The last 2 days have seen some of the best surfing conditions here this winter. Today at the inlet the waves looked very much like this, about the same size and just a bit fuller on the take-off, peeling off perfectly to the right. It is very difficult to describe the sensation of being on a good wave and flying down the line. But for my non-surfing buddies, here goes.
After paddling out in the deep channel you are 'out the back' and sitting on your board. The water is crystal aqua clear and you feel the density of your legs dangling weightless beneath you as you look out to the horizon. You look for that lift in the swell, like a huge leviathan heaving in the distance. If you are out of your comfort zone this can cause you some anxiety as you wait to see how much it lifts above the prevailing swell. But this is what you are waiting for, because you are going to try and ride this dragon.
As the wave starts to tilt your way you get into position, if there is no-one to dodge or give way to that is the moment you know it is your wave - you feel a sense of commitment. It is often more difficult to get into the correct position the bigger the wave, because there is more distance to travel to make the necessary adjustments. Today I missed quite a few because of this, but got plenty of rides anyway.
You make sure you are in exactly the right place, far enough out so it won't start breaking before you get onto it, far enough in to be in the vortex, right where it is peeling off. You make the final decision to go, swing your board around and start paddling away from where the wave is breaking. This is critical if it is a fast moving wave as they were today because otherwise you get cleaned up by the white water, which then sees you bouncing along the face on your stomach or wiping out. If this happens you get 'caught inside' and can get quite a few 'on the head' as you flounder around in the turbulence of the white water, making for the channel and trying to stay out of the way of the person who will surely be on the next wave.
You watch the shoulder of the wave, the bit that is unbroken, to re-check you are in the right spot and also cast a glance backward over your other shoulder to make sure you haven't gone too far out on the shoulder, which means you might not be in the vortex and stall. There is anticipation while all this goes on.
You paddle into the wave, anticipating the surge that will come when the wave catches you up in its trajectory as it spirals across to the deeper channel. I think this is the moment the adrenaline kicks in. Things start to happen much faster now, you paddle with conviction, then surge foward into the green vortex, delighted that there is a wedge shaped face you know you can negotiate. Getting up can be tricky and it is here you can lose the wave. Often you are not aware of getting up at all, because it has become instinctual and you have to move fast. But on slow waves you can see what is happening. On a faster wave before you know it you are up, the board lifts and settles into the wave under you, feet planted firmly in the right place. Every muscle and fibre is making sure you don't lose this wave as you set your position down the line. If the line is clear it is just you and the wave, that is all it is about. I can't put into words the sheer joy of this moment - standing still on a moving platform on a moving surface, knowing that you have just jumped on the back of this great strange creature. It feels like magic.
Off the wider shoulder now the wave face becomes more vertical, so you set a line for the sucking hollow. You have to hold the board down so it doesn't head for the top of the wave because then you will surf yourself out of it. But you also have to stay high enough on the face to stay moving ahead of the breaking white water that is licking at your shoulder, always trying to eat you. It is like being just out of reach of the mouth of some watery creature that is snapping at you, sometimes playfully and sometimes on a mission to throw you off its back by slapping you over the head - just to keep you real and humble. There is no doubt who is in control here.
The face is now almost vertical but you know your board has hard rails and will slot in there because you have done this before. So you swing up to the lip, kicking the back of the board around by leaning hard on it into the face of the wave and flicking the front around with your front foot. When you have gone up far enough you have to push the board back down the face again and in small curving arcs you scoot along the face, making small adjustments to stay in touch with the ever-changing wall of water.
If you go too far out on the shoulder you have to carve back into the vortex, turn the board back in the direction of the wave again, towards the white watery teeth, turn again, wait for the stall which leaves you in suspended anguish sometimes until the wave picks you up, you gather speed and off you go again. On a good day, like today, this can go on for 50 metres.
You head for the channel as the wave gets closer to the shore. Until, like today, you are so close in to the shore that you have to kick out over the back before you end up on the sand. Such a sense of elation. You wallow in the deep cool channel for a second, then gather yourself, swing back onto your board and start the long paddle back.
