I cannot even begin to express how much fun it was. I adore being in the water, so simply getting to splash around in the ocean was exciting. The power of the waves was exhilarating. I was lucky to have private lessons with a super teacher, Fiona, who got me up in no time. By the end of the first lesson I had stood up on the board, which is far easier said than done. In the second lesson I was making progress, though that still meant more misses than not when it came to getting up on the board. It could hardly have been a lovelier setting though. The beach was almost deserted, Fiona and I were the only ones in the water and, to top it off, the sun was setting. The soft and subtle colours in the sky felt incongruous against the crashing water. It was almost too perfect - more like a movie set than real life. It brought to mind the ending of The Truman Show.
The third lesson was a bit of a set back. Previously, Fiona had been pulling me and my board out to the best waves but now I was deemed ready to do paddle myself. I'm a pretty strong swimmer, but paddling in the ocean is a completely different matter to swimming laps in the pool. By the time I'd get myself into a good spot, I didn't have quite enough strength left in my arms for the necessary explosion of my body into standing position once the wave came.
In the fourth lesson it all came together. It was a beautiful day, the waves were just right and I was getting some pretty good rides. When it was nearing the time to go in, Fiona was adamant that my last wave should be a good one. It took a few more tries but then I caught a corker. I was able to ride it right into the beach, a good 20 metres or so, by far the best I'd done in any of the lessons. It was a magnificent way to end. Having had to work so hard for it, having had so many previous failed attempts, made it all the better. It will surely rate as one of the best moments of my whole gap year.
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