Clad in a black and gray wetsuit, Tiffany Zhao laid on top of a blue surfboard on the sand, clutching the edges as she crawled toward the top.
“That’s the nose,” said Kanoa Aquatics surf instructor Troy Campbell, one overcast morning, as she felt her way around.
Sixteen-year-old Zhao is blind. She was one of about a dozen kids hailing from the San Gabriel Valley and Burbank for a day at the beach on behalf of the Braille Institute, a non-profit that offers free services to visually impaired people. For 12 years, Kanoa has partnered with the Braille Institute to host the surf camp for kids.
“Kids, whether they can see or not, once they go out and get the feeling of riding a wave, it’s amazing,” said Kanoa owner Kip Jerger. “It raises their spirits.”
Zhao has participated in the camp for five years.
“Do you remember how to get up from last time?” Campbell asked, prompting Zhao to jump to her feet, stretching her arms out to balance on the board.
She was ready to go into the water.
“I might wipe out!” she said, with a giggle, as she walked toward the shore with Campbell.
“Remember what to do when you wipe out?” Campbell asked. Of course, she told him. She covered her head with her arms to demonstrate.
During the next 20 minutes, Zhao caught four waves, standing up each time.
She never wiped out.
“I’m actually very impressed with myself,” Zhao said, drenched after exiting the water.
Her instructors weren’t as surprised. “Every time she goes out she stands up,” said Braille Institute instructor Jessica Gonzalez. “She’s very adventurous.”
Standing on the board was exhilarating for Zhao. “I could’ve flown away,” she said.
Oscar Cartagena, 14, said he was nervous about learning to surf because he didn’t want to fall off the surfboard, but enjoyed jumping in the ocean. “The water feels so good,” he said.
Campbell said he gains his students’ trust in the water by entering slowly. “At first, they’re really intimidated to go in the water, but once they get in water, on the board, they’re so stoked,” Campbell explained.
Braille Institute instructor Christina Tam said the kids look forward to the experience every year. “It gives the kids a free opportunity to learn how to surf in a safe environment,” she said. “It pushes their boundaries and shows them they can do anything they want if they put their mind to it.”
“Once the children are able to go out with a … surf master like Troy Campbell and actually ride waves, they break through those fears, get beyond them, have little breakthroughs,” Jerger said.
With little swimming experience, Campbell said his students are still eager to learn to surf. “That just blows me away,” he said.
“It’s such an awesome program for visually impaired kids,” Zhao said. “Not many people get a chance like this.”
