Teahupo’o Fog
Session after session I gained confidence at this beastly wave. In the afternoons the crowd would thin and the circus of photographers and spectators would run off to find food and shade. With just a few locals out I began to sit deeper and understand which waves I wanted and which I DEFINITELY didn’t. One […]
Trust the King
There is MUCH more energy on the reef this morning. Its thunder is like a constant itch. I can’t focus. I’m scared again. I want to go, but I don’t. I want to catch a big one, but I don’t. The jet skis buzz by and a flash orange boat loads up across the way […]
No “Poo” in Teahupo’o
The thundering sound on the reef made it impossible to sleep. I tossed and turned, fearing the fear I already knew I would feel during my first session. After all, it was Teahupoo*! In my mind, it was so thick and punishing and frightening and reefy and everything scary about a wave except for ‘cold’ […]
Adrift
A few mornings later I stared intently at my computer screen in the belly of Swell, under deadline to finish a photo caption piece for Patagonia’s new story-telling internet forum, the Tin Shed. I heard a strong gust of wind followed by a squall rain but in my intent to finish the piece, I didn’t […]
When I See a Dinghy Fly
And so I decided to have a look around the parts of Tahiti I had yet to explore with Swell now floating. As usual, I knew exactly where the waves were, but the chart book wasn’t all that clear about the anchorages. I made circles around the deep, unfamiliar bay until I spotted some yellow […]
Eight Tahitian “Dads”
The next morning the engine rumbled beneath my feet as Swell and I made our way slowly south through the lagoon between the green and red markers. It was time”¦ there was swell on the way and after almost a year of surfing Polynesia’s reef passes, the moment had come to test my skills at […]
All Part of the Miracle
And then one afternoon, when my faith in the male gender had plummeted to an abysmal low, I turned in and saw Bali talking to a guy on the inside. He was the best surfer in the water. He took his waves but wasn’t greedy. He looked at me as he paddled by and said, […]
Limited Resources and the Human Predicament
At some point during the last few years of empty or mannered line-ups and my endless surf blessings, I’d lost the drive to fight this type of crowd. It ruins surfing for me. Here we were in this drop-dead gorgeous place where dreams linger on after you open your eyes”¦ where the giving spirit of […]
“The Test Never Ends”-Bali Strickland
Bali Strickland arrived from Oz smiling and in full form, ready for anything Swell and I could throw at him. As chance would have it the surf was up, the anchorage was a sandy 25 feet, and the sun was shining between puffy white clouds that burst with rainbows over the stunning black-green backdrop of […]
Sailboat or Submarine?
The passage got worse before it got better. The wind went into fitful gusts then died completely and shifted 180 degrees about 25 miles out. We then entered a wall of water–one of the thickest downpours I have ever witnessed. It was a rain was so heavy I couldn’t see 100 feet in any direction. […]
