My first North Shore wave

This past week, I was invited by one of my neighbors in my building (Ray) to come up to the North Shore with him and a few others for a surf. He assured me we would go to a safe spot and the waves wouldn't be too big. So with a bit of trepidation (and excitement as well) I agreed. So yesterday morning, a little past 8 am, we met downstairs and loaded the boards onto his truck. The resident manager of our building (Chris) who also surfs, joined us as well. So we made the hour long drive up to the North Shore of O'ahu and began looking for our friend's truck (they had left a bit earlier than us to get a jump start on the waves). As we were driving up I asked my neighbor "so how big are the waves supposed to be?" and he said nonchalantly, "oh, maybe 3-4" and my resident manager chimed in "Oh that's perfect. That's fun size." Little did I know they were talking 3-4 HAWAIIAN, which means they're measuring the size of the wave from the BACK, not the face. So add 3 feet on to that estimate and you get 6-7 ft waves (1-2 feet over my head!) with occasional waves pumping from "out back" that reached 8 to 9 feet. When I found out, I was like "are you guys serious?" as I laughed nervously. The biggest waves I've ever been in were 4-6 at Waikiki (which is a very mellow spot). Needless to say, my stomach was turning in knots a little bit. I knew north shore is no joke. But the guys kept re-assuring me that I would be okay and that they would watch my back. I felt good. Nervous, but good.

We parked the truck, got out, and started prepping for the session. I started lathering up the sunscreen as Chris stretched out with some yoga poses and Ray changed into his boardies. I figured I should do some stretching as well (I really didn't know what I was in for). We un-tied the boards from the roofracks and started walking down the path to the beach. When we got there, we spotted Laura, another girl that came out specifically to take photos from the beach (she's a budding photographer). I was excited. I've never had any really good photos taken of me surfing before, so I was REALLY hoping she would catch me on just one wave that day. We chatted with her for a bit to make sure the other guys were in the spot we were looking at. We leashed up, walked down to the shoreline, and surveyed the conditions. Ray told me it was all about timing. The white water was impressive. The guys in the line-up didn't really look that far away... but oh boy, was I wrong.

"Ok GO!" Ray shouted, as we plunged into the water and started to paddle. Chris followed in behind. Immediately, I could tell this was going to be a bit rough and a bit of a struggle. It was like trying to cut a path through confused, angry seas. The white water was powerful and it was coming from all different directions. There was no easy way around it. We were going to have to cut straight through the impact zone to get out back behind the breaking waves. Of course, Ray surged ahead, being used to this kind of stuff, as well as surfing a shortboard that he can easily duckdive underneath the whitewash to avoid being pounded. Chris and I on the other hand, had to face the whitewash head on with our longboards. We got knocked off our boards several times. We were like ragdolls being thrashed around mercilessly. My board was ripped from my arms several times when I would attempt to do a turtle roll. Chris eventually made it. So I was the only one left behind to no surprise (I was the least experienced in the group). My arms were on fire, my breathing was ragged, and my heart was pounding out of my chest. I had never experienced water with quite so much force before. I kept looking back at the beach thinking to myself: "I've barely made any progress. I'm never going to make it." Everytime the water would lay down just a little bit, I thought to myself: "If I can just paddle out quick enough, I'll be able to make it before the next set comes in."

WRONG.

At the edge of my breaking point, I got pushed back so far by one wave, I was ready to give up. I sat up on my board looking at the guys out there surfing, and thought "Damn it. I really wanted to at least try." I caught my breath for a minute and decided to give it one last go. I started cutting left, parallel to the beach, to try and avoid some of the on-coming waves. Little by little, I could tell I was making more progress than before. My shoulders were burning, but I kept saying to myself out loud "Push! Push! Push! Dammit, Chelsey! Push!" And I did... I could see the other guys getting closer and closer, which fueled my motivation. "Push!" and finally, out of breath, ready to pass out... I was out back.

I sat up on my board once again, proud of the fact that I simply made it out to a break on the north shore with some very experienced and talented surfers. They were all extremely surprised that I even made it out. I felt privleged just to be there, let alone attempt to take a wave. The guys kept telling me to keep my eye out on the horizon. Since there was a bit of a swell that day, larger waves from further out back occasionally popped up out of nowhere that you had to be constantly aware of, so that they didn't just come crashing down on top of you. On a couple of occasions, I heard one of the guys yell out "Chelsey, behind you!" and when I would look,there would be a massive wave barreling towards us. So I paddled fast towards the oncoming wave so that I could make it over the crest without it breaking on me. I was comfortable just sitting out there and watching the other guys do their thing. One of the guys said to me "Only take a wave when you're comfortable. The first time I came out here, all I did was watch and observe." So that's what I did for quite a while.

On a couple of occasions, to gather my courage, I would half-ass paddle for some waves, just to get a feel of the velocity and force at which the waves were moving. Much faster than Waikiki, that's for sure! But then, a new set was on it's way, and one of the guys yelled out "Chelsey, go for this one! Paddle!" I looked behind me, and decided "Ok, this is it!" I started to paddle, looking back occasionally at the on-coming wave, and all of a sudden I felt it's force beneath me. It was propelling me forward - I CAUGHT IT. I popped up and before I knew it the wave was starting to jack up even higher.

 I looked to my right and saw Chris riding the wave with me. We both screamed out in excitement "WOOOHOOOOO!" But before I knew it, I looked to my left and saw the wave was closing out, so I jumped off my board and got absolutely pounded by the white water. My board was ripped away going in the direction of the wave and I felt the leash yank on my leg and drag me. I reached the surface just in time for another round of white water. This time I felt the ground beneath me. I scrambled for the surface, but couldn't find it. I reached my arms and felt the air. I came up and gasped for air. "Ok HOLY SHIT. I think I'm done!" So I started to paddle in, got knocked off a few times again from all the white water, then finally made it to the beach.

To say I was "stoked" was an understatement. Not only did I paddle out on the famous North Shore, I actually successfully took a wave, and MADE IT! And to top it all off, the photographer on the beach caught it on camera. So in a couple days, I will have proof of my first North Shore wave! After everyone came in from the water, we went out for a big hearty breakfast at the Haleiwa cafe in historic Haleiwa town, and talked story for a couple hours about the waves we caught. But everyone seemed to be pretty impressed by the grom (i.e., me- the younger, less experienced surfer) that not only made it out to the break, but actually went for a wave, AND MADE IT! It was wonderful to get such encouragement and awesome compliments from these guys. It's as if they get just as excited for someone else catching an awesome wave as they do for themselves. It was the first time I really felt like I truly experienced the surfing culture in Hawaii for myself.

And I have to say - I'm totally in love with it. I can't wait to try the North Shore again!!!