by 4theLoveofTHeWipeOut » Sat Aug 05, 2006 10:11 am
Bout 8 months ago id only just started learnin how to stand up in the white water, i decided to paddle out a bit further where i could see some other more experienced surfers , just for the sake of learnin to padle through the set waves i got out there pretty easy and was actually pretty pleased with myself , my major mistake that i didnt realise at the time was that I hadnt sat back and watched the sets long enough before paddling out i was away from the usual popular break and on a more deserted part of the beach as I was with a lady friend, i decided to try here cause it was less crowded. The waves when i firsted looked out werent that back about 3ft , once i got out near the other surfers I realised they where gettin bigger i sat out there for about 5 mins and realised i had no hope of catchin one properly so was thinking about going in , I turned my back to the sea(big mistake on my part) and waved to my chickie friend who was on beach at that moment i heard one of the surfers who i thought where still close say something i turned and saw a massive outside set aroun 7ft risin up in front of me, the current had pulled me right over the sandbar where the big close out sets break , at that moment that sinking sick feeling came over me and i knew i was caught and there was nothing i could do board too big too duck dive and there was no way i was gettin over it, in that couple of seconds i decided too just turn my board toward shore and try and hopefully ride it out , the actual moment i felt it hit me was like slow motion i had that loss of gravity for like half a second and then just got pulverised into the sandbar and rag dolled for what seemed like about 15 secs but was probably only around 7-8 , the wave knocked the wind out of me a bit and i came up got one gasp of air only to cop another one on the head as i wasnt completely out of the impact zone, when i came up from the second wave i was completely F*cked and totally gaspin for breath and i knew if there was another wave comin it was all over for me, luckily there wasnt i struggled a little bit closer to shore and found my feet, staggered to the beach and collapsed much to the dissapointment of my lady friend who had come to watch me surf, lol. I came closer to god that day, I know that and stuck to the whitewash after that, Moments like this have helped me come to respect the tremendous power and unpredictability of the ocean and how humbling surfing can be it really helps u see ur place in the scheme of things, Apart from that most wipeouts are fun I love that rag doll wshin machined feelin lol ,