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’ […]
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 […]
A Sprint to the Present
Swell is once again bobbing happily in the Pacific for now, only at the boatyard marina, but piece by piece and day by day Swell comes together. Under time pressure from the Dear & Yonder filmmakers to be ready for some action in the next few weeks, I have been busting my tail to get […]
An Outsider on the Inside: What DOES a Chicken Say?
In the words of my Aussie friend Damien, the French really “pecked the eyes out!” of the world during maritime colonialism. Doing this grand repair in French Polynesia has given me an excellent excuse to stay on this small jewel of the Pacific. From my view, the Tahitian-French lifestyle is a lovely fairytale of fresh […]
