Nathan Nipp heard the wave approaching and jumped up on the surfboard, putting his arms out wide and bending his knees into a surfer stance, the intense look of focus on his face easing as he enjoyed the ride.
“I’m up,” the 9-year-old surfer yelled out. “I got it!”
It didn’t matter that Nipp, of Irvine, couldn’t see the waves approaching, or had to feel around with his fingers to find just the right place on the soft-top surfboard to lay his body flat while out in the water.
Being blind has never slowed this kid down – and it certainly wasn’t going to while he was learning how to surf at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point on Friday, April 7.