I've just come back from a weeks break in Tenby, South Wales. One of the main highlights (sporting) was learning how to skimboard. Unlike surfing, skimboarding starts on the beach.

Skimboarding is a sport similar to surfing that takes place near the shore. The skimboarder stands about twenty feet from the ocean with skimboard in hand and waits for an approaching wave. When they see a wave they run towards it with their skimboard in hand. Upon reaching the wet sand they drop the board and jump onto it as quickly as possible. Once on the board, the skimmer must remain as stable as possible and prepare to make the transition to the ocean. The skimmer then (hopefully) glides out into the ocean toward the oncoming wave, banks off of it, and rides it back into shore.

Because the waves where really small in Tenby, and I was learning, I just skimmed across the shore as seen in the videos below. I really got into it and by the end of the holiday was managing to skim large distances. I'd love to take the sport up but need decent local beaches!

For added effect play the following music while watching the videos. (copyrighted music)