Surf's Up!

As the mother of two teenage daughters with a hankering to learn how to surf, I found myself at Anclote Beach on Saturday morning eyeballing "sets" and becoming familarized with the local surfing lingo.

My friend April was kind enough to come out and show Jacqui the tricks of the trade beginning with the all important technique of waxing your board for the proper water temperature followed by learning how to do an effective "pop -up" which involves going from a supine position to surf ready all in one smooth move. It requires some agility, to be sure, but April has a way of making it all look easy. She suggested Jacqui do at least 25 pop-ups a day to get in shape along with some upper body exercises like push-ups.

I was told that Anclote is the perfect spot for young surfers just starting out. The water is shallow, the waves aren't intimidating and there are no unsafe conditions to be worried about. This was all good, since I could properly relax and watch the fun without stressing.

After about 40 minutes, I was thrilled to see Jacqui catch her first wave, and I could tell she was pretty jazzed as well. April is obviously a great teacher and I hope Jacqui will pursue this sport since it seems to suit her and certainly living near the ocean makes a difference.

Beginner surfers should drive out to Anclote on the coastal highway heading North and park at the Restaurant Corral. Cowabunga!