February 20, 2002
Surf's up for Loukas Bethea
TC man spends 16 days surfing in Costa Rica with Outward Bound
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Duuuuuude! Awesome waves.
Surfers may have an attitude, a vernacular and cliché clothes, but they are still facing a supreme athletic challenge once they paddle out to a duel with a wave.
"Surfing is very extreme, the hardest thing I've ever done," said Loukas Bethea, 20, who has been surfing for seven years. "Snowboarding, you're already standing up but with surfing you've got to be able to catch a wave the first time."
Not one to shrink from a challenge, Bethea returned last month from a 16-day trip to Costa Rica to participate in an Outward Bound surfing program. With two other students, he learned the fine points of catching and riding the big ocean waves from an expert. Calling the instructor a great mentor and an awesome surfer, Bethea's goal for the trip was to deepen his knowledge of the sport.
"The main thing you have to work on is catching the wave and standing up, you have to pop up, really," Bethea said. "Then you have to learn how to turn to get out of the whitewater and onto the wave, then drive the board by putting your weight on your front foot."
Then there's an attitude of studied calm that surfers must cultivate because one thing is sure - you will wipe out.
"You can do a washing machine, flip after flip after flip," he said. "You have to remain calm because if you panic you will lose your air."
Keeping cool is a key to even getting started. When suddenly confronted with a huge wave, after they looked so small and manageable from the beach, there is just time for a deep breath before popping up on the board.
"The most intense part is probably paddling out because then you see the lip of the wave coming at you, with it's teeth. It looks a lot bigger from two feet away," Bethea said. "Sometimes you'll be paddling out there and see a huge wave coming and you don't know if you really want to do this."
Once the basics are mastered, tricks come next: off the tops, bottom turns, airs and floaters.
Still refining the intricacies of these advanced moves, Bethea is a devoted surfer who catches waves any chance he can. He fell in love with the sport the first time he saw it at age 8 and relished finally getting a board when he was 13. He is not stopped by the lack of oceans nearby, saying that some local spots put up good waves.
A recent windy, warm day found him and a buddy surfing for hours off of Frankfort, their summer sport a stark contrast to the snow huddled on the ground. Other jaunts have taken him to waves at Sleeping Bear Point (10 foot waves), Grand Haven (three or four foot waves) and a special place in Michigan City, Ind. (where the waves are truly awesome but he is sworn to secrecy.)
"The Great Lakes are little oceans and the real difference between surfing here and in the ocean is that you are 15 percent less buoyant," said Bethea, a member of the Great Lakes Surfing Association. "That makes it harder to catch a wave but once you are riding you can't tell the difference."
Bethea, a 2000 graduate of Traverse City West High School, returned from his Costa Rican adventure with one goal in mind: go back. For now, he works at Burritt's Meat Market, makes surf boards by hand and plans future expeditions, near and far.
"I dream of returning to live in Costa Rica," said Bethea, who has also surfed in North Carolina, Florida and the British Virgin Islands. "The first place we went to we didn't even see a footprint in sight. It was not like Florida, this was so secluded."