At about 10:30, I drove with Alex to Novato, California (about 30 minutes away
from our Airbnb home in San Francisco) for a boat surfing session with Rob
Case (surfingpaddling.com), scheduled
for 11:15. This was part of Alex's 19th birthday present, and I was hoping
that it would turn out well.
The plan was for 3 surfers to take turns surfing for 15 minutes each (45
minutes per person) while being pulled behind a wake-generating boat.
When we arrived in Novato (1192 Bel Marin Keys Blvd), we slipped on our
shortie wetsuits and applied a lot of suntan lotion to our faces. I also
attached a GoPro Hero7 Black camera to my helmet and took two towels, a bottle
of water, and our two surfboards to the dock, where Rob was preparing the
boat.
Rob showed us some videos of boat surfing, introducing the two proper
techniques for getting going:
-
Water-starting (the surfboard lies side-ways, and when the line is
tightened, the board automatically turns properly around the fins
- Popping up after getting going on the stomach
After a brief safety briefing, we boarded the boat, and Rob headed for the
nearby locks. After exiting the locks, Rob motored about 20 minutes up to
Petaluma River,
to a location on the river where the water was pretty calm.
Rob's 22-foot boat had 410 horsepower to generate nicely sized waves with wave
settings between 2 and 6, from small waves (best for longboarders) to large
waves (best for shortboarders).
First up was John, who had lots of surfing experience. He was able to get
going using the water-start method and did very well on his 50-liter board.
Although he fell a few times, he surfed very well.
Next up was yours truly. I took out my Firewire Spitfire 6'6" board and waxed
it thoroughly. I zipped my O'Neil shortie wetsuit and jumped into the water.
It wasn't freezing at all.
For the first two attempts, I tried water-starting, but kept falling off. I
decided to try popping up after surfing on my stomach. I could surf quite well
lying down on the board (like a boogie-boarder), but I fell every time I tried
popping up.
Next up was Alex. Alex could pop up from his prone surfing position on his
second attempt and surf quite well. He surfed for quite a bit before falling
off.
Here is a short
video clip of Alex boat surfing:
For the second session, Sarah surfed instead of John, and she popped up
quickly and had a fantastic session despite having never done it before.
I was up next, and this time, Rob offered some pointers on improving my
water-starting. I needed to move my butt on the surfboard and let the boat
pull me. Rob's advice was helpful, as I was immediately able to water-start.
It was so much fun! I have been surfing for a long time and have had many
great surfing sessions.
Here is a short
high-def video
of my boat surfing session, as recorded by my helmet-mounted GoPro Hero7:
Here is a
video of my boat surfing, as recorded by two of Rob's onboard GoPro's:
After my 15 minutes had expired, Alex tried his luck. He proceeded to
water-start right away and had many excellent rides. He had a fantastic
session and surfed for 10 minutes straight!
Here is a
video of Alex's boat surfing, as recorded by two of Rob's onboard GoPro's:
After the surfing sessions had ended, the boat motored back to Novato, and we
returned to our Airbnb home in San Francisco.
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