Surfing: Man V Dog

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A great day out - trying to prove that man can surf better than dog!!

In 2009 my Jack Russell, Archie, surprised us all with a natural ability on a board (at Three Cliffs Bay), no lying down, wobbling, or apparent fear, just instantly standing!

And so in my fiftieth year I decided that the time had come to try and upstage my trusty friend.

July 2010 was the chosen time, the beautiful beach of Newgale in Pembrokeshire the setting.

After seeing Tristan surfing the Severn Bore on the HTV news, I felt he was a worthy instructor to trust for my first lesson.

First job, hire a wetsuit - first dilemma, is it acceptable to wee in a hired suit, if not, how else to keep warm? I am still unsure about the etiquette of this so will not reveal whether I did or not!

Next get a board, had to be yellow just like Archie’s - slightly bigger as after all I am 80 kg heavier than him!

Safety next - I was very reassured to see a Sea King helicopter & the St Davids lifeboat circling the bay during my entire lesson, some may have been put off by the fact they were looking for a fellow surfer who had disappeared.......(turned out later to be a false alarm).

So, how difficult can surfing be, a dog with no lessons could do it straight away, I was keen to get into the water, but was made to lie on the board on the sand. Please no comments about sea mammals at this point, I felt like I was an Aussie surf bum.

The water was cold, very cold. The waves were MASSIVE...well maybe not that big but from where I was lying they were very scary. Thirty minutes later I am “catching waves” but I am still lying down - how did that dog do it?

Just as my arms felt as though they were going to fall off Tristan said I should try and stand - I lost count of how many times I got dunked but I am pleased to say I did manage to stand - ok so I will not break any records but I really, really did stand - look that is me!

I was relieved finally to get out of the water so that Simon (also in photo) could have a lesson - I now know why surfers are all slim - can’t believe how tired I was!

This was a fantastic day out, with great friends and the beach was amazing. An added bonus was the pub to recover in!

I have to admit though that I failed to prove that man can surf better than dog.......yet!

Paul Worgan.

Surfing Britain and Ireland (Footprint Activity Guides) (Footprint Surfing Britain & Ireland)

The Girl's Guide to Surfing