And I was down for lessons
By Beth Bresnahan
For the Summer 2016 issue of 01907 The Magazine
I recently booked the trip of my lifetime: a two-week vacation to Hawaii with a group of friends. Almost immediately after purchasing the tickets, I downloaded a Jack Johnson album and began fantasizing about how I would soon be dancing the hula, frolicking in a bikini on the sandy beaches of Maui and catching waves alongside champion surfer Kelly Slater.
The ukulele and chill lyrics of my new playlist helped me temporarily escape the reality that I have zero rhythm, not to mention I’m Irish-girl pale and not quite in bikini-ready shape. Oh, then there's the issue that I had no idea how to surf.
Now, I figured I could fake my way through the dancing with the help of a couple of Mai Tais, and a spray tan along with a few extra spin classes could help me get closer to my desired look. But pretending to know how to surf would be taking the "fake it ’til you make it" mantra to a whole 'nother level (not to mention potentially dangerous). The closest attempt I'd ever made at the sport is watching the movie Point Break whenever it was on TV.
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| Ocean House's Tim Oviatt and Amber O'Shea work on a surfboard. |
Their site said they offer a surf camp and private lessons in the waters off King’s and Long beaches. I shared the info with my friends, Allison and Frank, who thought it looked fun but passed due to the water temps. Still feeling determined, but also a bit apprehensive about getting into the water, I opted to email the shop about a potential lesson rather than call.
I awkwardly e-introduced myself through the address listed on the shop's "contact us" page as a 40-year-old woman who wanted to take up surfing in advance of a Hawaii trip and was willing to brave the chilly mid-May Atlantic waters to do so, but didn’t want to die in the process. I also shared that I’d like to write about the experience for 01907's water-themed summer issue, provided I survived.
The response couldn't have been more enthusiastic and encouraging.
"We'll get you in a warm wetsuit, it won't be any colder than skiing, I promise!" wrote a woman who identified herself as Amber.
Eeek ... I gave up skiing a few years ago after a particularly cold weekend in Stowe. But following several pleasant email exchanges, Amber had convinced me that, based on surf reports, the second week in May would be good for a lesson. And the timing lined up perfectly with the return of their surf camp's newly hired director, Lindsay, who had spent the last six weeks abroad teaching camps.
It was two weeks out from the lesson and I was anxiety ridden, so I arranged to go into shop and meet with Amber and her partner, Tim, to talk things through.
Tim Oviatt opened Ocean House Surf Shop in May 2013. The Ohio native grew up vacationing on the beaches of North Carolina where he first learned to boogie board and fell in love with the ocean. He also grew fascinated with surfing, which as a skateboarder seemed like a sport he could naturally grasp. His intuition was spot on as he not only learned to surf over the years to follow, but also developed a deep technical understanding about the science of the sport to the degree that he now crafts his own boards After attending college in Massachusetts, Tim moved to the North Shore. He brought with him his affinity for the surf scene, which he says, "is still somewhat of an underground culture in Massachusetts, but has a strong New England presence, especially in New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island."
Tim saw a growing, but unfulfilled, demand for surf-related gear and activities in the region and seized it. He started the first iteration of the business out of his apartment, renting and selling stand-up paddle boards (aka SUPs) online and out of his truck. Selling a board a day, Tim soon realized he needed a showroom. The makeshift "showroom" was a storage unit, until a retail spot opened in Beverly Port Marina which allowed him to expand the merchandise offerings; however, it was still cramped and very much a seasonal business. A year later, he found beachfront space in the new Gateway building on the corner of Humphrey and Redington streets, which had been completely rebuilt following a 2011 fire. The location put him right across from King’s Beach – a prime spot for paddle boarding, and a quick drive to the surfing waves in Nahant. Ocean House initially opened as a surf shop with a cafe to help sustain business during the off-season and alleviate Tim’s share of the rent. The partnership on the cafe side of the business proved to be a lot more work
than it should be in order to be profitable. That's when Tim’s friend, Amber, entered the picture.
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| The wetsuit fit oddly similar to an outfit I used to wear to school in the early '90s. |
"Our relationship was great," said Amber. "The only time we'd fight was over the cafe."
"We separately came to the conclusion that things would run much more smoothly if we just closed the cafe,”Tim shared.
Amber added, “Neither of us said anything because didn't want to disappoint the other."
Tim finally brought up the topic and the couple could not have been more relieved to find that they agreed on the cafe's future. They negotiated a partnership, with Tim concentrating on the technical surf side and Amber on the business side and design of the shop. They permanently closed the cafe in September 2015, with a brief pop-up appearance in December for the holidays, and it proved to be a wise decision -- the business has grown each month since.
The shop has undergone some renovations and added off-site warehouse space to accommodate more product. This season Ocean House will be carrying as many as 200 surf and paddle boards (establishing the shop as one of the largest SUP retailers in the Northeast), a full selection of surf gear and supplies, as well as high-quality clothing from surf lifestyle brands like O'Neill, RipCurl, Maaji, Olukai, Rainbow, Roark Revival, The Beach People, and Xcel.
While Tim and Amber are currently the shop's only full-time employees, they are adding 20 seasonal staff members to assist inside with sales and out on the water with camps and lessons. They anticipate anywhere between 60 to 100 kids a day will be partaking in surf camp. The camp, which is geared for youths age 7-17, begins the fourth week in June and runs through the first week of September. An adult surf camp is in the works for the end of July and August. In addition to the camps, lessons, rentals, repairs and sales now offered, Ocean House will soon be adding fitness classes, like beach yoga, to its program lineup and sponsoring free networking events.
"We will be organizing paddle board meet-ups and other social events," Amber said. "We're selling much more than just merchandise. We're selling a lifestyle and looking to build a surf community here in Swampscott."
On the day of the lesson, I got to the shop about an hour early so I could be fitted for a wetsuit, boots, gloves and a hood to shield me from the cold water. But not before I took to Google to ask, "What do I wear under a wetsuit?" I learned a bathing suit would be sufficient, but also read several stories of meltdowns some first-time wetsuit wearers had trying to get the snug one-piece on. Some got stuck in theirs. Others put it on backwards.
So, it didn't come as a complete surprise when Amber warned me to not get discouraged if I had issues suiting up; however, I was shocked to find that the sizing for women's wetsuits run similar to that of bridal gowns -- 2 to 3 times your street size. Oddly enough, men's wetsuits run true to size. So much for vanity sizing.
It was a gorgeous 70-degree day, but the water temps were somewhere in the 40s. Tim handed me a winter wetsuit, known as a 5mm, which is the thickness of the material, to try on. A summer wetsuit is 3mm or lighter.
I successfully shimmied into the wetsuit on the first try and it was a perfect fit. I can almost guarantee that wasn't beginner's luck. As a fashion-challenged teenager in the 90s, I owned a similar spandex catsuit that I wore to school, paired with a baby doll dress and Doc Martens. It was just as awkward to get in and out of.
After getting into the boots, the lobster-claw shaped gloves and tight hood, I resembled Spiderman's evil twin sister but at least the tight, all-black ensemble was kind of slimming.
Lindsay Egan walked in just as I was done suiting up. The athletic, tanned instructor was fresh off a six-week trip to South Africa and Indonesia where she was teaching youth to surf. Originally from Beverly, Lindsay spent most of her life living between the South Shore and New Hampshire, both prime surfing spots. She seemed to be extremely laid back, but radiated excitement and enthusiasm when talking about her work -- especially the sky-high waves she rode in Bali just a few days earlier.
After answering a flurry of my questions – which included several iterations of: “Am I going to die out there?” – we were off to ride the waves at Long Beach. As Tim loaded up a 9-foot longboard into the van, Amber wished me luck. She also told me not to get discouraged if I wasn’t able to “pop up” on the board in my first lesson.
Before we got in the water, Lindsay and I did several stretches to limber up, then she went over basic moves like positioning myself on the board (toes almost to the tail of the board), focusing on where to look (chin up and straight ahead), paddling (cupped hands, scooping the water), popping up on the board (quickly and carefully) and standing on the moving board (front foot in the middle of the plank, knees slightly bent and body “hanging loose”). She also went over some safety precautions: when I fall off the board, which is guaranteed to happen, be sure to fall to the side or behind it so it doesn’t hit me in the head. And if I’m not certain where the board is when I fall, always protect my head with my arms.
As nervous as I had been at the shop about getting into the water, Lindsay had done a tremendous job of dissipating my fears. She helped to channel my anxiety and apprehension into excitement as we waded waist-high into the empty Atlantic with the board attached to my leg with a leash. I was shocked that I wasn’t shocked by the water temperature – in fact, I couldn’t feel the water at all through the thick neoprene wetsuit and accessories.
Lindsay instructed me to pull my body onto the board and paddle out to a spot she deemed would be best to catch a breaking wave. She met me at the spot and positioned my board so it faced the shore.
“I will watch for the wave and tell you when to start paddling,” Lindsay explained. “When you feel the board pick up momentum, that’s when you’ll pop up and ride the wave in.”
Lindsay spotted my wave and gave me an extra push as she enthusiastically yelled, “Paddle!” I felt the board pick up speed and as instructed, I lifted my body and popped up onto my feet.
I got up on the first try and rode the wave about 15 feet toward shore before ungracefully falling back into the water. Then, I wiped out on the subsequent half dozen tries. But, Lindsay was patient and I didn’t give up. We spent the next hour in the water. She coached me when to paddle and pop up, and I successfully did as instructed.
I may have swallowed more salt water in that hour than I ever have in my lifetime, but I actually surfed. And I not only didn't die in the process, I really enjoyed it.
It was five days into our stay in Maui before I could convince Allison and Frank to go surfing.
When Barker, our instructor at the Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy in Laihaina, asked, “Have any of you guys surfed before?” I was the only one who proudly exclaimed, “Yes!” I was also the only one in our group who popped up on the first try thanks to my lesson at Ocean House Surf Shop.
Ocean House Surf Shop
128 Humphrey St.
Open seven days a week, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
oceanhousesurf.com
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