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NORTH SHORE NEWS COMMUNITY LIFE

ing to ride the Pacifi

ong Beach schoo! offers a surfin’ safari

: Deana Lancaster

News Reporter
‘dlancaster@nsnews.com

FAR off the hard, flattened Long
Beach shoreline, the heavy hand of
the wind pushes the Pacific Ocean
* into swells.

“They race over the kilometres to Vancouver
: Island, rolling under and lifting the surface of
the water until the sea bottom
climbs ‘and forces them into
"steep, Conoidal peaks. :
“There, (near the © beach;
© neoprene-suited -humans bob in the rolling
-soup and wait for them impatiently.
They want to catch a ride.;

2.900
Surfing has got to ‘be one of the toughest
sports around to get the hang of. Unlike skate-
boarding. and snowboarding, in which the
quhen’” and “how fast” are a joint decision of
articipant’s and. of gravity, surfing has
ne er, : greater ‘influence: the ocean. Waves
don’t roll in predictable patterns, and the surfer
can’t control their speed. Catching a wave, and
then riding it — not to mention surfing eti-
quette, carrying a board the “cool” way, and
riding, your way around the lingo — is a chal-
lenge | that can take: months, or even a year, to
. figure out. ;
- Dean Montgomery and Jennifer Smith fig-
ure they can cut that time down to a few days.
Montgomery launched Inner Rhythm Surf
Camp out of Victoria three years ago. He want-
ed to:share his love of the sport with other
adults, and with young people. °°
“Summer camp was such-a big part of my

life growing up. I just really wanted to give that .

perience to others. And they get co learn how
to surf.? 2.

When they started the camps, they v were still
living in’ the “capital and_twice.a week. driving

participants the four-hour trek to Lone Beach :

; xhaust, electrical & cooling systems,
rotate all tires, check all belts, hoses & fluid levels.

mer handling the administration;
packing boards, wetsuits, food
and camping and driving
hack and forth to Long Beach
had taken its toll.
just thought we'd look

around and see if there was any
property out here that would suit
our needs,” said Smith. “We did-
n't really think we'd find any-
thing.”

But they did.

About one and a

half kilometres

south of the
Ucluelet-Totino junction the cou-
ple. found a home backed onto
five acres of rainforest, slash and
mud. As soon as they took posses-
sion this spring, they and their
team of surf: instructors,/‘con-
struction workers got to work
clearing, and landscaping, building

‘pathways, rustic cabins, tent sites,

the dining deck and sand volley-
ball court and the master stroke
—~ a gorgeous cedar fourplex of
outdoor hot-water showers, per-
fect for rinsing off the salt of
pounding, waves.

ooa

Jeremy Sheppard is a human performance
specialise and one of inner Rhythm’s surf

-instructors. All of the staff have qualifications

beyond hours logged on their boards: first aid

training; education in fitness and nutrition; and

experience camping and counselling kids.
Sheppard taught us our first lesson on the

_endless expanse of Long Beach, steam lifting

from it as the moming sun dried the sand. In

“summer, the waves are small and well-spaced.

Ic’s the right place to learn. :*

“If you get caught in the rip current, well ...

“first of all T would tell you ‘Stand up,” “because
‘i's onlv waist-deeo.”

He. talked about our

Includes new NGK spark plugs,
electronic engine analysis, adjust
timing and carburetor,

tion on our longboz rds for paddling.

We headed out past the breaking’ waves,
exposed hands quickly numbing and eyes sting-
ing through the salowater foam. Montgomery
and Sheppard showed us how to straddle our
boards and bob in the rollers as we eyed the
incoming waves for a likely ride. We didn’t have
to wait long. :

Remembering the lesson, I pivoted towards |

shore, bellied up to my “stick” again and pad-
dled hard. Then suddenly the board was lifting
against me, the wave cresting around me and I
was riding at lightning speed for the beach.

I rook the time to marvel at it ... big mis-

take. Even in “small” waves the power r of the

Seniors.

CG it

photo tnner Fihythe Surt Camp

the tin Rhythm instructors teach students about their boards, the beach, the waves and
the lingo. . _ :

But it’s not enough to discourage u.. With
Sheppard and Montgomery's guidance we
were soon making reasonable attempts at judg-
ing which waves to try for and which to let roll
harmlessly under us. By the end of lesson nwo, -
many of their ‘ampers make it to standing, Not
me — but I have ‘every intention: of trying
again.

oa0.

Inner Rhythm Surf Camp ‘offers three: day. :
camps and daily lessons for adults, and five-day

‘camps for youth aged 12°t0'17 through the

months of July and August. Camps include
cauioment. wetsuits. instruction, cabin accom

Includes shoes & pads, machine. .
rotors & drums if necessary, checi
wheel bearings, parking brake cable &

‘visual inspection of hydraulics. ;

yl.
_* Reg, price $76.44) *-

$06.86 as aii :