We headed out to Outside Lefts aka Angry Lady, and after a previously good session there, I thought I was ready to surf that break.
And boy, was I ever wrong.
I was standing up way too early, resulting in me standing on the lip of the wave then falling over it multiple times. I eventually observed this repeating trend, and made the change to pop up with my hands over the rails for 1-2 seconds longer with an angle down the line to properly catch the wave before popping up.
I never successfully managed a successful angled take-off, as I was making small adjustments to try get it just right. I nose-dived on one, and didn’t get caught in it on another one.
Being unable to duck dive my 40 litre ‘pig’, also spelt certain failure for me. I was caught in the wash for the longest time, and every time a large set came, I would be washed in without any chance of avoiding it.
I was definitely out of my element, and I knew staying in longer would be dangerous. (I could fall on my board or get cut by the shallow reef.
As some of the others in my group started to head back to the boat, I decided to try my luck to catch one of my own waves by myself before calling it a day.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a massive set waves appeared far out, and being unable to duck dive to avoid it, I got simply smashed and got swept in. Somewhere along the way with the whitewash, I scored a 1.5 inch long cut underneath my left foot.
Of all the surf wounds, this was probably the worst to have, since it’s so difficult to keep them clean to prevent infections. Fortunately, the cut was only skin deep.
Riding the boat back to shore from the surf break, Max, another surfer in the camp gave me some brilliant advice.
“It’s the worst sessions that make you the most desperate. And when you’re desperate to salvage the situation by trying to catch a consolation wave, you usually end up hurting yourself because you’re not in your element, and your body isn’t ready for the challenge.”
“We’re so used to being happy all the time, but there’s nothing wrong with feeling down. It’s a normal part of life. The best thing to do in a shit situation is acknowledge it’s bad, be comfortable it and move on.”
In stronger words, I would describe it as embracing the suck of the situation.
And he’s right. Lesson learnt. Let’s move on.
