So eleven days off-island for a wedding shouldn’t have disrupted my schedule as much as it did, but alas I was forced to spend two and a half weeks out of the water. Saturday at Kewalo’s was my first session back, and today, Monday, I am exploring all-new horizons in soreness, specifically in my neck and back.
One bright spot from the weekend: I had the first wipeout that I’m actually proud of. Took off in exactly the right spot, much to the chagrin of the much fitter shortboarder next to me, who paddled like mad and didn’t even come close to making it. The lip broke just behind me and to my right and I stood up at the perfect time to go rocketing down the face of a shoulder-high beauty. It’s the first time I’ve been in control while going that fast, and it was glorious. Then I turned at the bottom. Or I should say, I turned the board.
Unfortunately, I kept going straight, inevitably falling forward very, very fast. I turned around to face the wave and my now-deadly oncoming board just before I SMACKED into the water, back first and fully horizontal. I covered my head - good - and curled up into a ball as best I could - good - and somehow didn’t get hit by the board. The water kept me down for ten or fifteen seconds and I wasn’t sure which way was up, but eventually I broke the surface and got back on the board before the next wave.
The wave I caught was the first of a set, so getting back out was a chore, especially coming off a long spell out of the water. But the wipeout? Hammering down the face and smacking into the water at the bottom? I bet that looked awesome from the shore. Yep, that one I’m proud of.
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