On Christmas morning I came downstairs to find a rather distinctively shaped present. John had bought me a body board and wrapped it up but was unable to find a box or any way of disguising the board so you could tell at a glance what it was. We saved “the big present” for last while I kept asking him, “what’s in the big present? I want to open the big present.”
Since Christmas Day was very hot, in the 90s, we went to the
beach to try out the new toy. At the
beach the most popular outfit was bathing suit with a Santa’s hat. We could see a group of about 10 guys
standing around, drinking beer on the beach, wearing swim trunks and Santa’s
hats. There was a group of five adults
plus an ever-changing array of children near up who were opening champagne,
snapping Christmas crackers, and eating a lavish picnic lunch. Although
Also known as a boogie board, a body board requires almost no skill, something that is perfect for me. It doesn’t even require that you are more than a passable swimmer.
Simply described, for those who have no idea, body boarding entails taking a piece of floating plastic and tying one end of a leash to the board, the other to your wrist. You go into the ocean to where the waves are strong and just starting to curl over. When the wave gets to you, leap aboard pushing yourself along in the direction of the wave and if you time it right, and if the wave is strong enough it will push you to shore.
Generally what would happen to me is I would smack too hard onto the board, scraping my ribs on the smooth surface, then I would catch the wave and it would try to pull my bathing suit bottoms off. To combat this it is a good idea to keep your legs together, it is also reduces drag making your body in a smooth line. It is also a good idea to wear a t-shirt to protect the ribs.
It is a lot of fun as well as easy. Not like surfing. Surfing is not easy. More on that in the surfing section.
This page is copyright 2003, Laura Giletti
Last revised: December 2003