wakeboard

As the cable slowly pulled me to my feet, I swivelled as instructed and incredibly began to glide across the waves. The feeling was euphoric- I had managed to balance on the board on my first attempt. As I rode back towards the dock, Harriet greeted me with praises of “well done!” “awesome!” and “nice one!” As my confidence increased, it was time to work on turning. After being reminded to cut out early (put the weight onto your heels) and not to try and turn the board myself, I attempted my first turn at the other end. I think its fair to say the not-too-awful-looking boys on the other dock would not have been too impressed by my faceplant. However, at least I could now tick off gracefully plummeting into the water with a pathetic ‘eep’ from my list. Harriet then suggested something which would improve my balance: ‘a little jump’. My heart began to beat even faster and my brain began to whir…”could she mean the dreaded 20ft ramp that I’d seen the professionals on earlier!?” Thankfully not. In actual fact I was attempting a tiny one-handed jump called an ‘Ollie’ which ended up being far from terrifying. But after zooming along, turning and doing little hops on the water for an hour, I was exhausted. I dragged myself back onto the floating dock in a way which can only be compared to a beached whale.  I began heading for the changing rooms. As the hot water showered over me I felt ecstatic: I had a new hobby. Upon leaving the lagoon I caught a glimpse of my clown-like face with mascara streaming down my cheeks (probably not an essential when wakeboarding) and thought that despite my face of makeup being wiped off, nothing could wipe the adrenaline-filled smile off my face. I left walking along the promenade feeling elated. Instead of spending my evening stuffing my face with Mr Kipling cakes,  I’d worked every muscle in my body and had a real laugh. In short, I had become a watersports girl. It turns out, this girl can wear a full face of make-up, acrylic nails and still stand upright on a wakeboard.