Friday, February 13, 2015

Epic Moment Update- RIDING a Wave!

Just a quick note with an Epic Moment update that I’m specifically sending to my brothers.  I finally really “surfed” a wave! I’ve made many attempts at surfing and have gotten better and better at catching waves and standing up- but generally they have always been rides where I have gone completely straight as the wave would close out on me on either side.  But today, I FINALLY RODE a wave! It was an awesome experience to catch a very large wave, launch down the crest as you stand up, and then start turning to my left as the wave was still developing and launching forward. I was able to carve a few small turns and grin from ear to ear, riding long enough across the wave to appreciate it - probably a good 10 - 12 seconds!  Awesome!

Backing up....we have two surfboards on board- thanks to my brother Andreas and “Bird” at the Birdshed in San Diego.  Generally, cruising and surfing dont mix that often as you are usually trying to find protected anchorages for your boat/house, while surf spots generally require the opposite - open ocean facing beaches that allow the swell to come through.  However, we are getting better at finding beaches that have waves for boogie boarding/surfing and where we can also keep the boat nearby.

We have been anchored back up at Isla Grande off Ixtapa, showing my mom the island and animals, and I noticed two other cruisers heading off in a dinghy with surfboards.  Later in the day I asked them about the surf, and the next day Mykaela and I headed out after them in our own surfing safari dinghy.  There is a river opening up to the ocean that creates a river bar break and we had attempted this spot before- and had a fairly rough day, but today the water was clear and the waves were…huge!  The water had 15 surfers in it, mostly all locals on really short boards,and we anchored our dinghy way offshore to avoid any sneaker wave sets that came in.  We paddled in to the waves and were in awe of their size and power- it was like out of a magazine.  The waves averaged head height, but occasionally a much larger set come through. It seemed a bit beyond Kaela and I’s current competence level- but we hung out for a while and realized the waves weren’t all that crazy and, while powerful, they weren’t crushing you completely if you wiped out.  We gamely approached the sets, staying out of the way of the locals, who seemed to be catching everything, and started our attempts at making the magic happen.  We inevitably tumbled more than we rode, but had enough exciting moments to balance out the exhausting effort of paddling out through the waves once you wiped out.

I really only caught two, and RODE one- but that was plenty enough to keep my excited to continue to hunt for more waves near our boat.  Hopefully the South Pacific will offer up some awesome reef breaks that we can uncover!  Andreas and Mike- we are ready for your surfing visit!  Chris

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