Eve of the Swell

Surfers have a multitude of words to describe waves. “Peaky” describes waves that form in peaks, with ridable paths in both directions. “Blown-out” is the terms for waves which are affected by onshore winds. Blown out waves are choppy and lack consistency.
The term “wall” is used for waves which form across a considerable span and break at one time. Wall can be used as a noun or an adjective. “Walled” and “Wally”are typical adjective derivations. Wally is the opposite of peaky. Walled waves are also called “close-outs”.
when Huntington gets a swell of overhead surf, it has a tendency to be walled. there's noting more frustrating and exhausting than attempting to paddle out through inescapably long, eight foot tall walls of crashing white water.
“It probably going to be walled at Huntington” Chris told me.
Surfers have a horror stories about paddling out in big surf. One surfer I met told me his the night before the swell came in:
"I remember paddling as hard as i could straight up the face of the thing. I was totally vertical, trying desperately to paddle up and over. I remember seeing my friend's feet go over the top and out of sight.
'He made it. I didn't.
'They always tell you to just hold your breath and not panic. Well, I panicked. It held me under a long time. I opened my eyes. I was thrashing around with my eyes open. I saw light. I pushed up towards the surface, but it pulled me back down again. That happened three times.
'Finally it let me up. I was gasping and chocking. I found my board and grabbed it. I held on as tight as I could. Another wave hit me, and another. I held on and let the waves pound me into the shore.
'My friends were amazed. They said that my longboard had been sticking straight up out of the water like Popsicle stick, bobbing from side to side as my leg pulled down on it.”
The phenomenon described, with the surfboard standing straight up and bobbing, happens frequently enough to have a slang term. in surfing lingo, this phenomenon is known as “tombstoning”.
My narrator took a break from his story to look at the sunset. The sky was filled with streaks of between purple and orange.
"I went right back out." he said. "You can't let the fear get you. I knew if i didn't go right back out, i would never surf again. so, i charged back out there and rode one of those bastards."
Fear was the key. Surfing in big surf scared me.
copyright 2004, Travis E. English