It’s still dark when I wake up. The crisp autumn morning air
is seeping through the gap in my bedroom window. Outside, the early morning sky
is still blanketed with stars. There have been waves every day this week at the
local break. But I know today the swell is coming in from a different direction
rendering it flat and lake like. As I make my morning coffee & take the dog
outside for his breakfast, I take the time to breathe in the air with its cool
freshness. Winter is approaching. Grabbing my coffee & wetsuits I hop into
my car and head out the dirt driveway of my farm just as the sun starts to
greet the horizon, the colours exploding skyward reminding me of nature’s grace
and beauty.
The highway is empty this time of the day and I relax into
cruise control with the Beach Boys playing softly on my stereo heading north.
Along the way I stop I at a beach that I know is a swell magnet, gauging what
the point break further north will be doing. I meet an old local surfboard
shaper who shares a story of paddling through a lagoon in Sumbawa in the late
60’s with a full moon setting on one side of him and the sun rising on the
other, and him suspended in the middle. Again, natures beauty.
Heading further north the temperature rises slightly and the
sun is now well and truly over the horizon. As I turn left on the road to the
point I cross my fingers praying for waves. Approaching the hill I once again
take a deep breath and as the sea comes into view all I can see for miles is
beautiful coastline bathed in light with a blue sea and lines peeling in on the
point. My breath catches slightly at the incredibly humbling scene.
Pulling up into the carpark I see there are already a few people out. I slip on my leggings and bikini top and grab my 9’6 single fin log from the roof racks and walk along the grass, onto the sand and slip into the sea. The velvety water caresses my skin as I paddle east toward the horizon. I am not surprised on this morning when a turtle pops his little head up beside my board to greet me. I reach out toward him, but like a bird taking flight he turns his head, flips sideways and swims down toward to sandy bottom. As I continue to paddle I look to my right and see a perfect right hander peeling along the rocks, empty. There is a set approaching and I paddle faster and closer to the reef. I see the curl start to appear and I turn around and paddle onto this beauty. Taking flight, I stand up and turn my board, cross stepping along the board, completely in tune with the rhythm of the sea. It feels as if this wave will last forever as I glide toward the shore, completely at ease playing in the wide blue.
Wave after wave after wave. I frolic and play in her salty goodness. Hours later in the late afternoon sun I emerge, grinning widely and with a heart full of love. As I stand on the shore and look back out toward the waves, I feel completely blessed. I am so full of love for the ocean that we share and I look toward to sky as I wander in this blissful state to my car and I breathe.
