Surfing offers so much, regardless of skillset

A surfboard that sat untouched near my parents’ garage was used for the first time in five years on Sunday. 

SOAPBOX:

A SURFBOARD that sat untouched near my parents' garage was used for the first time in five years on Sunday. 

There aren't many waves in my hometown of Gladstone, and I figured the move to the Sunshine Coast would be the ideal opportunity to see if I could still stand up. 

Coolum Beach was my chosen spot and although saying I was wobbly would be putting it lightly, the feeling of being back on the board in the salt and sun was the same as I remembered. Unfortunately, it's not always such a positive experience.

It made me upset to hear Jose Coelho hasn't returned to the water since he had a verbal altercation with another surfer at Moffat Beach. It didn't get physical, but now he's worried that it might next time and he wants to give it away completely. Regardless of how good you are, surfing offers so much in the way of fun and stress relief. We've all heard of the rivalries between local and visiting surfers, or stand-up paddle boarders and surfers butting heads, but I was of the understanding it was more of an issue further south. It would be a real shame if this became the norm around here.

I think we should all take note of some sage advice from John Mahoney, of Caloundra Police who wanted to remind people to take it easy and that surfing is just a hobby for most.

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