Woohoo! I love this job!” That’s all I heard when I made the turn on my windsurfing board to return to shore. Unfortunately, those words weren’t coming out of my mouth, although windsurfing daily might be a fun job to have. It was the booming voice of my windsurfing instructor and Pacific Islands Club operations manager, Freddy Varias.

For about 30 minutes, he explained and demonstrated the fundamentals of windsurfing in a shallow pool at PIC. Afterward, we headed to the beach where it was me versus the expanse of Tumon Bay. The exhilarating experience took me through a few spills, a bruise from hitting coral, and a rescue episode before I windsurfed and returned on my own.

Windsurfing is a fairly young sport, developed in the late 1960s, as a hybrid combination of sailing and surfing by Jim Drake, a sailor, and Hoyle Schweitzer, a surfer.

A decade later, the professional World Cup tour was born and the sport debuted in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, California. The sport exploded to include various competitions of speed, technique and tricks and different types, from free-ride to slalom.

At PIC, beginners learn to freeride before attempting anything else. According to Varias, he cannot recall a single guest at the hotel who did not learn how to windsurf under his tutelage to date. So far, after my experience, it’s still true.

My windsurfing experience began in a shallow pool with a depth of 0.8 meters. On the practice board, which has some convenient labels like “front” at the bow of the board and “back” at the stern of the board, I learned to balance first before actually pulling up the sail. No tricks yet – just simple balance, so I could get a feel of the board on the water.

The steps were simple enough: 1) Make sure the wind is at your back. 2) Create a perpendicular angle to the board before mounting it. 3) Make sure the sail is on the opposite side of the board from where you are mounting it. 4) Mount the board from the center and stand.

Once on the board, my legs trembled a bit as I prayed that my inner ear would work with me that morning and allow me to stay balanced.

After achieving a sense of balance on the board, it was time to pick up the sail. In a semi- squatting position with my back straight, I was instructed to reach for the uphaul line and use both of my hands alternately to pull the rope. After I reached the end of the rope and the sail was up, I held the line with my left hand to allow my right hand to hold the boom, or the bar on the sail.

Once ready to be guided by the wind, I would take a couple of steps back from the center of the board, let go of the uphaul line and hold the boom with both hands.

Next, I had to learn how to turn the board. From the center with the sail mast, I had to take baby steps around the sail mast and at the same time, direct the sail mast with me. From there, I’d hold onto the boom and let the wind guide me back.

Although I did have some issues in the pool, Varias assured me that in the ocean, it would be easier. He told me that the tall buildings at PIC create a swirling wind effect that constantly turns the board in different directions with the sail up.

Before heading out to the ocean, I donned a life vest as a precautionary measure. A few minutes into my first attempt in the ocean, I was drinking salt water and eating sand.

It was smooth sailing soon enough though, until I ventured off near some coral and took another spill. Shook up from spill No. 2, the water current veered me off course and I ended up having to swim to get my board back.

Later that morning, after spill No. 3, the ocean currents pushed me near the buoys that enclose the safe windsurfing area and I had some difficulty mounting the board. Varias swam out to rescue me, and had me sit on the back of the board while he sailed me back near the shore and back in the enclosed area.

I bravely mounted my board again and successfully sailed quite a distance. Before pushing the boundary, Varias instructed me to turn. Determined to succeed, I was able to turn the board around and cruise through the water back to the shore. That excited feeling of accomplishment is indescribable. I would have been screaming with excitement too, but I was earnestly concentrating on keeping myself balanced on the board.

At that point, I knew that windsurfing was definitely something one could get addicted to. I may still be far off from any windsurfing tricks, but that morning, I just felt like anything was possible.

“Woohoo! I love this job!” And the cycle continues.