Two Crazy Days

A huge swell arrived here earlier this week and I've been surfing great waves since Monday.  The last two days have been the biggest.   The surf report says it is eight feet but I think it's easily a few feet bigger than that.  Joaquina, which is right around the corner from me, was so big that they were doing tow-in surfing with jet skis yesterday.  The only problem is that most of the local waves don't hold their shape when it gets big like this.  I walked over to Praia Mole yesterday with my surfboard ready to give it a go.  However, when I got there, there wasn't a single person surfing, which is always a bad, bad sign.  There were signs everywhere saying "Local Danger."  The waves were HUGE and they were mostly closing out.  I saw two guys try to paddle out and they got demolished and came back in.  I sat on the beach for awhile and tried to determine my plan.  I knew exactly what was going to happen but I couldn't resist the temptation to give it a try.  I found the channel and actually made it out fairly easily (I can paddle all day long now, which has been one of my biggest improvements) and found my spot.  I then decided to play it safe and paddle out another 20 yards or so.  Sure enough, an enormous set wave came rolling in about a minute later and I had no chance.  I paddled like a mofo and saw my life pass before my eyes as I looked up at 15 feet of powerful water about to close out on my head.  I ditched my surfboard and tried to dive as far down as I could.  To no avail, I didn't make it and got thrown around like I was in a washing machine for a good 30 seconds (it felt like 10 minutes).  All I kept thinking was, "I hope to God there isn't another wave behind this one."  I finally made it to the surface and luckily there was nothing coming.  I thought about my options and wisely whitewashed it to shore immediately so I could live to surf another day.  Every once in awhile I get reminded that the ocean must be respected in a VERY BIG WAY.

Today I decided it was best to have a short memory and I paddled out again.  The north end of Praia Mole was going off but it's typically a pretty local spot.  However, I'm finally at the point where I'm comfortable enough with my surfing and just the local vibe in general so I said "screw it" and paddled right into the mix (I would not have done this a month ago).  Everyone was cool and I caught some of the best waves since I arrived here.  Unfortunately, my luck was running low again today.  Another huge wave came out of nowhere and we were all caught out of position.  I paddled as fast I could but had no chance.  I tried to duck dive but the wave was so big that it just barrelled me over.  It was so powerful that it snapped my leash.  My board quickly went to shore and I was stuck out there wading like a duck.  This happened to me once in college in Ventura County, and I learned just to stay cool.  It's actually easier to get under the waves without the board.  Therefore, I just took my time and swam to shore where a nice Brazilian girl was waiting with my board, and I quickly forgot all about what just happened....only in Brazil.

I'm exhausted now but I've been laying low all week so I'm ready to let loose a little bit.  The crew is headed to a club that opened last week (we were at the opening party and the place is fantastic).  As someone once said, I'll sleep when I die.  What a wise, wise man.