Elizabeth: "I was a Londoner, now I'm a surfer!"

Elisabeth, 38, Bournemouth

I was quite into my little cushy life in London. The Tube-work-sleep routine suited me perfectly. I wasn't an adventurer at heart: a trip to the other side of the M25 was enough of an adventure for me! One day I went down to the south coast for a seminar, something work-related that wasn't very exciting. While I was there, I bumped into a friend who I'd not seen since school. She'd gone to live there a few years earlier. She suggested that I stay for the weekend to get to know the place. And what I really got to know was surfing! The sensatiion of riding the waves and being at one with the water was incredible.

When I got back to London, I promised myself to go back to the coast for my next holiday. I lasted 2 weeks before I went back! And a month later, I went for good. I told my friends that I'd fallen in love with someone, which they found very romantic. If only they knew it was surfing that I'd fallen for, I'm not sure they'd have been so understanding...but it's all worked out nicely!