ADVENTURE GUIDE
Surfing
BY BROOKE DeNISCO

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Shark Attack!
San Diego
Short Sands Beach
Equipment Rental

Most sports require skill, nerve and gumption--potentially intimidating criteria. Surfing ups the ante by adding etiquette (you can get beat up for stealing someone's wave), fashion (except in Oregon where you can just wear a wetsuit) and lingo (if you don't know that "bump time gentleman" means you're close to a rock, you might find out the hard way).

 The other weird thing about surfing is that you can only practice in the large and tumultuous playing field known as the ocean. You can't hone your skills in a pool before getting out there.

 Basically, if you're a brunette, over 12 and not from California or Hawaii, learning to surf can seem about as likely as becoming the Jazz's new point guard. But contrary to the surfer image, if you're a decent swimmer, moderately coordinated and daring enough to pour chocolate milk in your cereal, you can handle riding a wave. Definitely start small--at a beach known for beginners--and kiss a little, but not too much, surfer ass. Assume a humble but confident posture, ask for plenty of pointers, and go out the first couple times with someone who can coach you through a little.

 Before even going in the water, have someone show you the basics on shore. Get comfortable lying towards the back end of your board with your hands by your hips; this allows you to push your body up and board nose down to get through a wave or pop up to ride a wave. Practice jumping up with your knees bent, front foot at 1 o'clock, back foot at 4 o'clock. Then ease yourself into the water, board pointed straight out to sea, and start going through the motions on little breaking waves, while scanning for calm moments to move out a bit deeper.

 Swimming laps for a couple of weeks before catching waves will make your day a lot more fun. Paddling around can be really tiring, and you'll need your breath and energy for those times you don't get on or over a wave and have to spend a few long seconds swirling underwater trying to figure out which way is up.

Shark Attack!
Nothing to panic about, but, as we know all too well, there are sharks in Oregon. Department of Fish and Game shark expert Bob Lea refers to white sharks as "part of Oregon's natural fauna." The only thing you can really do to protect yourself from the rare attack (12 Northwest surfers have been bitten since 1976) is to surf with a buddy (who's really strong and brave) and stay away from intense, boiling bubbles. Some advice from the Seattle fanzine Shark Fear, Shark Awareness: "Don't approach listless sharks; they're not really sleeping."

San Diego
Just south of the expert waves of Del Mar, San Diego's Pacific Beach offers a stretch of manageable surf conditions. After a few trips to Short Sands, you'll appreciate PB's slightly bigger waves and warmer water. The other main reason for Portland surfers to head all the way to Diego is that Alaska Airlines offers great ticket prices there--many fares hover around $100, while a ticket to Los Angeles is usually more than $200. A quick $2 city bus ride will take you right from the airport to the boardwalks, sunglass stands and Jägermeister bars of Pacific Beach. Hotels and motels abound there, and you can grab great breakfast burritos right on the beach. If you want a hand with the basics (and tips on the lay of the beach), get in touch with Pat and Lynne at the San Diego Surfing Academy (800-447-7873, www.surfsdsa.com), located right on Pacific Beach. Pat could coax your great-great-grandmother to the top of a 6-foot wave. An hourlong private lesson with Pat is $45; group lessons are $25 a person.

Short Sands Beach
Nestled between Cannon Beach and Manzanita is the mile-long stretch where many Oregon surfers start and end up. Because the shore gets protection from both north and south winds, the waves are somewhat predictable and appropriate for beginners as well as more advanced surfers. Watch for strong currents, and be warned that camping on the beach (which plenty of people do) could result in a fine. Aprés-surf bonfires, drum circles and feeding frenzies give Short Sands a mellow party atmosphere that rounds out a day of wave pounding nicely. The Big Wave Cafe at 822 Highway 101 serves excellent early morning breakfasts. To find out the weather, currents, water temperature and breaks at Short Sands and the rest of the Oregon coast, go to www.teleport.com/~forwejo/.

Equipment Rental
If you're heading from Portland to the Oregon Coast for a day or weekend, it's probably cheaper to rent a board in town. Gorge Performance (7400 SW Macadam Ave., 246-6646) has reasonable rental rates and helpful employees. Start off with a long board; they seem awkward but are much easier to balance on (I'm 5' 3" and started with a 10-foot board). Also, El Niño or not, you're going to want to wear a wetsuit. Used ones are often on sale at surf swaps and in the paper, but you can rent one as well.

Sometimes planning ahead just doesn't happen; here are some good shops on the coast to rent or buy from:

Cleanline Surf, 719 1st St., Seaside, 738-7888

Lincoln City Surf Shop, 4792 SE Highway 101, Lincoln City, 996-7433 (also home to the Pacific Northwest Surfing Museum)

Ocean Pulse Surfboards, 429 SW Coast Highway, Newport, 265-7745

Oregon Surf Shop, 4933 SW Highway 101, Lincoln City, 996-3957

Rocky Point Surf & Sport, 831 S Empire Blvd., Coos Bay, 888-9370

Safari Town Surf Shop, 3026 NE Highway 101, Lincoln City, 996-6335

South County Surf, 33310 Cape Kiwanda Drive, Pacific City, 965-7505