Somerset mum gets bitten by the surf bug—Katherine's story

👋 Hey, I’m Katherine

I’m a 37-year-old mum from rural Somerset in the UK. I do not live by the beach, but seem to have been seized with a kind of surfing madness.

🏄‍♀️ The Gower spark

I went bodyboarding on a camping trip in the Gower, which got me into the idea of it. I saw all the surfers around me standing up, and suddenly thought – why not me? Since then, I’ve been obsessively watching surfing YouTube videos and doing random pop-ups everywhere. I booked a lesson at an inland place in Bristol called The Wave (technically the first time I actually touched a surfboard!)

😄 Post-surf glow

This is me after the first time in the ocean on my own – look how happy I am! I loved it – I just kept thinking about getting in the ocean again. I blink and see crashing waves. I don’t understand what’s happened.

🐣 Beginner, like… truly beginner

I’m a beginner, and when I say beginner, I mean a beginner to ALL sports of any kind… Believe me when I say that if you told me I would want to go surfing three weeks ago, everyone I know (including myself) would be laughing heartily.

🌊 First attempt

The first morning I hired a board for an hour and… mostly just stood in the sea with my hands on the board. You could probably call it “standing” rather than surfing. I was a bit freaked out. However, I managed to catch some waves on my belly and called that a win.

The next morning I went down again with my husband and four-year-old daughter and golden retriever, and realised the beach was not actually dog-friendly. So I ended up on my own (again!) while hubs went round the corner to the happy doggo beach bit.

I realised my board was too small, so I swallowed my pride and went back to hire the biggest, massivest “idiot-proof” board. Now I’m finally standing up!

✅ Last day triumphs

Last day – me and my enormous green foamie are reunited and are catching most of the whitewater waves. I am standing up, riding all the way to the beach. I have to stop to relieve my valiant husband of dog and child duties, and also a strange rash appearing on my thighs?

I am miles from the coast, so I am currently trying to convince friends and family into surf trips with me.

I hope I can keep learning. I doubt I’m brave enough for the UK seas outside of summertime – but time will tell! Catch me @katherine.oshea on IG.