A quarter century of surfing has taught me a few simple but important things…here are some valuable surfing life hacks better learnt by not experiencing them first hand!
These simple tricks will improve your surfing lifestyle and blow your mind to why you hadn’t done it sooner.
The biggest thing putting you off your next surf is more than likely the dreaded damp or wet wetsuit! Many surfers used to use plastic bags but as we are on a “green mission” we have handed in the bag and replaced it with a zoomie sock! Zoomies are made from recycled spinnakers and get you sliding into your wetsuit in under a minute… promise!
Another useful wetsuit accessory is a reusable tub to stand inside while changing (like the ones we used to all have in our showers not to long ago during the drought!) it means no more sand in your wetsuit – yay for next time. The tub can also be used to put your wetsuit in after your surf to keep your car dry.
Suffering from the dreaded wetsuit rash? Keep a bottle of Vaseline in your car and apply liberally to the areas that are most likely to rash. Remember to wipe your hands down before the surf otherwise you will be sliding all over the place!
Got the post surf chills? Not any more… simply fill a bottle of warm water and take this with you to the beach. If you would like to be a little more sophisticated you can also use a camping shower to rinse off. Most Cape Town beaches have turned off their shower facilities. This was you are saving water and can get back to that important work meeting salt and sand free!
Another home comfort for after cold surf – wrap your towel around a hot water bottle…you will thank me when standing in the car park trying to defrost.
Buy a key padlock or waterproof pouch for your car key. Getting your electronic key wet can be a very expensive mistake. Another good idea is to have a normal non electronic car key cut to open your car door. It is also far too risky to leave your key on a tyre and I would definitely not recommend doing this.
Always keep a fin key, some wax and duct tape in your car, you never know when you will need these. Duct tape can help you keep your board sealed after dinging it. If you don’t have a wax comb…a bank card works just as well to remove excess wax.
As my husband keeps telling me “DONT LEAVE your wet post surf wetsuit in your car ” … do it once and you will know why… enough said.
Finally keep a can of deodorant in your car as the lingering post surf wetsuit smell is never charming and you never know who you might bump into after your surf!
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