Pacific Northwest, Oregon, USA 🇺🇸 : Surfing 101 🏄‍♀️

I stood up the first time ... in my dreams ❤️‍🩹: but don't worry!!

Instagram: @momateresax - Delina Michael

I had already chickened out of our first surf trip, instead opting to grab dinner and watch a movie 🍿 , but the day was here again. It was surf time. I had been warned in advance about how cold the Oregon waters were, so in anticipation, I had turned down the heat in my showers, only to then abruptly turn it up again, because I decided that was a fight for another day. I thought 'better not let the cold get into my bones', like my mum would say.

We strapped two surfboards 🏄 to the top of my girlfriend Maia’s Subaru, and went to grab some snacks for the almost 2-hour drive to Otter Rock, North America.

Here’s a list of things we packed:

1. Bikinis 👙 (we were already wearing)

2. Wetsuits

3. Towels

4. Tequila (for a little spice) a. Pineapple juice (to chase)

5. Underwear 🩲

p.s. I’m still completely gobsmacked at the choices available for energy drinks and snacks here. There are so many brands here and it just keeps going, which is so refreshing. The UK is light years behind, so picking a drink has become a luxury I have come to enjoy.

We picked up (no pun intended):

1. An energy drink

2. Matcha latte

3. A protein shake

4. Mashed plantain crisps

5. Peanut butter-filled pretzel puffs (✨ gluten free✨ too!)

6. Honey roasted pistachios

7. Devilled eggs from the deli
   

After our great haul, we were truly on our way, listening to a podcast about cults. We ate our snack and 2 hours later, we’d arrived. Approaching, we could see the sea up from the winding road and the waves rolling in. Once we parked, we stood for a moment to admire the view.

It had started to rain, but that did nothing to kill our spirits; today was the day. We got back to the car 🚙 , and started the chore of putting our wet suits on. We sat in the boot of the car and used all our might to yank them on, feet first. I've never met such a stubborn piece of clothing. But anyway, about 5 minutes later, we had done it. And let me tell you… I felt sexy. The wet suit was a thick layer of scuba 🤿 material that made me feel thicker than a snicker. We put on ‘BARBIE’ 👱‍♀️ by Jaidyn Alexis and we took 3 shots of tequila for good measure.

Energy drinks 🥤 were flowing, wet suits were on, and tequila was shotted - we were ready to go! Maia, being the experienced of us both, had already unloaded both surfboards and we were ready to trek down to the beach. Those steps seemed to have multiplied with the surfboards tucked under my arm, but it was not as bad as on the way back up I can tell you that for free.

Maia had been planting her seeds for a while, whilst in London months prior, she suggested we watched 'The Maverick' (8.3/10 IMBd).

SPOILER ALERT 🚨: If you don’t know that film, it’s about a young man who trains to surf this almost tsunami-sized wave. It was a great watch, but it worked and I believed that I’d this man can do that, I can catch at least a tiny wave on my first try - this was where I was at mentally.

She gave me a quick rundown of how things go and we were in the water. Lie down, paddle, stand up was the move, basically a burpee on a balance board. I was fighting the urge to run straight into the water the entire time. When it was time, I could only remember thinking I can't believe I'm doing this.

And you know what, it wasn’t cold!

Boy, I was elated - credit due to both the tequila and the wetsuit.

The illusion of standing up on my first try was flushed down the toilet 🚻 in about 10 minutes. We were out there for 2 hours, trying, catching and laughing. As a beginner, ideally, you want to go on a day where the surf report shows 4-6ft waves 🌊, which is what we did. However, at some point during our session the waves had gotten so much bigger and the rain had really picked up, so it became not so good. We kept fighting and I managed to catch a couple of waves lying down - it was an addicting feeling. I wanted to carry on over and over.

As a black woman with soft locs currently installed, my biggest fear was ruining them, or worse, getting an irritated scalp. But I take off the hood to the wetsuit, and with the exception of a couple strands at the front, my hair was dry!

We grabbed our stuff, got changed in the car and I think that was hands down that was my most favourite thing ever!!!!!!!!!! Though let me say, getting that wetsuit off is harder than getting it on.

As I am writing this, we’re on our way, a week later, for lesson two.

I can't wait to keep you guys updated on my progress, and hopefully, you'll want to try it yourself!