Taylor's Mistake

The morning after my birthday party (about three weeks ago) I attended CUBA's Learn to Surf day ... impressed that I was even able to get out of bed? Yeah. I was too. Looks like turning 21 doesn't mean I get awful hangovers! Now that I've said that, 22 will probably kick my ass.

Learning the basics: pop-ups!

Anyway, back to surfing. It was a beautiful day, and the water is finally safe to swim in (it was pretty sketchy for a while after the quake) but the swell was the weakest I've ever tried to surf - it was pretty close to dead calm. Which was great for all the newbies who were learning to surf for the first time, but not for anyone riding anything shorter than 8ft. I'd been invited by my friend Blake who knew I was into surfing and wasn't really there to learn since I was taught to surf by an amazing instructor back north in Canada. Blake and his brother Canning and I shared a long board since they'd both brought boards too short for the swell, and we had a great time goofing around on the little waves and watching the learners slam into each other accidentally.

After a few hours out on the water, everyone headed in to shore to have some snacks before starting the beach cleanup. CUBA (Canterbury University Boardriders Association) teamed up with Sustainable Coastlines to do a bit of good for the coast! I was pumped to be helping clean up the oceans even just a little bit (beach cleanups reduce the amount of garbage in the ocean - check out the Great Pacific Garbage Patch although there's more than just one!).

Finally at the end of the day, there was a BBQ and CUBA gave out a ton of sweet prizes. Somehow I won "Female Charger of the Day" and a sick pair of Arnette sunglasses ... I feel kinda guilty since I already knew how to surf, but I love the shades!

Great views during the cleanup