Be Surf: Celebrate your Goddess Wave

Surf sesh date: 4/9/21
State: NH
Water temp: 42 F
Air temp: 30s???
Wave height: 2-3 ft
Wind: Offshore
Wetsuit thickness: 5.4
Booties thickness: 7mil
Gloves thickness: ???
Board: 8’ Cinnies board
Meet time: 6am

Man, there are SO MANY THINGS to say about this surf sesh.

First, I’d taken the day off. And there’s just the best freakin’ feeling when you wake up and you don’t have to go to work. I love being able to head to a surf session and know that I can wrap up when I want to, not have the pressure of needing to jet back to my desk to start the day at my day job. So that was REASON FOR STOKE NUMBER 1. Second, I was meeting Becca, which is always a treat, because surfing with friends (no matter that you do it all the time) is always a gift. Third, we were heading to my fav spot in NH. I hadn’t been there in like a year, and now I’ve been three times in the last week. It’s just so special. All this, and THEN, the seshie itself was just a whole epic gift.

The light when we arrived was beautiful, the sunrise was so deep and rich and quiet. A few other friends joined, and we had the waves to ourselves for the most part for a while. But slowly the world started waking up, the tide filled in, and more people showed up.

“Celebrate your goddess wave”

Yesterday was big for me because I typically paddle away from crowds and while I still did that for the most part, I forced myself to get into the mix and go for some waves. I got shut down by a few guys but also got some encouragement from another guy. This is important. Out of maybe 20-30 surfers, once my buddies left, I was one of two girls out there, so far as I could tell (I couldn’t see the crowd furthest south). That’s a whole dynamic and every girl can feel it out on the water—the vibe, the social construct, the weight of wanting to prove you can rip with wanting to be merciful on yourself. It’s intimidating. But yesterday I forced myself to paddle into the lineup. And I’m getting more confident at being able to scoot around surfers while I’m riding. That was something I was really afraid of and lacked confidence in before. Just the idea that I might freakin ride right over someone or crash into them, because I didn’t have the skill to ride around them. That confidence and ability to maneuver around surfers in your path as you ride comes with times and lots and lots of practice.

Anyway, even though I got smoked for a few epic waves, I paddled into the mix. And it brought me one of the waves of my life, what I’m referring to as my Goddess Wave, since I felt like a f-n goddess when I was on it and afterwards for the whole day. A nice 3-4 ft right rolled through in the center of it all and I nabbed it and I made a drop WITH EASE that a year ago, or maybe even YESTERDAY, I would’ve been like no way could I make that. It was freakin’ epic. It sent thunderbolts through my whole body and set me on fire. It’s crazy to have fireworks going off inside of you—you want to shout to everyone around you DID YOU SEE THAT?!?!!? It’s so crazy to get one of the best waves of your life and just be quiet, while your insides are just partying like Mardi Gras.

So between nabbing a goddess wave, working to hold my own in the line up and the whole host of other normal reasons for immense gratitude, yesterday was simply a freakin gift. I was stoked. My cup was so full, my heart on fire. Still is.