Writer takes to waves

Apparently, I was wrong.

When I described the water as frigid a few weeks back, it was a

bit of an overstatement. This time, it really was frigid.

As I ever so slowly waded out into the water -- described by surf

instructor Scott Morlan as in the low 60-degree range -- last

Saturday just north of Newport Beach Pier, I started questioning why

I took this class in the first place.

The rust-bucket color water -- also described by Morlan -- and the

occasional meandering jellyfish didn’t help the situation.

I was thinking to myself that I could have been lying in bed at 8

a.m., cozy and comfortable under the warm blankets with images of

Baywatch running through my head.

Instead, I was out learning how to stay warm in frigid water with

images of deadly jellyfish dancing in my skull.

It all turned out for the best, however, because, for starters,

and most importantly, I didn’t drown -- and I lived through Day 3 of

the Saturday Surf Class with Scott Morlan, offered by the city of

Newport Beach.

At a cost of $100 for Newport Beach residents, the class meets

every Saturday morning for five weeks. The instructors go through the

basics during the first few lessons and then it’s hours of

unadulterated surfing. Surf boards are provided.

This time around (my third lesson), the sky was sunny, but the

water was brisk, rust-colored and choppy. Did I mention it was cold?

And to think, right in the middle of summer.

My descriptions of frigid water in the past have prompted

instructors Morlan, along with Tim and Dave Northup, to label the

chilly conditions as the “Yemma curse.”

But I wasn’t the only one this time to think it was cold.

Little Ryan Look, 11, of Newport Beach, was the first to drop,

about an hour into the lesson, although he was the only one not

wearing a wetsuit.

And by the near-end of the instruction, there were 11 people

remaining in the water out of 17 who showed up. I, of course, was one

of them who remained, not to pat myself on the back or anything.

“When it’s cold like this, it’s hard keeping the kids in the

water,” Morlan, also the surf coach at Newport Harbor High, said

after the lesson. “What am I going to say to the kid when he is

miserable?

“When it’s cold it can be a problem.”

Midway through the two-hour session, Newport Beach resident and

classmate Dana Fugett, who had purchased her own board a few weeks

ago, went in to shore to switch to one of the class’ boards. I

inquired why.

Turns out, it didn’t really have much to do with the equipment,

and her reply was something along the lines of that she couldn’t feel

her feet.

Interesting. And just what exactly are we doing out here?

We’re doing it for the greater good, I reminded myself, because

I’m going to turn pro eventually. Oh yeah, and if Keanu Reeves and

David Hasselhoff can do it, so can I.

The third lesson went smoothly, and I was up and dancing on water

for a few brief periods. I marginally progressed in the turning

department, as the minuscule waves were tricky to catch.

Morlan, however, seemed pleased with my progress, although he was

absent the lesson prior due to a long-planned vacation, so he missed

out on the abundance of information I soaked up during my second

lesson.

This week I’m going to give the ocean an offering in hopes of

warmer, clearer water, along with bigger waves. I think the whole

class would be thankful.

But according to a check Friday on the Web, today’s surf size is

expected to be, once again, rather small. It’s a shame too, because I

was hoping to go out with a bang.

And so I dive in today for my last lesson in the Saturday Surf

Class with Scott Morlan -- all in the hopes of morphing into a

different lifestyle, as the surfers insist it is, and learning the

wave culture, along with the lingo.

Hopefully, it won’t be too gnarly.