Kelly + Surf = Possible Obsession
I lost the first draft of this entry. *grumbles* My browser crashed and ate it so I decided to be smart the second time around and type it in Notepad. Really, I should have done that to begin with but hey...I learned the hard way. I will try to be patient and re-type it if I can because there's so much to tell.

So just like the last time I taught Elements of Wicca, the weeks of this session are reflecting the elements being explored. It's really interesting how that keeps happening. For instance, the week we explored Air, I had a lot of things coming up in my life that related to Spring, new beginnings, inspiration, and reawakening. They are way too...amazing...to even begin to describe so I won't even try. But yeah...totally Air. Fire week, my inner flame was burning brightly and I was so incredibly passionate, energetic and social. Unfortunately, I seemed to have attracted some unwanted attention from someone who has apparently fallen...hard. Note to self, temper that fire a bit before I end up with a legion of lovesick puppy dogs. >.< My creative fires were also kicked up a notch and I was spurred into action, creating the first draft of the Avalon Naturel web site design. I love it. And then there was Water week. Besides all the juicy things going on behind the scenes, I ended Water week with a weekend of surfing. I was totally immersed in it, physically, emotionally, spiritually. I was challenged, faced fears, and conquered them and now I'm at a point where I am seriously contemplating the means to do it over again...and again...and AGAIN! I want more!

I was up at 6:30 am Saturday morning, all revved and ready to go. I had NO idea what to expect but I was certain I was going to have quite the adventure. Being the Goddess of Adventure that I am (heehee I love that commercial Jali!), I was totally ready to rock it. Glancing out the window, I was disappointed to be greeted by dreary grey skies and drizzle. What happened to the 17-20 degree Celsius temperature and the partially sunny skies that was forecast? It looked to be quite the opposite and I was worried our course might be canceled. Then I realized 'Hey....we're getting wet anyways. Who cares?" So I had a little bit of breakfast, slipped into my new bikini, got my stuff together and headed out.

Most of us arrived early, 30 minutes before we were all supposed to meet. I wasn't the only one who was super keen on getting started. We were the very first surf class of the season, wanting to jump on the chance to surf as soon as possible. It took a little while to get our gear settled. We'd go in fully equipped: long wet suit (mine was a sexy black and red one that fit like a glove), life vest, helmet, booties, gloves, board and leash. We were covered from head to toe to fight the cold of the day as well as the water. There were 2 other girls out of 12 of us in total and I certainly felt more at ease. In fact, one of the instructors was a girl who's been surfing the Montreal waves for the past 4 years. She became an inspiration to me by the end. Andreanne can rock those waves! I admit in the beginning it was hard to communicate with her. There was that language barrier. But by the end of the weekend, things were cool as I felt more at ease speaking French and learning from her. She was super encouraging.

Once all our gear was sorted we were ready to head off. That's when they told us we wouldn't be surfing the famous wave at Habitat 67. At this time of year, the water level is too high and so the wave is flat. They told us we'd be heading out to the Lachine Rapids. Having rafted those rapids before...I admit I was a little freaked out. Those waters can be CRAZY and I've heard about the challenging waves people surf out there. But being a beginner class, they wouldn't bring us out into the crazy waves...right?

Piling into a few cars we headed out toward the Rapids, parking the cars along the river and stripping down to our bathing suits to get all geared up. By then it was raining steadily and bloody hell...it was cold! But once we were all dressed and moving around, we were alright. We headed for a calm flat water basin to start, practicing swimming on our boards before tackling the currents. It was tough on the arms. Shoulders up, legs together and up, butt tight. Only our hips really touched the boards as we paddled around. My board was a little too wide for my physique so it was even more physically demanding to swim with that board but I did my best. The cold didn't help but we all toughed it out. If you can't swim, you can't surf. You need to be a good swimmer to be able to even catch the waves. So the whole morning we practiced swimming and getting used to the board. I found myself constantly pushing my mind and body forward to fight through the extreme conditions and the fatigue to get the job done. There were times when I just wanted to stop, my arms quickly tiring, but I knew if I couldn't swim I'd never be able to fight the current and the possibility of being carried far downstream in the current simply terrified me.

We took a 2 hour lunch at a nearby diner (I had an AMAZING fruit crepe and a few hot chocolates to warm me up). It was a challenge to peel out of our wet suits but we all welcomed the time to rest and recuperate. The afternoon would prove to be much more challenging as we'd go out to swim the currents and tackle the wave. Had a few interesting conversations with some of the other guys at my table, people of different ages and backgrounds. The guy next to me was some corporate guy who loves extreme sports. He said he used to do a lot of crazy stuff when he was younger but now that he has 2 kids, he has to be more careful. There was another young guy from Germany just passing through Montreal on a work visa and another ocean surfer who decided river surfing is completely different and even harder. Nice people.

We all groaned when we had to peel our wet, cold gear back on. We had all just started to warm up! But we were troopers and got to it, all incredibly excited about hitting that wave. We started out just a little down from the surfable wave. There was a little eddy where the water calmed and we practiced swimming out into the current, letting it pull us down stream and then swimming out. That was tough as the water moves fast. I panicked a few times, feeling the fatigue in my arms as I struggled to paddle myself out of the current. There was no way I'd let myself be pulled too far down where the rapids pick up again. I fell off my board a few times and tried to swim back, kicking but the current was too strong. "Get back on your board and paddle back, Kelly!" Darren, one of the instructors, called out to me from the shore. He watched and waited to see if I'd need help but apparently, I didn't. I got back on my board and pushed myself to paddle back despite the fatigue. I tried my best to read the waters...to let myself float with the current until the water was calm enough to start paddling again. Boy was I ever glad to reach the shore again, my heart leaping when my toes touched the bottom of the river again.

Next, we went on to the wave, stationing ourselves above the wave so we could swim out into the current, let it take us to the wave and then paddle fast to try and catch it. If you're successful, you and the board remain stable in the wave and you need only paddle if you feel yourself slipping out. I tried it once, I think I caught it for a few brief seconds and then was swept down stream. By then my arms were really tired and sore and it was a real challenge to swim back to shore. Again, I could feel myself panicking as I watched the shore speed by and felt myself drifting further out. I flipped off my board a few times and again tried to kick back to no avail. But I silently urged myself to stay calm, get back on and paddle back the best I could. I had reached an eddy and when the water calmed, felt more comfortable to paddle back to safety. I didn't dare try again after that. I knew my limits. I knew that if I tried it one more time, I wouldn't have the energy to make it back and that...would be bad. So I sat down and just watched. It was late in the day anyway and most of us were ready to call it a day.

There were 3 experienced surfers a little downstream from us, taking turns to catch the wave right from the shore where it was. Wow it was so cool to watch them catch it, pop up and ride it. We'll get to that point of being able to stand with practice. The guy from lunch who was talking about his two kids and being more careful...he decided to try swimming into the wave from the same point the others were surfing. The problem was, there was a low tree off the shore just downstream from the wave and if you miss the wave, you have to make sure you swim further out to avoid the tree. I watched him miss the wave....and head straight for the tree. His board got stuck and the current swept him under. The leash was attached to the board and wouldn't snap (though they told us with enough tension they would). He was dragged under and we raced to try to get the board loose. It wouldn't give. The three guys were down there so fast along with our instructors to try and get him loose. I was up shore watching with horror, seeing his white helmet under water, watching his life vest fly off and float downstream. At one point his head surfaced long enough for him to cry for help before he was dragged under. The seconds dragged as they fought to free him while someone else called 911. They finally did and pulled him ashore. He was breathing, freaked out but he was safe. He was lucky. All I could think about was our convo at lunch. He was sooo lucky. The water would slow for no one.

We were all quiet when we were changing. It shook us all...we almost watched a man drown. Thank goodness for teamwork. The ambulances came but the guy was alright. We wondered if he'd be back the next day. I was wondering if I could stand to try again after witnessing that whole ordeal. I crashed at 7:30 that night after a hot shower and some food. I worried about the river the next day but pushed the thoughts out of my mind to let my tired mind and body rest. I'd deal with it the next day.

"My Gods...I must be crazy to do this..." I thought as I pulled myself out of bed the next morning. More clouds. More drizzle. It would be another cold, challenging day. My arms and shoulders and back muscles were already sore from the work the day before. I could feel the effect of fighting the water throughout my body. It had already taken a toll on my mind. "My Brighid's Flame strengthen me..."

Meeting at the shop, there were less of us. One guy got sick and postponed that lesson for another warmer weekend. The guy who nearly drowned and his co-worker who came showed up but also opted to try another weekend. A third fourth guy bailed as well. Corran (the shop owner and pioneer of river surfing) gave us all the option of choosing another Sunday to complete the course, given the circumstances of the day before. I thought about it...I could surf Habitat (longer wave further out with no nearby TREES) in HOT, SUNNY weather with less restricting gear. I could have opted for that but I decided, to hell with it. Bring it on. Bring that wave. I'll conquer my fears here and now. And so I kept quiet and geared up.

We headed straight to the wave and the water seemed to flow faster. The other girl sat on the sidelines for much of the morning, waiting till she was mentally prepared to tackle the wave. I don't blame her. No one did. We were all very conscious of the dangers. The wind was stronger, colder...the river raging. Dare we try again? This time they attached a rope to a tree and we would tow ourselves in to the wave. We learned the steps to tow in, hop to our knees, raise a leg, and then slowly stand. We were supposed to try to actually surf it today.

I pushed all fears from my mind and stayed alert to my surroundings at all times. I placed myself second in line and when I grabbed hold of the rope, I was a damn trooper and pulled into that wave on my first shot. I was so determined. I even managed to make it on to my knees while the river raged all around me. When I was washed out, I didn't panic. I climbed onto my board and while I was heading for that tree, pushed myself away from it and missed it. I was conscious of my surroundings at all times and even as I was pushed down river, I stayed calm and waited till the water calmed and I could swim to shore regardless of how far I had gone. I wouldn't fight the river. I couldn't so I let myself go with the flow until I could. Pumped and pleased with my attempt, I was out of the water and back in line again. "WOOHOO!" I whooped after every try, pumping my fist in the air and waving to Darren positioned on the tree with a knife as I floated by (oh yes, we learned...both instructors had knives to cut leashes if need be). It was such a rush! I wanted to do it again.

So I did. I never stopped. Each time I listened to the advice given to me, attempting to improve each time. Andreanne and Darren were super encouraging, quite happy I've progressed so well. And I kept going back for more, almost managing to get one leg up before falling off. "You've got it. All you need to do is practice and you'll stand." The key is to know when to stand. Know the wave, know the water. And I was getting the hang of it. I was proud of myself. I was one of the last to be in the water...this one guy and I always heading back to try standing one last time. He almost had it. I was getting there. But then I hit my limit when my arms couldn't keep myself steady in the wave anymore. One last attempt to get to my knees and that was it....for this time.

When it was over I was convinced I had to do it again. It was such a thrill. And I had so much respect for the water. During debriefing Andreanne and Darren told me I was such a careful, determined surfer. I had the drive to do it but was also incredibly security-conscious which was a good thing. I was always aware of where I was, I had learned to stop panicking when caught in the current and was able to have the sense to bring myself out of harm's way (that tree came close a few times). Corran said we were almost 'lucky' to have witnessed what we did as it gave us all such a deep respect for the water. He said too many people throw themselves in without having a clue to the possible dangers of the water. Too many people get hurt for being stupid. But not us. We all walked away with a greater understanding for the river, and the sport itself. They said I was a good swimmer despite being somewhat handicapped with a wider board. Corran said if I actually go to buy one, I'd get one that's narrower, more fitting with my small physique to making swimming easier. Andreanne's advice...just keep practicing and I'll become more stable on my board and thus able to finally stand. And they told us if we ever wanted to go out to Habitat and don't want to go alone, call the shop and see when the others were going and they'd meet up with us and help us out. It's very comforting knowing our surf community is friendly and helpful as opposed to some of the surf locals in, say, the US or Aussieland, where locals can be BRUTAL and extremely territorial.

I spoke to Darren a bit about surfboards...perhaps getting one good for both river and ocean. I could see myself traveling to find waves (before and after Costa Rica) and even surfing more in Montreal if I can sort out the logistics of it. I felt like I could do this. I was so caught up in the thrill of it all but also...connecting with the water. Before getting in to the water each time, part of me was connecting with the water. It was...incredible. Anyway, Darren told me there were more boards coming in in a few weeks and knew just the one for me having watched my surf all weekend. I'm considering going back in a few weeks and checking out....IF I decide I can actually do this (there are factors...the main one being NO CAR to get a) to the local waves and b) to some ocean waves). So we'll see.

This morning I woke up to clear blue sky, warmth and sun. My whole upper body was sore and stiff but it still felt great. Man I'm using it well in this life. :) I wondered why we couldn't have such weather conditions over the weekend but then quickly understood all the lessons learned in the challenging conditions. Everything happens for a reason. I had a lot to learn from water. We all did.

So...in thinking about whether or not this hobby is plausible...I realized I should ask Corran if his site needs a redesign (I think it needs a good redesign) and barter for payment. Fully functional web site for...my own surfboard. *grins* I wonder...

P.S. The German guy Toby took pictures and video. If I get them, I'll be sure to post 'em. :D