I was riding waves with my new friend I met at the beach while bodyboarding. We rode a wave and I made it he didn't catch the wave and the current pulled him out. Luckily surfers were near by and I yelled he needs help getting back and then the surfers went out and got him. It was so embarrassing.
I was an L.A. County Beach Lifeguard for 12 years. I have rescued my share of surfers who couldn't swim. I was lucky enough to be a part of a greater scene than just surfing... that was the scene of being a Waterman. A Waterman: Swims, Surfs, Dives, Rows, Paddles, Sails, Skims, Lifeguards and otherwise trains to be competent in all aspects of watersports.
The enabling skill for all watersports is swimming. At the age of 55, I still swim Masters 3 to 4 times a week. I have a license plate holder that says: "Swim to Live, Live to Surf". I mean that literally. I have surfed on the old canvas mats, shortboards, longboards, SUPs and everything in between. Nowadays, I primarily surf on spongeboards because I have the most fun with them.
My point is, you and your friend need to take this incident to heart and start fitness swimming so that you can live and surf your whole lives.
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