The Rush

The best surfing is always the most dangerous. It’s a truism: risk is equal to reward. Big waves translate directly into a bigger rush, a longer run, and more air. Rough water wasn’t a positive, in fact the ride quality was much worse when it was choppy, but you get more adrenaline from it, so it nets out to be a positive when you’re a thrill seeker.

These waves were the biggest. The water was choppy. Add on to that the storm coming in and you had a recipe for the most delicious riding in the world. I had been out here every day. As the storm got closer, I started waking up earlier in the morning. I was out before the sun rose, watching the tides change, smelling the air, breathing in the chaos that fed my appetite for forward motion.

Today felt different. Nobody knew how long it would take for the storm to reach the mainland. It could be weeks, or days, or hours. It felt like it was already here when I made it to the beach. The sand was dancing and floating in convoluted gusts of wind. The water was grey-green; bright but somehow menacing. My board hit the swells and I was away.

I paddled farther out than usual and floated, sitting on the board with my legs dangling on either side, for a few minutes. It was peaceful. The sound of the waves hitting the shore seemed far-off. I was suspended in a separate reality, waiting patiently for I didn’t know what.

Then it hit. The storm blasted up out of nowhere. Waves grew out of nothing, beaten and whipped forward by the pressure of the wind. Water was crashing everywhere around me, blasted into the air. I paddled back towards the beach, hoping I could catch a decent wave that would save me the effort and trouble of getting safely back.

I did. This one was a monster. I could feel myself moving higher as the wave built in size even as I surfed along the front of it. My heart was pumping at full strength and I couldn’t stop smiling. The monster wave rushed into the rocks and trees that sat behind the beach, and I tumbled from my board headfirst into a swirling cacophony.