Memory etchings

Yesterday was one of those memorable surfs. One that you know will stick in your mind, etched in your memory, warming your heart. The kind of surf that you feel coming, in the unexpected swell you find blown out by an on-shore wind in the morning, but which you know will be great if the speculated wind change actually happens. The kind of surf preceded by a flurry of texts between friends with the same sense of anticipation.

And so I spent the day with my fingers crossed, periodically driving the trip into town to see if I could catch that window before everyone else figured it out too.

In the end it came late in the afternoon. I got a message:

RDK says it’s pumping off the point!

I jumped in the car and straight into town. As I sped along, the flags along the ridge showed that the wind had swung, and as I drove around the hill and down to the break, I could see how the waves had cleaned up – it really was pumping.

I waited for Izzy and Brodie before I went out. It’s nice to share all of that with friends. By the time they arrived my sunscreen had soaked in, I’d sorted my board, had texted friends to cancel plans for that evening and was ready to go. 

The waves were good. Some were solid, and we all got caught out by clean up sets a couple of times. But the faces were long and clean and walling up and, oh my! It was lovely. Izzy and I were beaming at each other. We have surfed this break a lot together, but it feels like a long time since we have shared such lovely waves here together. 

Days like that feel like a treat. For me, they always feel like the reward to for paddling out in mush or when it’s howling onshore, or when it’s tiny and barely breaking. Days like that feel like a reward for all the times you go home frustrated and insatiable. Days like that feel like a reward for all the times I couldn’t go out because I was in the city or working. Days like that are a dream.