I sit and rest for a minute, as I watch the enormous swells go by and break. The wind blows the spray back from the waves crashing into my face. I need to be very selective of the wave I pick. If I choose the wrong one it could close out and slam me in the sand. Or it could drag me back to the beach, and leave me winded and exhausted, with a long paddle back out. Even worse I could get caught in a riptide or held under and not make it back up. I wait for about twenty minutes, until I see my wave. It is a massive mound of sparkling blue water heading right for me. I know this is one, this is my perfect wave. My heart is racing. I start to paddle forward and to the left. I look back to see the swell approaching rapidly. I continue to paddle until I feel it start to pull under me and then pick me up. I jump up on my board, and then drop in of the top of the wave. I am airborne for a second until I hit the face of the wave. I do a bottom turn and center myself in the wave. White water starts barreling over me, and then everything slows down. I hear no more noises, just complete silence. It is so quiet and serene in this massive liquid tunnel. All my concerns and worries drift away with the water behind me. I drag my left hand through the water beside me to feel this remarkable creation. I almost forget that I am surrounded by tons of water that could crush me at any second. It is like being in the eye of the storm; it is so calm in the middle, but outside is a stormy restless ocean. For a few seconds Mother Nature provided me with a moment of bliss and tranquility that I will never forget.

The barrel is getting tighter, and I know it’s time to get out. I pump up and down the face of the wave gain momentum, and come out of the barrel without a second to spare. I hit the lip of the wave throwing my back foot forward, laying my left hand down, and rotating right. I spray buckets of water out and over the top of the wave. The section ahead of me is about to close out, so I pump up and down the face of the wave to gain speed. I hit the top of wave and execute a floater over the white wash. After this maneuver, I am back to the open face of the wave. The wave is decreasing in size and power. I perform a few more turns and cutbacks, until the wave carries me all the way to the beach. I get out of the ocean more excited than Christmas morning. Noticing I am close to half a mile from where I originally got in at, I decide to run. The sand, like razor blades, rips open my face. Rain floods my eyes, and sprint blindly. Half way through my visually impaired jog, a news camera crew stops my brothers and me. They ask us “If we would like to be on the news to discuss the current surf conditions.” We politely reply “No thanks, we have to get back in the water!” After all, my perfect wave is waiting for me.