A Couple of Waves and a Pod of Dolphins

I went for surf last night and another one this morning in gray, dreary conditions. Sitting out there in the brine, you couldn't tell where the steely gray ocean ended and the horizon began. Every few minutes there would be a brief downpour of rain on the ocean, smoothing things out and at the same time adding a million little splashes around you. When the sets started to roll in, there would be a slight difference in the color of the water in contrast to the sky. It's crazy to see really, just little differences in the texture of the horizon or in the shade of gray. Schools of fish were cruising around the pier and pods of dolphins would take turns snacking on the fish and jumping through the lines of swell. At one point last night, I was surrounded by dolphins splashing about in trios. Towards the end of my session last night I was paddling into a solid chest high wave and all of the sudden a dolphin popped out of the face of the wave and landed ahead of the wave, as if to say, "Whoa buddy...This is my wave". I ceded that set to the dolphins and paddled down the beach.

I have never had an actual, conscious thought while in the act of riding a wave. Driving to the beach, I may have a million thoughts running through my head. But as soon as I take that first stroke into a wave, my mind goes into a wonderful, serene blankness. Life ashore just doesn't matter sitting out there in the ocean, staring back in towards houses that nobody can afford and out to sea towards that last great wilderness. In the water there are more immediate concerns like position in the lineup, current, slight changes in wind, and the next set which is stacking up on the horizon.

I actually just got back from the beach. I drove south into Kure Beach to check my PO Box and survey the waves at the Kure Beach pier and farther south at the Fort Fisher cove. At high tide, few spots will break without a big swell. The waves at the pier were rolling through and I threw on a wetsuit top, grabbed my board out of the truck and walked down to the beach. Without paying much attention to the beach surroundings, I simply walked to the shore, felt the water, and paddled straight out. I just needed a quick dip to clear my head from a morning/afternoon of calling golf courses to set up contracts. I paddled straight out into the waves. A set quickly started rolling through, I turned my board around, and paddled straight into a nice little peeler. A few turns later, a couple toes over the nose, and a close out barrel...I found myself in knee deep water looking up at an obese cop whistling at me. He looked rather out of breath and angry. I looked around and determined that I was indeed far enough from the pier (NO SURFING WITHIN 500FT OF PIER!). Out of courtesy, I walked in to hear what he had to say. Just for the record, if I thought I was going to get a ticket...I would have turned around and paddled the 2 miles into Carolina Beach and out of his jurisdiction.

As I walked towards him, I noticed a film crew and several guys dressed as pirates. The friendly police officer (italics=sarcasm) informed me that I was not allowed to surf at this public beach today because a film crew was filming a commercial or something. He said he wasn't allowed to tell me what the project was. I guess this film crew had rented the beach and ocean for the day and I wasn't allowed to be in the water in the vicinity of the filming. I guess a modern long boarder would just ruin the historical accuracy of a pirate commercial. I just had to chuckle as I walked down the beach, back to my truck. Hopefully I made the gag reel of some Hollywood pirate flick. It'd be awesome if a year down the road, I go to a movie and see myself gracefully sliding along a wave in the background of some gaudy pirates hauling a wooden boat up a beach.

Anyway folks-Enjoy the day, stay skeptical, and keep on keeping on.

P.S. Did you guys know there is a Congressman named Anthony Weiner? Kind of a funny name, especially when the cable news people address him as "Mr. Weiner"....Do think he ever got made fun of in middle school?

Adios!