Boogie Boarding For Everyone!

Take The Ride!

Surfing, Wakeboarding, Body Boarding, Boogie Boarding - wow that's a lot of variations of riding the sea. If you've never been to Hawaii or if you're a veteran of many visits, then boarding of some kind should be on your list. There's something you feel when riding a wave that is indescribable. You can feel the energy and the power of the ocean speeding you to shore. Now I'm not saying to go out and drop a ton of money on surf riding equipment but I am saying to do your homework and find out what the surf conditions are where or nearby where you'll be staying. If you're already into boarding you'll probably have done that in advance and may have planned your trip for that express purpose. I'm sure if you're a newbie like myself you can take advantage of local rentals for having a go at the beautiful surf that surrounds the Islands. I started out just body surfing and caught thousands of great rides using nothing but my rigid body as my board. I recall the adrenaline rush of being scooped up and paddling like the dickens to catch waves that were much too large for a pre-teen to tackle. I didn't need a wizened surf guru to tell me or even Mom and Dad. The ocean taught me all by itself as I was crushed, pummeled into sharp rocks, and kept under by the undertow of the next wave in a long set. I thought I'd die many times and finally retired my excursions to days when the surf was softer and light with a nice long gentle break. This is for when I grow up a little more I surmised, or maybe when I could carry a surfboard and lay on it for protection! That was many years ago.

Now I know that the purists all have opinions - some differ - about body boards and boogie boards. Seems like in ancient times a body board was a huge board for laying on and riding prone. I'm talking about the Boogie Boards you can pick up at a local Discount House for $13.95 and up. I love them, my wife loves them and my kids have all loved them. They are just right for the boarder who doesn't want to heft the larger boards and allows for prone riding like us rubes do - all the way up to Professional Boarders who compete in big surf and dangerous spots like the Pipeline when it's cranking in the winter on the North Shore. The things these Pro's can do on a short board is nothing short of spectacular! It reminds me of a mixture of freestyle snowboarding but on a board ripping across the waves. Tricks - you name it they do it! Awesome and exciting but it loses a little of the mystique of the image we've all seen painted or photographed of the lone surfer, head slightly down and walking with his board along the shore. Traditional surfing still draws me but I have become a bit too brittle to carry boards and wipe out all day long. I much prefer a fun afternoon in low surf at say Waikiki Beach with my inexpensive little boogie board and a pair of swim fins to assist these old legs - boy they sure help!

I have taken some nice stills of the family last time we went to the Islands but this year I want some video and am going to risk taking my Sony HD FX1 video camcorder into the water in a waterproof camcorder housing for Sony. I can't wait to play around with it in Hawaii. It takes great video out of the water while in the enclosure so barring something catastrophic, it should work well for my intended use. Maybe I can load some video on this blog - that will take a little research but we'll see. Be well and don't forget the sunblock - a light beach shirt or cap if needed - a bad sunburn will ruin a vacation and we can't have that!