First Time
by: Fun
After about 6 months of visiting naturist websites, chat-rooms and mailing lists, I have finally gone to my nearest nude beach - and not a moment too soon. I had made a promise to myself that I would go there before I turned 18 - and that was just a week away! So now it is a source of pride to me that I was still a teenager when I had my first public experience.
The beach I am talking about is Western Australia's beautiful Swanbourne Beach. In order to get there, I had to take both a bus and a train and then walk about a kilometre. As I waited to catch the bus, I was having second thoughts about going through with it. Questions were running through my head like 'What if someone I know sees me'? but almost unconsciously I got on the bus. The fact that I had made a promise to myself seemed keep pushing me forward. After my train journey was over, I started walking toward the coastline. It was uphill most of the way, so it certainly increased my desire to go for a swim it was a very hot day as it was.
I got to the end of the street and walked down onto the beach. According to a website about Swanbourne, it was just a short stroll north from where I was. Somehow ten minutes walking along the sand on a boiling hot day didn't seem like a short stroll to me. My walk covered several beaches, with a few people here and there swimming or sunbathing. At one point I walked right past a sunbathing woman not realizing until I was right next to her that she was top-free. Well, perhaps some Swanbourne influence is transferred onto its adjacent beaches. Whatever her reason was, it got me just a bit more prepared for what I was about to see.
Pretty soon, I could see a yellow sign up ahead and the outlines of quite a lot a people. 'This is probably it,' I thought to myself. Sure enough, when I got a bit closer I could see that all of those people were nude, and I could now read the sign: 'Nude sunbathing south of this sign prohibited. Offenders will be prosecuted.' Nevertheless, there were just a few people sitting about 2 metres south of the sign. Who can blame them though? Nothing wrong with blurring the barriers a bit.
Seeing lots of naturist pictures on the net had certainly helped prepare me for the sight of heaps of people completely nude on the beach. There were most sunbathers, but quite a lot in the water as well. Fortunately, I didn't find it arousing at all, just very exciting. After all, I'd never experienced anything like it in my life. I'd read that the nude section of the beach was 2 kilometres long, so I could have easily found a place to swim in private, but I just didn't feel like walking any more and that wouldn't have been a real naturist experience anyway. Instead, I found a spot behind a small mound of sand at the back to put my stuff (I had been carting a heavy bag around the whole time). Only one person could see me from there, but I didn't mind because I could tell from his tan that he was a regular and not just a gawker. In fact, I hadn't seen a single clothed person who wasn't arriving or leaving.
The fact that nudity was so normal there gave me an extra bit of confidence. 'This is it!' I decided. After getting my shoes and socks off, I took off my shirt straight away and put it in my bag. Then I applied some sun cream to my arms, chest and legs. By this time I was getting extremely nervous, but also determined to go all the way. My hands were shaking as I removed my shorts. Then I got out my towel and sat on it wearing only my underwear. I waited until I had calmed down a bit and then braced my self for the big moment. I was out of my underwear without any more hesitation. I felt a wave of emotions wash over me. Pride that I had the courage to do this, excitement for this new experience and absolute joy! I finished applying sun cream (you need it everywhere) and then stood up. I knew that I was finally a true naturist. I was able to stand up completely nude in full view of everyone around me, without feeling anything bad about what I was doing.
I started walking and then running straight to the water. This part was great! Swimming nude in the ocean is one of the most enjoyable experiences in the world. I swam back and forth and let some waves crash into me. I can't even explain how it felt. After a while I realized that something was wrong. Of course! I was still wearing the band that's tying my hair back! I know this may seem stupid, but I didn't feel that the experience would be complete unless I had nothing on my body whatsoever.
So I got out of the water straight away. As I walked back to my bag, I ended up making eye contact with some of the sunbathers on the way. It amazed me that I was already not embarrassed to look at nude people with them looking at me. Whenever this happened it was never gawking, just two people exchanging polite glances as they would if they were clothed. As soon as I'd taken the band off I was back in the water. This time I even bodysurfed on a wave. I got hungry after a while, so I returned to my bag again and ate my sandwich, but this time moved it away from the hidden spot, as I was no longer worried about theft or being looked at. When the sandwich had gone down, I had one last dip in the ocean before taking my board shorts (or swimming trunks as some people call them) and dipping them in the water. I'm sure that the sight of a nude guy dipping a pair a board shorts in the water must have seemed strange, but I had to do it so that when I got home it would look as if I had gone to a clothing required beach. (I hadn't worn the board shorts at any stage that day).
I had to leave then in order to catch my train and bus back. If you've read a lot of these stories, you'll know what I'm about to write next. I HATED HAVING TO PUT MY CLOTHES BACK ON! It was like leaving paradise. As I left the nude section, I was relieved that nobody on another beach was negative about the fact that I had just been up there. I guess the community must respect the ways of nudists and naturists just as we (I'm glad to be using that word) respect their standards on the clothing required beached (however unreasonable).
The mix of people was pretty good. While middle-aged men where the most common, most other groups had a few people there also. I even spotted a guy who looked about my age. It would be nice if there were a better balance (perhaps more young people and females), not in order to look at them of course, but to have greater support and enjoyment of naturism throughout all kinds of people. This didn't really matter to me today though, as I was simply enjoying the experience without much interaction with others.
As for gawkers: WHAT GAWKERS? Everyone was nude. This also made me realise that if someone I knew was there, they would probably be in a similar situation to me and respect the fact that many naturists require secrecy. I know now that Swanbourne Beach is a safe place for me.
I will definitely be coming back quite often. Once I get my license I'll be able to visit all the time and perhaps get to know some naturists. I also plan on trying out the local non-grounded club, and the nearest resort.
I have really found something special and will definitely be continuing with it for the rest of my life! Thank you to everyone who made the websites that have taught me all about it. You have had an impact on me that has made me very happy.