I'm on a boat

Today we woke up excited for the boat and slightly nervous to surf. Mama made us some toast, jam and coffee and we ate while waiting for Teh. Teh arrived on time by Fijian standards – 15 minutes late - and we loaded up the boat and headed out to sea. After about a half hour of bumping along the choppy morning ocean we arrived at our final destination, Cloudbreak. Sorry Mike.

Cloudbreak is one of the most famous waves in the world. It sits about a half mile of shore from a small island called Tavarua and until only a year and a half ago was accessible only by guests staying on this island. Not even local Fijian’s, like our guide Teh could surf it.

As a wave Cloudbreak I am told has a few faces. On a smaller day like today it is a sectiony left point with a steep wall and some barrel opportunities. On bigger days it becomes a ferocious cross between Sunset Beach and Pipeline. The raw open ocean power hits the reef and creates a huge barreling racetrack fit for the likes of Kelly Slater and company.

Today as mentioned was a smaller day. Still way to big for Dex and at the cusp of uncomfortable for Mike who isn’t used to waves over ahead high and powerful. After soaking in the advice of our guide and studying the waves Mike and I paddled out carefully and waited in the line up.  Mike caught a nice wave before getting bounced off of the bottom and he called quits leaving satisfied with his vary valiant attempt. I surfed the longest and enjoyed the non-competitive attitude of the mostly visiting Aussies in the water. I’ve always struggled going left but I made it around a few sections and even pulled into a few barrels. Although I was very unsuccessful on all of my barrel exist strategies I nevertheless had an awesome surf and am very excited to get back in the water tomorrow morning.

The rest of our day was spent drinking beer on the beach, reading books and basking in the tropical sun. Not a bad gig!