My First Surf!

Sunday
18:24 hours
Four Seasons Resort Maldives Kuda Huraa
Cafe Faru

Today's the second day off and my first time surfing, catching the waves!

And I have this to say to aspiring surfers:

1. Buy a freaking rashguard, I got a huge rash on my tummy.

2. If you see a big wave, GET OFF YOUR BOARD NOW! Go under and yes, go ahead and swallow some seawater before swimming up to the surface.

3. Get BACK ON using the leash to get your board.

4. Paddle FOR YOUR LIFE against the waves BEFORE THEY CRASH.

5. Muster up your courage for your next

It was a great Sunday, I woke up, missed breakfast and took out my remaining packet of Post's Blueberry Morning Cereal which my sister, Shern, forced me to pack, cheers Shern! I guess it does come in handy but well, it's all in the girls and my tummy now.

I was supposed to dive but it turns out my name wasn't put on the list by the staff that was fooling around in the shop all afternoon and it was full for both morning and afternoon, but luckily for me Melanie was nice enough to ask if I'd like to do some surfing and off I went.

Washed up, slabbed tons of sunblock and packed my bag for my day off, taking the boat out to a surf break to catch some waves, WITHOUT prior knowledge of how to surf, not a smart move, REALLY, not a smart move.

Normally, our instructor, Johny, would take you out to the lagoon, do some drills like paddling and getting on the board, before bringing you out to catch some small waves.

Today, it is HIS DAY OFF, so he told us, not too much teaching 'cause that's what he did all week, he needs to take a break and just SURF. Rory, the resident marine biologist, came along too, turns out he's a surfer himself.

We picked our boards, Melanie and I had to use the HUMONGOUS ones for stability and learning how to get on our feet first while the dudes got their really sleek, light and small ones and off we went on the boat, heading for the surf break named Sultans.

As we drew closer to the surf break, you start to see these waves you thought only exist on TV and they were just the beginning of the day. Did a quick crash course onboard before throwing our boards into the water and paddling out to catch waves.

It's pretty amazing sight to see Johny gliding through the waves and sometimes it seems he's ON the wave itself.

Wasn't long before I tried to catch my own wave on cheers of "Go for it, Shawn!" and I stood up, was surfing but before long, I was down into the waves and it felt like I was drowning! The pros said for us to go under the waves when they crash but they didn't tell me what to do AFTERWARDS.

So I just kept "drowning" and "drowning" until I got washed up onto shore which had tons of reef and rocks and I wasn't wearing booties, which are shoes that you wear for diving and other water sports. Thankfully, no cuts, no injuries, and Johny came to get me shortly after. Then he explained to GET ON YOUR BOARD FAST, paddle FOR YOUR LIFE out back into sea.

It kinda freaks you out a little but the feeling of almost standing up would just inevitably get you trying to get yourself killed again. Ha! But this time round though I didn't stand, I most certainly could paddle out to sea. The big boards are kinda bulky to manouvre but you just gotta get your balance before using the smaller ones which are a lot easier to control and get back on to.

I took a short break onboard the boat and Rory came along shortly, his leash snapped and he got cut up pretty bad when a big wave crashed him onto shore. It was then we slabbed on a second layer of sunblock and he gave me more tips before we hit the waters again.

Melanie made some good progress though while we were onboard, almost standing like what three times! Pint-sized girl like her's pretty cool against the waves, she was nearly washed to shore but was really cool about it and the guys went to get her. Cheers Mel!

Didn't take long to realise surfing's a tough sport, requires tons of stamina and muscles for paddling, really wipes you out, paddling. And before you know it, it was about half to one, we were told we'd be getting back on the resort by 13:00 hours but since it was the day off for all four of us we took it slow.

Tried to do some fishing but we didn't make any catch for dinner, was hoping to hand it to the cafe at nearby Bodu Huraa to cook up fresh dinner. Did some scurfing, at least Mel and I tried, Johny and Rory did it pretty well. Scurfing's surfing with a line to the boat, so it's somewhat like wakeboarding with nothing holding to your feet, just feet and board. You'd find some pictures on Facebook.

So here I am in the cybercafe waiting for time to pass by online before dinner at Bodu Huraa with the boys, had cup noodles for lunch as the canteen was closed by the time we made it back.

So now if there's no diving, there's SURFING and boy am I enjoying the day off in Maldives!