Thankfully, the Avon waves were not as rough as the night before. As Kirk M.* described it:

"Surf very much like Monday afternoon's sandbar crunchers but with another wrinkle---no power."

"On our last morning, the surf was chopped up with a side shore wind and the tide was all wrong. We went out anyway. We had a fun session and I used Rod's old G&S Hot Curl board.  The board is as old as me. It was fun and funky." Fun and funky' describes the way it was for me, too. It was looking like Monday afternoon's conditions, but the side-wind was less intense...so I felt like I could handle the paddle out this time.

They had to head home at about 11AM that morning. It was also my last chance to try to surf with them & I am so happy that I got out there with them. Neal C.** summed up our DP much better than I can, here's part of what he wrote: "We all caught as many waves as we could and enjoyed the sunrise. It was one of those sessions you hate to see end. Not cause the waves were good, but because the GP was over."

As for my own surfing, I fully expected to have fun just floundering around getting slammed by waves instead of riding them. And for the first 20 minutes that's exactly what I did: paddled for awhile to get outside 'til a wave knocked me back, got back on my board, floated for awhile, then tried all over again. I had that familiar 'deer in the headlights' kind of feeling. What I didn't know, was that Chris had been observing my attempts. He paddled over to help me out. Though I'm paraphrasing here, this is what I gleaned from his tips:

"Dig deeper when you paddle, it'll give you more power. Scoot forward more on your board. Don't give up on paddling until you get yourself outside & position yourself in a good spot for catching waves."

It felt so good to finally get outside & be in the line up with others. I let out a big cheer in celebration. After several tries, I finally caught a waist high wave (or maybe it caught me). I didn't try to stand up that time...I was just happy to be carried along by the wave. It was a good long ride that carried me all the way to shore. I can't say that surfing is what I was doing, but regardless, it was a great feeling (Kuk DD flapping her arms like a seagull at the end of a wave).

Once my board and I reached the sand, I stayed onshore to enjoy watching others ride their last few waves of this year's palooza. I'm so very glad I did, because I got a chance to see Rowdy Robb in action. He brought his board in shortly after I did. Then he turned around in a flash and jumped into the shorebreak to do some bodysurfing. It was a total treat to watch him. He's kind of like a cross between a seal and a dolphin in the ocean. He turned around in 
circles on the waves, dove across them, submerged to swim underwater for so long that I got a little concerned...then he'd surface again. Then he'd hoot'n'holler and do a backflip into the wave. That guy is one stoke-filled wildman, with a wonderful approach to life. Robb, it was a delight to meet you, talk to you and to watch you surf on the Outer Banks!
 

Too soon, it was time for Neal, Chris, Kirk, Mike and Robb to be heading home. I lingered in the garage while they were securing their boards on the racks. I wanted to stay as long as I could to take in those last few minutes hanging out with them.

Then I knew it was time for me to head back to the place I was staying in Buxton, to get ready for a very special paddle out that Rod, KC, Lana and I were going to do later that afternoon. So I bid a fond aloha to Team Annapolis Surf Club and headed on my way. Guys, thanks so much for everything, it was so much fun being there with you all!

DeeDee