The dreaded summer party wave...
I didn't start surfing until I was 18 years old. I was going to college in Florida and the guys I started hanging around with all surfed. I always wanted to learn how to surf so I thought, how hard could this be? Well, it was a whole lot harder than I anticipated. My buddies eventually helped me out but initially they gave me an old beat up longboard and said paddle hard. I survived the paddle out (barely) to only get worked trying to take off on wave after wave. This went on for quite a few sessions before my friends got tired of laughing at my epic wipe outs and offered me some real advice and tips. Slowly but surely I started to get it and eventually I was capable of not totally embarrassing myself.
That brings us to today where my talents have not progressed much further, but I still love every session. The point is that we all may not be tremendously talented surfers but we all share two things: 1. A love of surfing and being in the water. 2. A similar starting point where we all floundered to get to our feet. So as the breaks get crowded and the newbies start dropping in on you, remember your starting point and how difficult surfing can be. Then offer some advice, teach them the etiquette of the lifestyle, and make sure they respect others and the rules of surfing. By helping them become better surfers it will make everyone's summer surf sessions that much better. Surfing is a great lifestyle and I firmly believe the world is a better place when more people surf; so share a wave, share the love and remember, surf for fun!
-Eric, "The Professor"
Check out Eric's Blog directly: http://matadorsurfboards.blogspot.com