Intro Story
The average wave caught while surfing lasts five second. Five mere seconds. In five seconds the average human cannot even type a full sentence. It would have taken me the time of six waves to re-write every word on this page up to this point. Five seconds is no time at all, unless your spending it on a wave. Those five seconds on a wave last seemingly forever. While experiencing those five seconds you feel free, open, and in an absolutely in a different world. Once you experience this five seconds, you live, breath, and eat just to try and get back into that very state of mind. The problem is, the only way to feel this exact way, is to be on that wave.
With the wind blowing out to the endless sea, and the swell fighting the wind, I was caught in the middle of two rugged, natural forces battling to the death. Waves three times my size were making my bladder ready to burst from fear. I was prepared to flee from such dread, but the lust for those five seconds was too strong for me to give into fear. One hour passed and finally I was just out past the waves and could rest. Within a one mile radius from me, the only other living beings were a pack of dolphins enjoying the fun of such monsters. They glided across the waves with such ease with numerous added leaps of joy. Every movement they made, they made with such ease, putting me to shame. My shoulders were pivoted, facing inland while I was distracted from such awe when something literally hit me.
Twenty feet of crashing, brutal water came rolling across my head and down my wetsuit. I lacked a sense of direction, and more importantly did not know which way was up. That was about the time my logic kicked in. I spent hours and hours training on holding my breath for moments like these. I began to hold in all the air I still contained in my lungs, which came with the salty flavor my taste buds found purely repulsive. My head finally broke surface after about two minutes and I gasped for air. I yanked my board back into my arms and rushed back to the lineup before meeting with another dreaded experience.
Two hours passed and I caught nothing. Every wave that came in I was either in the wrong position to paddle or was too scared to get hurt. I was at the point where I was going to paddle for whatever came next. Boredom struck me like a lightning and I was not about to give in.
I felt a movement of water under my feet and that is when I knew it was my time to shine. I jolted around and paddled as hard as I could. I gazed over my shoulder to see if I was even in the right position to catch this, but, immediately, I knew I was screwed.
The peak of the wave was just to my right and by the time I was going to be just in front of the wave, it was going to collapse on top of me. It was too late to pull out, hence, I was stuck paddling for it. I reached the top of the wave and could feel the water rushing down my wetsuit. Quickly standing up, I placed my back foot just on the kicker of the tail pad to avoid my nose diving into the wave. All 163 pounds of my weight pressed down on my toes, and arms spread widely for balance, I did everything I could to stay on that wave. Shockingly enough, it worked.
I found myself on the face of a solid, twenty foot wall of water speeding forward at twenty-five miles per hour. I took the opportunity and slammed my full, back arm into the face of the wave. My full body was covered up from the rest of the world by what was an enclosed room of water. My eardrums were ready to burst from what sounded like a tornado of water shooting itself in every direction. An orange array of light gleamed through the water passing over my head, and limited my view of my surroundings. One single movement that was out of place and my life would have ceased to exist. This thrill was what excited me, and kept me thriving for more.
Pounds of force shot against my back as the barrel shot foam out of it’s vicious mouth. I was spat out of the perfection of this natural monster, and dove into the face, head first out of excitement. The sting of hitting the water at such speeds was attacking my chest, and the lack of air was beginning to pain my lungs. The smile across my face could not be larger. I had just conquered a small piece of nature in a mere few seconds, barely avoided my own mortality, and experienced what felt like flying. Goosebumps still on my arms, I paddled back out with the lust of experiencing this yet again.
Lord knows why the chill of facing the end of your life could feel fulfilling. Barely escaping death can either be the scariest experience in existence, or the most enjoyable venture to occur in your life. Whatever it is for me, I always need to come back for more.
With the wind blowing out to the endless sea, and the swell fighting the wind, I was caught in the middle of two rugged, natural forces battling to the death. Waves three times my size were making my bladder ready to burst from fear. I was prepared to flee from such dread, but the lust for those five seconds was too strong for me to give into fear. One hour passed and finally I was just out past the waves and could rest. Within a one mile radius from me, the only other living beings were a pack of dolphins enjoying the fun of such monsters. They glided across the waves with such ease with numerous added leaps of joy. Every movement they made, they made with such ease, putting me to shame. My shoulders were pivoted, facing inland while I was distracted from such awe when something literally hit me.
Twenty feet of crashing, brutal water came rolling across my head and down my wetsuit. I lacked a sense of direction, and more importantly did not know which way was up. That was about the time my logic kicked in. I spent hours and hours training on holding my breath for moments like these. I began to hold in all the air I still contained in my lungs, which came with the salty flavor my taste buds found purely repulsive. My head finally broke surface after about two minutes and I gasped for air. I yanked my board back into my arms and rushed back to the lineup before meeting with another dreaded experience.
Two hours passed and I caught nothing. Every wave that came in I was either in the wrong position to paddle or was too scared to get hurt. I was at the point where I was going to paddle for whatever came next. Boredom struck me like a lightning and I was not about to give in.
I felt a movement of water under my feet and that is when I knew it was my time to shine. I jolted around and paddled as hard as I could. I gazed over my shoulder to see if I was even in the right position to catch this, but, immediately, I knew I was screwed.
The peak of the wave was just to my right and by the time I was going to be just in front of the wave, it was going to collapse on top of me. It was too late to pull out, hence, I was stuck paddling for it. I reached the top of the wave and could feel the water rushing down my wetsuit. Quickly standing up, I placed my back foot just on the kicker of the tail pad to avoid my nose diving into the wave. All 163 pounds of my weight pressed down on my toes, and arms spread widely for balance, I did everything I could to stay on that wave. Shockingly enough, it worked.
I found myself on the face of a solid, twenty foot wall of water speeding forward at twenty-five miles per hour. I took the opportunity and slammed my full, back arm into the face of the wave. My full body was covered up from the rest of the world by what was an enclosed room of water. My eardrums were ready to burst from what sounded like a tornado of water shooting itself in every direction. An orange array of light gleamed through the water passing over my head, and limited my view of my surroundings. One single movement that was out of place and my life would have ceased to exist. This thrill was what excited me, and kept me thriving for more.
Pounds of force shot against my back as the barrel shot foam out of it’s vicious mouth. I was spat out of the perfection of this natural monster, and dove into the face, head first out of excitement. The sting of hitting the water at such speeds was attacking my chest, and the lack of air was beginning to pain my lungs. The smile across my face could not be larger. I had just conquered a small piece of nature in a mere few seconds, barely avoided my own mortality, and experienced what felt like flying. Goosebumps still on my arms, I paddled back out with the lust of experiencing this yet again.
Lord knows why the chill of facing the end of your life could feel fulfilling. Barely escaping death can either be the scariest experience in existence, or the most enjoyable venture to occur in your life. Whatever it is for me, I always need to come back for more.