SURF RIDING.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 60, 12 March 1926, Page 12

SURF RIDING.

FULL OF THRILLS. A WEST COAST JOY. SPEEDING IN ON THE" BREAKERS. \ One of the most fascinating pastimes indulged in by Aucklanders -who make the West Coast a holiday rendezvous is that of riding boards in the surf. It is full of thrills, and to expert and learner alike •it affords much amusement and exercise. On a day when the breakers come sweeping up the long expanse of sand, four or five to the minute, surfers can be sure of hali-an-hours pleasure with the boards, providing they have chosen a time when the tide is "coming in. Though the undertow is strong—too strong for an elderly person to battle against successfully— an incoming tide maic- for safe conditions, and so long as athers do not venture too far out there »a little danger. With the turn of the tide it is a different story. The water swirls back Tound one with a remorseless tug, washing the sand from under the feet in a way that is alarming when first experienced. On a bright day, with the sun high in the heavens, bathing the wide stretch of. the blue Tasman in silvery, foamflecked loveliness, with the long wastes of hills "smoking" as the westerly wind blows the loose sand from the ridges, it is a great Eight to see a. score or ■ more of surfers, each with a board, making rapid progress up the beach, just in the van of a wave. Finally each surfer is landed high and dry, as the water recedes, and there is a general movement, like a body of troops "sloping" arms, as the bathers gather up their boards, and rush back down the wet sand in time to "take off" on a breaker that is just toppling away out behind several lesser rollers. Good Judgment essential. "Wait for the big one!" Shouts are exchanged as the surfers take up their positions, back to the waves, each glancing over the shoulder to watch the progress of the rollers. Boards are held with both hands, about a foot from the top, the bottom end being pressed close against the abdomen. -A wave that has broken, and is just foaming with all the . fury of the ocean behind it, is the boardrider's opportunity* _ On the iastant when the great mass of water, perhaps six or eight feet high, strikes the back, one takes off, holding the board firmly with both hands and keeping the front end high. In taking off, the expert surf-rider can judge his idme to a fraction of a second in order to get the best out of the ride. He springs off both feet, face down, with the board under him, his head always just beyond the crashing white foam which heads each wave. If it is done properly the board rider is swept a distance of* from 20 to 30 yards or more, speeding up the beach at a great pace till the board grounds in an inch of water. Bruises for Beginners. Conditions "vary greatly, and the distance which can be covered is not always the same. Nor does the surfer get .hie ride with the same amount of effort each day. On a particularly-boisterous day rides may be bump. Surf ere Lave great fun in such circumstances. * The waves sweep up the beach in such, rapid succession that they overtake .each other at times, or break crosswise, and to be caught in a swirling cross current offoam on a rough day -is an experience not soon forgotten.-' -with thespray, the board trembling in one's Lands, the water surges over and about one, and there is a thrilling bumpy sen-, cation as the timber is rocked up and tiown with -the impetus of the colliding Traters. If the take-off has been rightly timed, the surfer ehoots on towards the sand, and is landed finally, the ; eyes smarting with salt, ears deaf with the crash of the surging water, and perhaps ■with a buise here and there;on,arms and; legs if the board Las not been clutched tightly over the final stages. Old Hands Have Their JokeBoth sexes enjoy the sport, and- visitors making the acquaintance .'of the West Coast for the first time take little more than a couple of days to. learn the art. Surf-riding is more difficult than it ] appears, and "old,-hands", consider it a j good joke to hand their boards to new-1 comers, inviting' them ,-to have- a ride, j First attempts are disastrous, as a - rule J The chances are that! the beginner leaps too soon, perhaps only-by a second, but that second is sufficient to provide fun a-plenty for the onlookers, and no little discomfort for the hapless one with the board." The breaker may catch the board on the rear end, if the"" rider is not holding it close, and, should that happen, the front dives down, the bather goes head over heels in the "water, and as likely as not opens his mouth with & gasp just as the wave behind pours over him, giving him a taste of salt water as unpleasant as it is unexpected. By the time the board is far up the bea<&, and there is a general rush to retrieve it. Incidentally, it may be said here that all the "regulars" at the Coast have their boards planted, either in the Band or in -some other place known only to themselves, in order to ensure possession of it, as it is not etiquette on the Coast to borrow boards. Some who go to the Coast year after year use boards which have lain buried in the sand for several seasons. .