Feb 28 2009
Riding Big Blue Waves
I am completely awed by people who are able to surf these kinds of waves with wild abandon. I’ve never been a surfer, never tried it.
The closest I’ve come to “surfing” is riding a boogie board all day in six foot waves in Ocean City, Maryland. Not exactly the big blue beast this guy is riding to my left.
I keep waiting for the giant great white shark to appear out of nowhere. Thanks, Dad for taking me to all of those Jaws movies when I was little. My fear of the ocean has kept me from even remotely considering a day on a surfboard. I can’t go in the water over my head, not from an inability to swim, but for fear that “something from the dark depths of the sea” is going to try and eat me.
I can’t imagine being at the top of this wave, but I wish I could do it. I wish I could let go of that fear and try it, just once.
I think it’s similar to the fear one has when trying to learn to downhill ski. There is nothing like staring down from the top of a mountain when you are still shaky on new skiis. This, I have done, because the one thing we do have in New England is plenty of snow and plenty of mountains to try and conquer.
A bonus to skiing instead of surfing is that there are no sharks lurking, although there are bears in the woods. For whatever reason bears don’t scare me as much as sharks do. I think you can out ski a bear, but can’t outswim a shark.
I try to go skiing once a season, just to prove that I can still do it. I’m not old, but out of shape and skiing was never something I was great at. I can ski, but it isn’t pretty to watch.
I’ve seen waves such as these while vacationing in Aruba. The water was aqua blue and the waves were higher than I could ever imagine. I went snorkeling in Aruba for my first and only time. I had to do it because I knew I wouldn’t be in Aruba again any time soon, but my fear of the ocean was not cured when I was able to see what was under the water. I spent more time clinging to the railing than I did actually snorkeling. I’m sure I helped the eight year old’s confidence (she was sitting next to me) as I cried every time I went in the water and came swimming frantically back. Damn that Jaws movie.
