5-8-13

Today was one of those days.  A day where if it weren’t for the goal to surf 52 Wednesdays, every Wednesday for a year, we never would have gotten in the water.  The commitment to Wahine Wednesdays was our driving force.

It had rained the day before.  I usually wait the recommended 72 hours after a rain to surf.  I give the ocean a chance to cleanse herself of the debris and bacteria that materializes with rainfall.  However, today was Wednesday so all bets were off.  We had to go.

In addition to suspicious water quality, the conditions were junky.  It was cloudy, the wind was up and the water was choppy.  To make it even more unappealing, there were no waves to speak of.

But, as we are so good at doing thanks to Wahine Wednesdays, we made lemonade out of lemons.

I am thankful I got in. It wasn’t about the surf at all today.  Today it was about the surfers.

Tiare, Lorraine and I paddled out at Blackies.  We figured we would hop in and be out lickety split.  The tide was on the low side and the “waves” were not the greatest but we made the most of it, caught some little rides and had a good time.  In fact, we always have a good time.

When we paddled out, a woman we didn’t know was getting in at the same time.  She was on a huge, colorful longboard.  I could quickly tell she was a seasoned surfer.  She had a smooth style and an easy pop up.  She also had no leash.  (One of my pet peeves but that is for a different time).  Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why she was coming out in these conditions.

After being in the water for a time I ended up drifting closer to the pier. This actually worked out well because as time went on the shape seemed to get better over there.

I had taken a wave and turned to paddle back out to the line up.  As I was paddling, the woman on the colorful board whom I didn’t know, was up on a wave coming in my direction.  I wasn’t worried because I had seen her surf and she knew what she was doing.  But then, all of a sudden, she wiped out. The huge, bright board she was riding came barreling toward me with no leash to tether it to her.  There was not much wave energy to propel the board so I was able to reach my arm in front of me, grab the nose, and push it backward.

The seasoned surfer was quite apologetic for almost decapitating me.  She apologized profusely.  And then apologized some more.

She went on to explain that she had lost control because the board she was riding wasn’t hers. She explained that it was difficult to ride because it was bigger than she was used to.  It was a 9’6″ board with no rocker.  And although the paint job was beautiful and loud and colorful-it was quite squirrely and not easy to maneuver.

She was a lovely woman.  Very friendly and I could tell in those short moments, she had a heart of gold.  I wished I had gotten her name.

It was her friend’s board she had taken out.  A friend that had just passed away at 47.  She was riding that board, she said, to honor this friend.

Her friend, she said, weighed 400 lbs.  She had also been a smoker.  She didn’t know how to surf but bought that big colorful board and took it out every day.  She was determined to surf…to be a surfer.

As we shared the water together, the seasoned surfer continued talking about her friend, and I let her.

Her friend loved that board.  She thought it was the absolute best even though mechanically it was all wrong for her. She tried repeatedly to get up on that board.  Every day she would take it out and try.

The seasoned surfer went on. Sadness came across her face as she said that her friend was never able to stand up on it. My guess is her weight and possible poor health didn’t allow it.

I pictured her in my mind.  This incredibly over weight woman on the huge colorful board determined to surf.  Paddling around in the white water.  Probably in just a bathing suit.  And I imagined her with a huge smile on her face and laughing the whole time.  Because isn’t that how we all look when we first start surfing?  Like we are the only ones in on this really amazing secret.  With a permanent grin because we are so stoked.

That is how I picture her.  A woman with an amazing spirit. A woman with a huge frame only equaled by her smile.  A woman just going for it!  Not letting her physical limitations or poor health keep her down.  Or keep her from living with passion.  Not letting potential ridicule keep her away.  After all, if you believe what some of the surf companies are trying to sell women, surfing is only for the young, thin and beautiful.

But she paddled out anyway.  She went out with her big multi-colored board, her 400 pounds and her stoke.  She knew the power of surfing. It had touched her soul, even though she had yet to stand up.  She was a soul surfer.

Once you feel the power of surfing inside you, it becomes part of you.  And the woman I met today knew that.  It had become part of her friend. That’s why she was surfing in these less than perfect conditions on this less than  perfect board.

Her friend wasn’t a typical surfer.  From her outward appearance you would not guess that she surfed.  But she did.  She was a surfer in her heart.  She just didn’t live long enough to become a surfer with her body.

The seasoned surfer honored her friend in the best way, maybe the only way, she knew how.  She caught waves on that big rainbow board with no rocker.  She caught the waves her friend never could.  And she smiled every time!

K