Longboarding - Old School Style

Life is certainly full of adventure...

A good mate of mine arranged a rather special surfing competition this past weekend. It was called the Freedom Day Legendary Longboard Surf Contest. Normally I would have ignored this event and steered well clear of the beach. Somehow my friends enthusiasm ensured that I together with another 125 entrants were committed to some old school surfing. It was to be the biggest surfing contest ever held on this side of the bay!

Saturday morning was very dark, cold, and rainy. A perfect time for the beach dressed in a pair of baggies. Yes and a beanie that I had grabbed at the last minute. My eclectic dress sense did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of the volunteers as we got the beach ready for this legendary contest. The heavens remained wide open, which is not really a concern for surfers as one takes for granted the fact that you are going to get wet. The spectators surprised me with their awesome attitude and support. Weather aside, this was a happening event!

I surfed two heats in the mini mal division. A mini mal is a board longer than 7 foot and shorter than 9 foot with a large rounded nose. I had not the first clue about what I was supposed to be doing and so included a head stand and some switch foot jumps. My surfing was a cross between an old Michael Jackson thriller number and a dead cockroach. Understandably my scores were average to dismal and I was happy to bow out gracefully. Although the only thing graceful about my day would have been the curve of the board I borrowed as it lay calmly on the beach! I really had so much fun just surfing in my first ever competition. Making it out of the water without injuries to either the board or myself was a major win for me!

I took Luke down to the beach on Sunday morning after church. My theory was that the semi finals and finals would showcase some really great surfing. Some nut told me hurry up and get in the water. Obviously I ignored him; one does not swim in ones clothes. My mate’s wife looked shocked to see me dressed completely inappropriately for the next semi final. Surprised would be an understatement to describe my state of mind. A wetsuit was pulled out of somewhere and a board thrust into my hand and I was soon paddling around on some dismal waves. My surfing was not the kind of inspirational surfing I was hoping for Luke to see. But I had fun and left the sea with a big smile on my face! Not bad for an accidental surf!

We did see the current SA longboard champ and all of the Bings, dad and son and daughter (Deon Bing is the regular surf reporter on our local Cape radio station). They cleaned up!! Their surfing was out of this world and all of them looked like they were having a leisurely stroll on a short carpet! Luke and I are thoroughly inspired for next year!

It was great fun to interact with our local surfing community in such a different way. I think this competition may have changed the way we all surf at Strand. It is also fantastic to see a good mate come up with a far out idea and deliver it in such a successful way! Way to go Bro!