With the tide getting towards its lowest point we had hopes of the waves picking up a little. The second surf session saw some bigger sets come through and Neridah joined us in the water. For once, the girls out numbered the boys and the best surfer out there was female!
Neridah surfed like you see (but never quite believe) on surf videos - power and grace and all done with a great big smile on her face, despite the less than perfect waves. She had a few words for all of us and we felt like a proper 'crew' - a bunch of friends out for a surf together. Tracy was always on hand and made sure we all got a couple of pointers directed towards our own surfing.
I personally need to get closer to the peak and not waste my energy on waves that just aren't going to pick me up. We were finally all dragged out of the surf at 2pm. I could have stayed in for a lot longer - It was the first decent surf I've had for ages and the water is definitely a couple of degrees warmer than mid Wales! We changed and sat in the sun chatting about surfing outside the National Surfing Centre. Questions were answered about training and wiping out safely and we got a demo of some good toning exercises which can be completed in the time it takes to watch Eastenders!
More personal questions were then directed to Neridah. We heard that the biggest waves she has surfed were about 10ft and Tracy joined in with her 10ft Margaret River experience - scary! I asked Neridah about her personal training regime as she is clearly in great shape - she runs, swims and cycles with a bit of gym work thrown in when she's home.
The group broke up about 2.30pm but the girls were happy to hang around and chat a bit more. One of the great things about the day was that there were girls of all abilities there with all styles of boards and of all different ages. There were girls who compete in surfing and surf lifesaving comps as well as those who had only been surfing for a month. We all had one thing in common -
We are completely hooked!
Women's training weekends happen regularly on the Gower with Tracy Boxall and I reckon I'll probably go and see what some Welsh girl surfers are like. There were a couple of girls there who surf around Swansea so maybe I'll pick up some more tips. I got lots of motivation and inspiration from this day - it was well worth the drive, the money and the stress!
You can find out more about surfgrl on her own website:
