Vertical Truth – Surfing Vero Beach, Florida
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"You gotta want to do it —
you have got to want to SURF!"
These words come from Lou Maresca as I sit listening in a pavilion at Fort Pierce State Recreation Area just south of Vero Beach, Florida. I had come to write an article on his school and attend a session of classes and I have to admit I had not really given the issue all that much thought. I mean, after all, how hard can it be?
Well, I'll tell you what - it ain't easy! But if you are aged 7 to 70 and in relatively decent shape, Lou and his crew will teach you how to surf. They claim a success rate of 95% and I believe them, having seen as much with my own eyes. Lou pioneered East Coast surf schools some years ago, works out of a beautiful facility, has tons of experience, and uses quality equipment. Do not be fooled by imitators.
Before class started Lou personally spoke to each potential student and intensively asked some questions about their abilities and experiences:
He was a very serious and focused, clearly a professional gauging the strengths and weaknesses of his clients. Next the payments outstanding were dealt with, all accomplished with very little hassle. Lou makes family discounts and will take checks (Florida only). This was about the time the comment that opens this story was heard. One of the students was not sure she was into it and it became clear that Lou had been here before. I figured out later he simply didn't want to be wasting anyone's time during the lessons to be dealing with a situation he could handle right now. He assured the young lady that his feelings were not on the line, he just wanted to make sure they weren't going to have to be talking anyone into anything once out in the water. She said she wanted to surf and we were off.
Lou's school has a couple different levels of instruction: those who know how to surf and those who don't. Those who have surfed before and are fairly competent at the basics of surfing will receive personal instruction at the hands of the master. They will proceed directly to the water and Lou will watch them surf for a bit, then he'll join them in the water and assist them in the finer points of choosing waves and getting up to speed so as to overtake and meld with them for a free ride to the beach. He will fine tune their technique and do some surfing himself, allowing them to see how it's done. The other group of students, those who have not surfed before or who are still working on the basics of paddling out and into waves and then popping up on their boards, will stay for an hour of instruction back at the pavilion before proceeding to the water. That was for me and half a dozen children, I'd say from ages 7 to 13.
Lou works with a couple of local surfers who assist him in his classes. Ryan is a 22-year-old surfer gal who sings in a band when not surfing and has a smile that literally bursts out of her when particularly happy surf thought breaks over her mind.
Billy is a 27-year-old business owner (G-Bolt, a company that makes and sells accessories for wake boards) who assists Lou in his spare time for some extra geld. He is also constantly smiling; actually his face looks like it hurts when he isn't grinning
These two were like all the surfers I met in that it was easy to see that one thing a surfer loves is anything to do with surfing. They are constantly looking for the next wave, a tireless and endless pursuit that seems to them like a natural extension of breathing.
At one point in my day I had asked Ryan if she ever got tired of talking about surfing. She looked at me like I was insane and explained that it was something inside of her, "a drive." Lou had recently been instructing a few Air Force Lieutenants, one of whom observed to him that he was constantly in the water, working in it all day, then playing in it; his response to this was that they should think of him as, "an ocean going mammal. I come out of the ocean to feed, sleep and one other thing. Then I'm back in the water." These guys live to surf and when your class starts you will feel that desire coming off them in waves, and I guarantee you, it is infectious.
My beginners class started with a hefty dose of safety instruction. Ryan was very clear and adamant about the potential dangers to be faced in the water. Although I never felt any fear of any of the things covered when I was actually in the water, they do an excellent job of making the possible dangers very clear to those who know nothing of the ocean.
Everything was covered; from holding your board properly, moving around with it safely in the water, and any potentially dangerous ocean fauna you might bump into. Ryan had an instant rapport with the kids, and although she allowed their occasional digression, she was expert at bringing them back to the task at hand and keeping their attention. If I were going to put my kid into a school to learn how to surf, these folks would be the ones I'd want teaching them; safety was a huge priority and yet I don't feel that the kids ever thought they were being talked down to. Ryan almost went out of her way to scare us all a bit, to make us know we were participating in a sport that could be dangerous, and in a potentially perilous place as well, although it was all a bit overplayed for awareness:
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Mike, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent – Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com To book travel visit Jetstreams.com at www.jetstreams.com and for Beach Resorts visit Beach Booker at www.beachbooker.com
About the Author
Mike, Jetsetters Magazine Correspondent. Join the Travel Writers Network in the logo at www.jetsettersmagazine.com