Here I am, 11:30 pm, Sunday night, sitting in my bed, exhausted after 16 hours of active surfing over the weekend, yet cannot wait to pour out all the inspirations that hit me in the past two days.
There were amazing waves, a great book, and many miraculous moments of self-discovery and inspiration. It is simply the best solo weekend I have ever had, hands down.
Day 1
Although very much pumped by the surf forecast, I was still surprised by how promising the waves looked from the beach. I guess we just have not had legit waves here for too long that I almost forgot what surfing should be like. And finally, along with the first hint of winter comes the surfing season in Dongchong, the beach that literally saved my soul last winter with its faithful winter swell breaking into perfectly shaped front-hand waves.
“Baby, Dongchong is back!” I whispered excitedly to myself when checking the condition.
Just like every single time, joy instantly filled up my entire body the moment when my toe touched the water. But this time, I loved particularly that the water was cooler, reminding me of the cold water in LA that gave me goosebumps even in summers. That was my first and sweetest feeling about surfing.
The rest of the day was loaded with great waves and rides. My 7’ board was such a star, super easy to paddle, balance and accelerate. It didn't take long for me to realize how differently I rode this board now compared to last year. I remember vividly that, back in 2021, although I could catch waves, at least more than half of my paddles ended in nose-diving, and I could not really go down the line much. Also, I would look at those long-boarders on big waves and wonder how they cruise over the white water area.
Now, I could surf like that myself. I found myself with much better control of my board, much more confidence to handle bigger waves, popping up at angle and going down the line almost every time, staying on the upper 1/3 of waves, and even pulling off mini pumping on the wave face. Also, I didn’t bail in front of the roaring white water even once. I turtle-rolled. Seriously, I was doing almost everything I wish I could have done on my board a year ago. Same old spot, new and better Annie.
It cannot be overstated how empowering this moment was when I realized that I brought myself to the next level through a year of learning and practice. I didn’t even explicitly set a goal for myself or felt any mental struggle through the process. But with love, passion, and constant investment, I became someone I would look up to a year ago.
Don’t get me wrong. I am still at the beginner level in the wide spectrum of surfing skill levels. Any experienced surfer would know how basic those tricks I just bragged about are. But I would not let this stop me from appreciating my own hard work and celebrating the teeny-tiny improvement. It is one thing to get others’ validation of my achievements, which I really enjoy too, while another to see in fact that I am capable of more and better.
I could barely recall when was the last time when I felt a sense of satisfaction like this one. It’s such a good reminder that it’s never too late to learn, and that I will get paid back for whatever I pour my heart and soul into, sooner or later.
I really felt like the boss of my life today. This is just one of the many ways how surfing saves my soul.
Day 2
Another good day in Dongchong. I had a fun and easy morning session on my 7’ board. Towards the end, another girl, the best local female surfer and shortboard rider, told me that I had improved a lot and would be ready to try a shortboard. I surfed shortboard a few times before, and actually brought one with me today. However, because I failed miserably on the 5’10 before and my 7’ worked like a charm now, I was hesitant to move to the more advanced board, afraid of going through the frustration all over again.
But I always wanted to ride short boards. And now she thought I could do it. So I made up my mind to give it another try. You could easily tell that my confidence level was not there. I expected to get set back to the very beginning, learning how to catch waves on a short board. That’s just the typical learning curve for surfing, the same cycle of frustration every time before leveling up.
I had my lunch, and went back in with the short board, ready for a shameful afternoon of not catching anything. But when I started to paddle in, something felt different.
I paddled on this board OK before, but never as efficient as on my funboard, and would lose balance occasionally. But it felt much more stable today. I found the sweet spot to position myself instantly and paddled powerfully. The board carved through the surface of the water and quickly reached where I wanted to be. It felt almost the same as my funboard. What a nice small surprise. 10 points to my confidence level.
And here came a wave. I was pretty sure that I was at the right spot to catch it. Yes I got noticeably better at reading waves too. So I arched my back up and paddled strongly for it. The next second, I felt the board tail lifted and the entire board got pushed down and forward by the powerful wave and the magical gravity. I caught it. No nose-diving. No slowing down. I caught it.
Before my next thought, the muscle memory helped land both of my feet on the board. I popped up. Before I comprehended all that just happened, I move a tiny little bit down the line, but quickly lost speed, therefore got swallowed into the white water breaking right behind me.
I was totally OK with it though. More precisely, I was way beyond OK. I was thrilled after realizing what just happened. I rode the very first wave I paddled for on this shortboard, and it felt just like my funboard! Compared to my previous performance on this board, it was like a miracle! Just to make sure it was not luck, I tried a few more waves, and they all felt the same. I could catch waves and pop up on the shortboard just like on my funboard now!
Among all the great moments this weekend, this is definitely the biggest confidence booster. I did something that I, or no one, thought I could easily do. But I did it. The long frustration I daunted was not even there. After 30 mins, I almost have forgotten what it was like on a funboard, as if I had been on this shortboard forever. The paddling and pop-up felt so natural.
I am totally giving myself a big pat on the back, because I know that this relatively smooth transition was all built upon the solid foundation of 2 years on funboards. I didn’t rush into a more advanced board earlier just because it would look cool, but took the time to horn my skills on a bigger board, and worked my way into the next level gradually. This is such an inspiring moment for my personal growth. I want to thank myself for being patient and persistent, and would always remind myself to do so in all aspects of life.
Of course, I quickly realized that there was so much to work on, starting with fixing my foot positioning, pumping effectively, and duck-diving efficiently. Again, these are super basic skills for any legit short-board surfer, and that is how rookie I am in this challenging sport. Yet I have gained so much confidence over the weekend that I know with certainty that I will be able to pull off those fancy turns on big waves one day as long as I continue to pour in all the passion and practice.
PS: More than one surfer told me that I looked so joyful when surfing. One even said that I just could not hide my smile when I was about to get on a good wave. LOL I swear I had no idea. It must be somehow subconscious, reflecting the level of mental high I experience in the ocean.
