Big Waves Heroes Save the Sea Nymphs
Just then, Greg Long and Twiggy “Grant Baker”, two of surfing’s big-wave heroes, paddled out for the sunset session. Twiggy, the cheerfully fearless South African, quickly caught a wave. Andy and his ‘sea nymphs’ still frolicked in the impact zone. I felt a pang of anxiousness. “You should take those girls in,” another guy called […]
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 […]
