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They say “Only a Surfer knows the Feeling” is so true. Sitting out in the big blue ocean on a perfect sunny day, not a breath of wind and Mother Nature doing her thing. Perfect little waves rolling through and not a worry in the world, great way to clear the head and cleanse the soul.

  I started surfing about thirty-eight years ago at a little bay on the Central Coast, NSW. Seeing that I lived about forty minutes from the coast I would look forward to Christmas and Easter holidays when our family would hook on the van and head south to our favorite holiday spot. We would catch up with other kids in the park and head to the beach, surf, swim, laugh and hang out and try and fit into the local way of life. One of these kids I am still friends with today, nearly Fifty years on. We have seen each other join the workforce, get married, have families and watch them grow. So, when it came time for my son to start surfing, there was only one place he was going to catch his first wave.

We were at the same caravan park (in our own van) where my parents used to take my sisters and I when we were younger, when I convinced Mitch (my son) to have a go at surfing. He had ridden a bodyboard when he was younger, but this was his first go at stand up. Same as myself years before my kids met up with other kids in the park and would play and hang out with them during the day. It was only a reasonably small caravan park so the rules to the kids were simple, don`t go out the park and let us know where you are and who`s van you are playing at.

Mitch is extremely short sighted and has worn glasses from a very young age, so I could only imagine how daunting this would be and how scared he would have been. As you can see in the photo, I am pointing out how the wave breaks, where we would sit and where he would ride the wave to. His tiny frame is full of fear, excitement, anticipation and pure stoke that he is going to ride his first wave on a little single fin board that a guy in the park gave him. Days earlier I bought him a wetsuit convincing him that it would keep him warm, help him float and protect him from Bluebottles. I explained that I would be in the water with him, would push him onto waves and then catch a wave in and help him paddle out. I reminded him again, “Its all good buddy, I`ve got your back”! He puts the legrope on and we paddle out.

There will be times when standing alone feels too hard, too scary, and we`ll doubt our ability to make our way through the uncertainty.  Someone, somewhere, will say, `Don’t do it, You don’t have what it takes to survive the wilderness`.  This is when you reach deep into your heart and remind yourself, `I am the wilderness`.

Braving the Wilderness – Brene` Brown.

Once out in the line-up I was coaching Mitch on where to lay on his board, how the waves were breaking over the reef below us and how to surf the waves. We sat there for a few moments, bobbing about before a few little waves started to form. `Ya ready mate` I asked, a nervous, Yep was the response. We turned around, the wave stood up, I pushed him on and away he went. Many different thoughts went through my head that split second, do I swim after him for when he falls off, will he stand up, is he alright. Next thing from the back of the wave he pops up and surfs the thing all the way to the beach. Dad hooting from out the back and Mum and Sophie cheering from the beach. Five or six waves later him doing the same thing each wave and then he turns to me and says he`s bored and had enough, haha.  The high I felt walking up the beach that day, NO drug could’ve got me that high.

Since that day we have had plenty of surfs together, Mitch now out-surfing his ol man.    I`ve asked Mitch if he remembers that photo, that day and why he just had a go, not knowing what the outcome was going to be.

His response:

“It was obviously a new experience so I would have been rather intrigued. Also, I knew that surfing back then was a real interest of yours so I felt it would be reasonable to pursue the same interest that you have, and off course that you were there with me!

Author: Danny Pryde