The most fun you'll have wearing yourself out!

I spent Monday at Emerald Isle, North Carolina with my new friend, surfing guru Art McMurtrey. He guided me through a morning of surfing with the patience of Job, having done this billions of times.

I have always wanted to try surfing, watching people do it on tv and movies and thinking of how cool it must be. I moved to the NC coastal area last year, and have since then been wanting to try surfing. Having said that, it's not a mid-life crisis, no matter what my lovely bride tells you!

So I browsed the various sites that offer surfing lessons in the area, and decided to hire Art since he primarily does small families and individuals, no large classes. That's what appeals to me, while I know that some people would rather be in a class-class. That's fine too, but for my money, let me just say Art's lesson was personal, tailored, and included the rash guard, board rental, even the sunscreen. If you add all those items up with another surf school with the other guys, you'll pay more and not get attention since you'd likely be one of 15-20 people.

My first revelation was that this is a LOOOOOT harder than it looks. Experienced surfers can be found in my area just about every day, making it look so easy. Well, perhaps once you understand the subtle nuances of how to adjust your center of gravity and such, maybe it is easy. For me, it was lots of work, paddling out and trying to stay on the board and in control. My respect for good surfers is greater now, and I have a better grasp of what they actually have to go through to get where they are. I used muscles I didn't know I had, got my butt kicked by waves and the board, and exhausted myself. And you know what? Despite being severely whooped, I loved every minute. If anyone chooses to learn this amazing sport, consider Art's class at Emerald Isle, North Carolina. His web site can be found at

http://www.eisurfing.com/artie.html

He is very reasonable, and will work with you even if you are not 19 years old and 100 lbs. And for the record, I actually got up a few times, but the longest I lasted was maybe 4-5 seconds. So, it's something like 95% work for the 5% of fun. But you can liken it to visiting a water park. You might stand in a line for 30-40 minutes, climb a gi-normous set of stairs, then enjoy a plunge that takes 2-3 seconds. How fun is that? Not much in my book. With surfing, you are in charge of how well it goes. And with a good no-nonsense instructor, you could become a "shredder" in no time.