane, but there's no reason not to try to mimic his fun board approach. Dude's oozing style. Keep him on your radar if you aren't already.

Great shot of me cutting back against a Rockaway/Long Beach backdrop during Hurricane Katia's wonderful swell. This was the day they also held the final of the Quiksilver Pro. I was obviously too busy to watch it either live or on the computer. Photo by Meg Haywood-Sullivan. Check out her websites here and here.

More Scheduling Details

Sooo.....I'm planning on visiting my mother from October 2nd-5th. I plan to leave on Sunday afternoon, which means that I have lesson availability on both the 1st and 2nd of October. A few people have already expressed interest in the 2nd, but nothing's in stone yet. As far as the forecast is concerned, waves are looking in the 1-3 foot range for the weekend. All lessons that went out this weekend were awesome. Great weather, great waves, and lots of learning.

Surf Forecast Sept 20-Oct 6, Travel Plans, Etc.

Hey all! Thanks so much for your inquiries about the lessons. I've decided to add a surf report for this coming week. First of all, my first availability to teach would be this Friday at 8am. The surf is going to be in the 1-2 foot range, perfect for lessons. I am booked this weekend, the 24th and 25th, but for those who have scheduled, if you happen to check this, it is also forecasted to be in the 1-2 foot range, once again perfect for lessons. And on the outlook, well, the Surfline Lola prediction is for another week of 1-2 foot surf, and again, perfect for lessons. The water is in the high to mid 60s. I wore a 2 mil yesterday and was totally comfortable. It should be dropping as we head into fall, but we all should be fine in 3 mils until mid to late October. As for the first weekend in October, I am not sure if I'll be in town. My mom is coming to the East Coast (she lives in Tiburon, CA) to care of the house she owns in Baltimore, so I am probably taking a trip down to Maryland either Sept 26-28 or Sept 30-Oct 2 . I will be sure to update this as soon as I know for sure, as that definitely cuts into lesson scheduling, but I as I am sure you all concur, it is important to visit your mother. Well maybe I'll just speak for myself. But my mom drove me to all my surf competitions as a kid and has been supportive of me throughout, and now we live 3,000 miles apart, so I snap up any opportunity to visit with her. To sum up, the waves will be in the 1-2 foot range for the next week and a half, the water is still warm, and I have a few scheduling issues, which will be worked out asap.

Certification and Montauk

I forgot to mention: I am cpr certified. This is only kind of certification one can have as a surf instructor. There is no surf authority that bestows surf instructor badges. The other kind of certification might be beach permits or something like that - I don't have those but because my lessons are private and use a hard board, so we just look like two people out in the water - a friend teaching another friend to surf. Also I switch up location depending on swell and sandbars. Nice and low key. Also, I had a lot of inquiry about giving lessons in Montauk over the summer. I finally went up there and sussed it out. I found a few good places to give lessons and have a nice hook up on a cottage I can rent up there, but the price is going to be steep. For a lesson in Montauk it'll be $300 a pop per person. Still includes ride and all that, but in order for me to teach up there I have to pay for lodging and gas from NYC. If I lived up there full time things would be different. Even so, I'm down to do it, so if Montauk's your bag don't hesitate to set something up.