The other side.....

There I was, at Pirewai beach, west coast NZ. I'll never forget the feeling of confidence with which I was naively approaching this beast of energy we humans refer to as "waves"/the ocean. Surfing was synonymous with skateboarding, or so I thought; should be a smooth transition.... well I might have underestimated the raw power of a world-class surfing locale just a little bit...keep in mind I was 16 at the time, on a 3 month visit to NZ to see my father.

We arrived at the cement pad perched atop a cliff,a set of stairs carved into the rock face led the path to a beautiful tiny cove, no more than 50 feet of sand during low tide if I remember correctly. I looked into the sky and then scanned the area, approximately 20 surfers; beautiful skies spotted with clouds sparingly spaced sporadically...just an overall beautiful day!

I quickly threw on my wetsuit and grabbed my new board, anxious to get into the water. I smiled at my father, who was reading the newspaper in the van, and swiftly made my way towards the sea.

Once I found a suitable spot to the right of all the surfers ,I did what any surfer knows all too well, I started to wait.... and wait..... and wait..... sometimes the cycles take 20 mins, sometimes 1hr, I don't quite know the details. A "set" of waves finally hit, I dove under the first and second, then surfaced and believed this third wave was the "one". As I began to paddle with all of my might, I felt my legs suddenly change direction, I was literally "sucked up the face of the wave";or so it felt; Next thing I knew I was upside down in the middle of a 15 foot wave and then it hit me, the wall of water...I got "slammed" as surfers would refer to it.

Underwater, I opened my eyes, and immediately everything was in slow-motion.....white bubbles surrounded me, going to and fro, in different vortex's and twisters going everywhich way.....first thought : "I'm almost out of air, this is not good, what should I do?" I followed the "leash" tied to my ankle, and quickly realized it had snapped...not good again. Then, it happened, I had a "near-death experience"....it was like my whole life flashed in front of my eyes in picture form, yet it was highlighting all major events and the like, and I was looking in from a third person perspective...then I interrupted the show and started yelling in my mind : "NO NO NO, I'm not ready to go yet"....SUDDENLY, my ears felt cold and I took an instinctive giant gasp of air, immediate FEAR/JOY/LOVE.