Today the waves at , "It Smells Like Something Died Because It Did," beach were really fun, with only a few people out. I was sitting in the lineup watching my friend take off on a great wave. Paddling for the horizon, is what I should have been doing because I looked out the back to see a larger wave heading my way.
"Uh oh," said a voice in my head.
I thought I was going to squeak under the beast with my board, but it turns out I was wrong. I ditched my board when I realized the wave was going to break four feet in front of me, while simultaneously saying a prayer for my leash to hold and my board to stay in one piece, please. How do you spell m-u-l-t-i-t-a-s-k-i-n-g?
I wasn't in the mood for the long swim to the beach. I never know if my board will make it to shore or get sucked out to sea in a rip current, never to be seen by my eyes again. I was attached to my board, not just by my leash, but spiritually and emotionally, too.
As I was diving for the sandy bottom, I felt the wave pick me up and toss me like a rag doll.
After going through several rinse cycles I wasn't sure which way was up. I started swimming towards what I thought was the surface, but after several strokes I still hadn't broken the top of the water. I opened my eyes, at the risk of losing my contacts, and it was black. In surfing this is bad, since I can't breathe under water, yet. Breathing underwater is just one of the many Man from Atlantis tricks I've been working on.
I took a few more strokes and finally started to catch sight of light through the water. "Oh joy," I thought to myself, "I'll be sipping air, soon."
As I breached the surface, I gulped in some oxygen and hoped my board didn't fly back and hit me. Surprisingly, there wasn't another wave in sight. There isn't much worse in surfing than being held down by a second wave when I'm already low on oxygen. Happy to skip the two wave hold down treatment, I reeled in my board. It was still tethered to my leg and in one piece. Stoked, I climbed on, and dizzily paddled back out to the line up for more.
5 comments:
Hmmmmm, I once knew a person that told me "DONT DITCH MY BOARD", wait a sec... I think it was you! haha. It's ok, sometimes it's just not worth the beating, unless you get the beating anyways (which it sounds like you did). If there's people around, I'll hold on to my board with everything I got, and get sucked back 100 yards... but in the end, you get held down a lot less if youre holding on to your boyant surfboard. Surf tomorrow???? :) :) :):)
I think you were riding my board when I said, "don't ditch your board." Yeah, I was worried about my board. Big surprise from a selfish surfer.
So nice to read something other than Prop 8 . Thanks for the breather! Glad to hear you got to do your favorite thing today.
When I watch the cartoon movie with the p)enguins surfing I always wonder when they get tubed/is that close to the real thing or no. They make it look so beautiful and since that movie is the closest I will ever come to that sensation I watch it with such joy. If only "Z" and me could ride a few together..... :^)
Personally I loved that movie!
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