Sand-hill Surfing
by Neil Borecky
I tried out surfing for the first time down in Cape Hatteras. I remember
getting up on an 8-foot slug, time slowing down to a crawl, and me staring
at the big black and white stripped lighthouse thinking..."I'm never going
to stop doing this.."
Over the next few years, I zig-zagged my way across the continent
and bought my first board in Tofino off of a very kind girl named "Mattie".
She was generous enough to lend me a wetsuit for the week and a half I spent
in retreat from a long season of tree-planting. I spent 8 hours a day in the
water during that time. Surfing between time spent eating and sleeping at my
little camp above a bay which is now getting built over. (I removed all of
my refuse, plus I hauled out 4 other bags full of garbage that other selfish
people left behind.)
I still have this short-board and I still can't use it very well.
I'm told it used to belong to Raph Bruhwiler when he was still under
Pearson, explaining why I can't ride it too well ;). I've since
acquired a Quest longboard, however I still will never forget the longest
ride I ever had on my Pearson Arrow.
On one of my cross-continental trips, I found myself meandering
through the wilds of Saskatchewan. My beau insisted that we visit the Great
Sandhills, and not one to pass up an adventure or disappoint her, I
willingly agreed.
For the next day and a half we flew down dusty back roads and
through semi-abandoned farming towns. A few die-hard prairie locals were
sitting on a ramshackle porch on one of the few houses which weren't boarded
up in this one small farming community. I'll never forget the look on the
weathered face of this one toothless old man as we passed by in our car. He
saw the board on the roof, pointed at it, and slapped his knee in laughter
while his cronies just shook their heads. Finally we blundered our way onto
this little back road which was decorated by a fence-full of used cow-boy
boots. The dirt on the road turned into a fine beach-like sand, and hummocks
actually began to resemble giant sand dunes. Finally we came across what I
knew was the "Great Sand Hills of Saskatchewan". The dunes stood about 100
feet high, and resembled giant waves. (Albeit these waves only move about 6
feet a year.)
It was getting near sun-down and I just had a great idea. We both
piled out of the car, and I unstrapped the board from the roof. Since it was
in rough shape and I needed a new board anyway, I figured that a little ride
would do it no harm... just like fine sand-paper right???? (I can almost hear
the moans of pain from everyone out there.... but hey, you always have to try
new things.)
Julie and I climbed to the top of the first steep dune ( no small
task since one step up appeared to slide us two steps back.) Once on top, we
were treated to a scene directly out of a National Geographic special. As
far as the eye could see, it resembled the Sahara desert. Rippled sand
drifting over mighty dunes to the horizon. The sun was setting, giving the
sand a pinkish hue. I grabbed my board stepped on at the height of the dune
and pointed down. There must have been some sort of static electricity
between fine dry sand and the resin finish on the surfboard, because there
was virtually no friction against the dune. I sped down the face of the dune
at a speed which caught me entirely off guard. It surprised me that I could
turn during this decent, and that the fins actually worked to steer rather
than to drag uselessly in the sand. The ride lasted maybe 20 seconds, but
the whole way I was doing sandy carves and marveling at this new-found
thrill. When I got to the bottom, I noticed some small kids with their
mother and they seemed quite anxious to give this new sport a try, so for
the next hour while the sun went down, we hooted and hollered our way down
the dunes. Sometimes wiping out in a sand-explosion, sometimes not.
Finally the sun set, whereupon Julie and I waved good-bye, packed up
the board and drove on through the night in a wicked prairie thunderstorm.
It was too dark so the pictures of dune surfing never came out, but that
moment sticks in my memory as the longest ride I ever got with that board.
It still hangs in my house, believe it or not, unscathed at least by that
encounter.
Cheers,
Neil
