"I was still a novice and went surfing in a string bikini when I got up into a wave on my longboard. I cruised by a grinning guy and smiled back happily, as I was feeling particularly graceful. At the end of my ride I figured it out. My triangles were not covering what they were supposed to! —Donna, Ventura, CA
"I had my mini-van towed while I was surfing one day and it was like planes, trains, and automobiles in search of the tow yard. I had no shoes, no money, and not much luck hitch-hiking. By the time I made it home that night I had spent a good eight hours in nothing but my stanky wetsuit." —Thomas, Beverly Hills, CA
"I was once standing on my skateboard (which I've nicknamed "the deathdealer") in the safety of my kitchen, surrounded by a bevy of pointy, hard counter surfaces. When I tried to kick the nose up and stand on the back, I ate it hard, took down a vase of flowers with me, and landed at my new boyfriend's feet." —Beck, Venice, CA
"More than once I've paddled out with my leash on the wrong ankle." —Peggy, Aliso Viejo, CA
"Learning to snowboard, as a woman pushing thirty, taught me a little something about humility. I was lying in the middle of the bunny hill after a full yard sale when a 10-year-old boy whizzed by yelling at me to "get the hell up!"
—Rebecca, Santa Monica, CA
"When I first started surfing, I was paddling in and didn't time it correctly. As I got near the shore, a set came in and a wave broke right on me. I got tossed and washed up on shore, head-first. When I stood up, I looked like Cousin It from the Addams Family covered in sand." —Cheryl, Brentwood, CA
"It was a head-high day and I was surfing my new short board, trying turns when—bam!—I collided with a guy. My fin dinged his deck and when we got out of the water he asked in a thick accent if I could write a check to cover the ding repair. 'Please make it out to K-O-O-K,' he said. He pronounced it 'cook' so I wrote the check. Years later I was doing taxes and found the carbon made out to 'Kook' and, boy, did I have a laugh. That check is probably hanging on his wall." —Anonymous, Santa Monica, CA
"It was my first time surfing and I put on my rented wet suit with the zipper in front." —Stef, Venice, CA
"Jump off the rocks or paddle 150 yards to a channel? I tried to brave the direct shot and ended up ankle deep on exposed reef. Not fun!" —Mick, Venice, CA
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