Pages

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Dress the Part

Calhoun’s Can(n)ons for January 29, 2001

The enlightenment came soon after I emerged, sputtering , from the icy waters off Coleman Beach: How easy it is for context to hobble reality.

A friend had arranged for us to meet Matt Hudgens, owner of Central Coast Standup Paddling, Friday morning for a free demonstration and to try out some paddle boards. What’s a paddle board, you ask? Well, if you’ve seen people skimming around upright while standing up on what looks like a surfboard, wielding a long paddle, and looking for all the world like a surfer-dude gondolier, they’re on paddle boards.

And I know what you’re thinking. Are you nuts? It’s January, it’s foggy and cold in Los Osos. The water’s freezing. You’ve never surfed a day in your life and at your age you’re gonna now go get on a paddleboard and doodlebug around Morro Bay?

Uh, well, yes.

Happily, that morning’s cold, foggy Los Osos microclimate didn’t carry over into Morro Bay and at Coleman Beach, that flat curve of soft sand and shallow bay located under the towering PG&E towers, the air was still, the water glass, the was sun shining and, mercifully, it was warm. Unfortunately, I was dressed in warm street wear for the fog and cold; rolled up Levis, long sleeved tee and a sweatshirt. And therein lies the tale.

After unloading the selection of boards we helped carry them down to the beach and get our instructions and pretty soon were kneeling on the boards and paddling around. Then, in my case at least, standing up with the wobbles and paddling around. Which is when I began to find out that success in my case would depend on a slightly flatter board and a whole lot of practice since staying upright depends on a constant series of micro-movements. Over-compensation for the slight wobbles will land you in the drink.

Which is where I went. Unable to move quickly enough to get my feet under me, I ended up submerged before I could clamber upright, dripping wet, sodden sweatshirt now hanging down like a dead weight.

Without thinking, I shoved the board to shore and plodded and sloshed out of the water because my brain had unthinkingly locked me into a (false) context: “You’re wearing street clothes,” my brain said, “ and you’ve fallen into water. This is not appropriate. People in street clothes aren’t supposed to fall into water and if they do, they need to immediately get out of the water and get into a change of dry clothes.”

Which is what I did, but without changing. Once standing on shore, I got out of the now very heavy wet sweatshirt, dried off my glasses, collected myself, then went back in with the board to try that again.

And here’s the odd epiphany: Had I been wearing shorts or a bathing suit, my brain would have automatically said: “Oops, we’re suddenly in the water in a bathing suit (correct context) so there’s no need to get out of the water, let’s just hop back on the board and try that again.”

Thus does the brain misinform and misrule us.

But, in this case, not for long. On my second(very soggy) try, I had begun to get the wobbly feel of the board and paddle, which is rather like standing on a balance ball while making unstabilizing paddling motions in the air. The trick, apparently, is to think as little as possible about what you’re doing and let the body respond to the movement. That, and practice, practice, practice. But I did manage to remain awkwardly upright for the rest of the session. (And, mirable dictu, not a sore muscle in sight the next morning.)

The night before, I had watched a DVD about this growing sport/pastime and, like all variants on any sport, the enthusiasts are pushing it to new levels. Folks are now not only surfing with the paddle board, but taking it down raging white-water river runs.

According to Matt, the surfing aspect apparently allows the rider to get up more speed allowing him/her to ride many more smaller waves (more actual wave riding in the same amount of time) or to catch and ride the bigger waves longer since the long paddle allows the rider to power along, keeping just ahead of the curl. Also, for older surfers who are now developing shoulder/arm problems, stand-up surfing allows them to get out to the waves without having to lie flat and paddle. And it’s easier to learn stand up surfing in the first place because it avoids the tricky paddle-out-flat, quickly-stand-up maneuver that challenges so many beginners. With a paddle board, you’re already up.

On the second Saturday of the month, from 9 -2 pm. (weather permitting) Matt is down with his boards at Coleman Beach offering free lessons and try-outs. Or, if you organize a bunch of your friends, you can make an appointment with him to meet him there for a free try out. So, give him a call at (805) 395-0410, or check out his website at http://www.centralcoastsup.com/ . His shop’s located at 257 Morro Bay Blvd, open Thurs – Sunday, so stop by and say Hi. He’s the nicest guy in the world and wonderfully enthusiastic about his sport.

And next time you’re standing around looking at the Bay and you see upright gondoliers tooling along and say to yourself, “Hmmm, that looks like fun, wonder if I could ever learn to do that,” the answer is, “Very likely.”

I mean, if I managed to eventually stay upright on the board, I’d say you’ve got just as good a chance to do the same. But unlike me, be sure to dress -- in context -- for the occasion.

6 comments:

Anne R. Allen said...

That sounds like wonderful fun for the young and young (but a little crazy) in spirit. This old broad is not going to try to get up on an old board--either in sweats OR bathing suit--but I'd love to see pictures of you crazies doing it! I'll pass the word on to my more adventurous friends

Bev. De Witt-Moylan said...

Stand Up Paddle Boarding is FUN! Once you get your sea legs it feels like Huck Finn on the Mississippi or like gliding on the bayou, two places I've never been but enjoy imagining when I'm on the paddle board.

I've attended just two Central Coast Stand Up Paddling demos at Coleman Beach at which hardy souls of all ages and body types are free to try out the wide variety of paddle boards Matt brings to the beach to accommodate individual body differences and the various ways that people use paddle boards. Sometimes paddlers bring their own boards to let people try them out, too. I am saving my coins to buy my own board and paddle. But in the meantime it is possible to rent boards from Matt's shop.

In my own two forays onto the bay I haven't fallen in but have come close a few times. Things we instinctively do - look at our feet and curl our toes when a surface is unstable - are at least two things that decrease stability on the paddle board and send us overboard. Matt's advice is to do the counter intuitive. Loosen up on the toes - which in turn relaxes the body - and keep the gaze outward at where we are going. This novel way of responding to an unstable surface takes a little practice at first but works wonders.

It is possible to spend an entire session riding on your knees and getting comfortable on the board that way, but eventually the desire to stand takes over. It feels very much the way we must have felt as toddlers making that first wobbly move to stand upright, but without the coffee table to stabilize us and with a moving surface under our feet.

Years ago learning to ski I remember being told to sit down when in doubt. A friend who has her own paddle board advised me when I felt I was losing my balance to kneel down. Of course, kneeling down from a standing position on the board also takes a certain degree of stability, so it's a decision that ought to come early on in the process!

Getting back on a paddle board in wet street clothes to risk another dunking in the freezing bay in January is a testament to your heart and perseverance, Ann. Live and learn. It probably won't be long till we see you tooling around the bay with the best of the cool stand up paddle boarders, but with the cozy insurance of a beach towel and change of clothes waiting in the car just in case. I hope that when my freeze-frame fall into the frigid waters finally arrives, as it will, I am suitably attired and can remain calm and carry on just as you did to face the board again and master this marine Tai Chi.

Bev. De Witt-Moylan said...

CCSUP is also on Facebook as Central Coast Standup Paddling

Anonymous said...

Ann: Try jumping out of an airplane!

Love those adrenaline junkies!

Great story! Brave gal! Heck, you only live once unless you are a Hindu.

Alon Perlman said...

SUP!?
Context shmontext; You paddled out beyond the protection of the Baywood navy’s motto. Good for you. And like a first bicycle lesson; now that you know how to fall off you will never need to learn it again. Cotton is the worst once it gets wet, and always carry a light wind breaker, preferably with zippable pockets. The paddle actually lowers your center of gravity. Did the instructor say “Be one with the paddle”?
The other thing paddle boards are particularly good for is exploring the Bay at minus tides. And the other other thing; For the right dog these things are a treat (Tanners not Bo’s).
As for the crowded surfline-the paddle must come in handy. Whack –a mole;
“Get off my wave, Val!” Whack!!
Back in the old country (Mediterranean facing West) there was quite a culture around a much wider version. short video=

And this has more on a more surfboard style, if you venture out past the rock

Dibs on borrowing it, when you get one.

Sewertoons AKA Lynette Tornatzky said...

Bravo! I commend your effort! It really takes guts to try this! (I have taken a 3-day surf lesson 2 years ago and a 3-day boogie board lesson last summer and it was empowering!) You might want to try a wetsuit! I have rented them for $10/day at Morro Bay Surf Company, but other places rent as well. They can be found secondhand at thrift shops from time to time. The zip up the front ladies' style are easier to get into, but the pull 'em up boy's style works too. The after summer sales on new but not purchased suits at the surf shops are a deal too. Have fun!