Skimboarding in Australia. Skimboards and Australian skimboarders.
You've spotted that line of swell approaching, the timing is critical, you know this. Too early and you'll have no wave, too late and you'll be left deciding the best way to slam your body into that 5 foot wall of whitewater. Hmmm do I present the arse or the crutch.... You know one day the calculation of speeds and distances will be automatic, today though you still have to focus. Wait wait wait...okay go now!! Start that run, every step you're building on your last knowing you're going to need that speed. You finally have that pace locked in, looming ahead that swell is looking more like a wave now and is threatening to break, that last step comes as you throw the skimboard down.
You used to hesitate at this point. The awkward stutter steps trying not to get your feet caught under the board, the splits, the face plants, the butt checks. When did you start skimboarding? what seems like years ago is really only months. Your final transition to a smooth step onto the board had opened your eyes to the possibilities and made all the grazes and sore arse cheeks worth it. From then on the rythym got stronger, you got more relaxed and although you can always improve on it, the drop of your board is no longer your crucial moment.
One step later and you're on your skimboard, that rush of frictionless speed makes it feel like you're going faster that when you were running and the slope of the beach only adds to that speed. Now your gaze is once again fixed on that wave approaching. Like one of those annoying riddles the wave is coming at you at about 10km an hour and you're doing 20km, how fast will your relative speed be when you hit that wave? When you reach that wave what you will do? Wrap it and maybe pull in to a little shorey barrel? A floater maybe or if you have the speed an air.. whatever you're going to do you've got about 1 second to decide...
In the meantime, thanks go out to:
Skimunity forums for supporting skimboarding in Australia and uniting australian skimboarders.
Core Digital Media for providing web hosting & video streaming services.