Image via Wikipedia

When is your body like a flat wooden board?  Actually, it never is, but that doesn’t stop the tens of thousands of body-surfers who hit the beaches year after year in search of the perfect wave.  Surfers are unique specimens, often risking life and limb to be chased down by thunderous waves the size of small buildings.  Bodysurfers are even rarer types.  One imagines the typical surfer standing near the shoreline, so giddy over the powerhouse waves rolling in that he doesn’t wait to get his board from the back of the truck.  His happy feet pound sand in a funky trot until the surfer is out in the waves, ready for adventure, sans surfboard.  The contemporary bodysurfer goes into the ocean with two items integral to a good ride, swimfins.  These fins look like deep sea flippers which have been truncated to only a few inches in length beyond the surfer’s foot.  Without them, even the best athlete is at the mercy of the sea; with them however, the bodysurfer can catch and keep abreast of some serious walls of water.

WORLD CLASS SURFING

If you’ve never tried bodysurfing, it’s one of life’s most simple and pure thrills.  Provided you’re a decent swimmer, any beach with waves of average size should do to get started.  Strap on your swimfins, waddle into the water and head for the breakers.  Keeping in front of the waves, catch one as it’s about to break and kick for your life as you swim toward the beach.  If you’ve timed it all correctly, you’re now in the wave, lifted by the sheer force of seawater, with your head poking out from the spray.  As always, the idea is to live to surf another day, so safety is key.  Make sure you know where the rip currents are and make it a social outing rather than going solo.