“Oh man. There it is. The swell of the week,” my dad said as we checked the waves at the Frisco Pier. It was bright morning, sun glaring off the water. Early morning salt air all around you. Its just not something that everyone can enjoy. The waves crashing and rolling towards the shore soothes you. It is the purest thing on Earth. Chest to head high sets with light offshore winds. It was the perfect time to go. Everything was lined up for a great day of surfing. “Definitely a day to go,” my dad’s friend Mike said as he stood next to us. “When’s the next time you're gonna get conditions as perfect as this?” I replied anxiously. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” So, we pulled our boards out of the back and paddled a little less than a quarter mile out to where it broke off the pier. It’s no joke when they say its always bigger when you’re out there. I’m used to seeing swell this size roll through, but it still doesn’t make me want to get hit on the head by it. Our duck dives had to be perfect if we didn’t want to clobbered. …show more content…
I let the first one pass under me. The second was the biggest in the set. This one could be the best wave of the day. It would have been a shame to let it roll through. I whipped my board around and paddled hard. Suddenly, I just felt the wave pick me up. Thats when I popped up and had to make a choice. I could’ve either gone straight to the bottom and make a big bottom turn or I could’ve taken a higher line. Because this wave was as fast as it was, I chose to stay up on the higher line so I didn’t make a bottom turn, get caught outside, and blow the whole
Whoosh! A phenomenal wave flew over my head, pulling me down with it. Next to me, to pull me back up was my brother, Matthew. Whoosh! Then came another wave, dragging me down again. My brother pulled me up once more. At that point I could see the haven-like shoreline becoming more distant; however, I was only ten at the time and did not understand why I was being pulled further away from it. I did not realize it at the moment, but a riptide had caught me.
Dad was continuing to man the helm as we ran our afternoon-start streak to four in a row. Among the nice features of getting on the water early is that conditions are often calmer and more boating-friendly early in the day. As the day progresses winds frequently pick up and the seas grow rougher. This was exactly the case this day as we crossed Lake St Louis in rough seas accompanied by high winds.
As the viewer of Ground Swell we can only wonder what else is around the sailboat, whether they are near land or by a dock, it leaves us with a feeling of unknowing. In the short story the unknowing is a symbol for reality, in the story the narrator mentions “He was no one I knew”. He doesn’t like the idea of “T H I S blind man” (Carver 209) coming to stay the night at their house. Once he meets the blind man, all of his stereotypes have crashed against reality and he is confused.
As my family and I sped along the coast, the sour smell of sulfur vents and sea salt pungently gusted through my nostrils. My clothes were damp from the constant spray of seawater. My sense of balance was overcome by the sequential hop from wave to wave and – combined with the
"These waves were most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall, and each froth-top was a problem in small boat navigation"(Crane 246).
There would be friction between your hands and the rope when trying to pool or if you lost grip of it. This resulted in your hands becoming blood red and burning. I began to appreciate sailing with its moods of being calm and suddenly becoming rough. Sometimes the wind would pick up and the boat would be going remarkably fast that the sail would be getting pushed into a 40 degree angle with the water. This means we were basically trying to stay on the boat because it would be dangerously close to flipping if a larger wave were to come. We traveled all the way to the other side of the bay in which we then docked the boat on the beach. We found a beach ball on the beach, therefore we took a brief intermission to throw the beach ball around. We then pushed the boat off the beach and hopped on. There was water constantly brushing my face making it difficult to see. There was a “thumping” noise when the wind would pick up, from the waves hitting the front of the boat and the boat falling back down to the water again. After these events, I knew I wanted to do this more
It was a Friday, and my first time at White Water. I had been to Six Flags many times in the past few years, as I had always been a pass holder, but this was different than Six Flags. Six Flags had roller coasters where I was strapped in and going 60+ mph. I loved the feeling of going on the rides, but this wasn’t Six Flags. This was a completely new place. I could feel the terror in my bones, but I also knew that I was excited to go on this new ride. A ride where it would just be me making sure I didn’t fall off.
I caught the wave right as it towered over me almost feeling like it was eating me. Right as I caught the barrel it crashed and I finally got swallowed by the wave.
The effort was great. Since I did not want to plunge in the water... which I found later on was three inches deep. Heading off, we paddled into the Humber River. It derived of a main channel for upper echelon boats and yardage (all of which had slightly lewd, highly sexist names: Betty Booper, 'Notty' Seamen). The resonance of nature was palpable.
My family and I took our boat out to lake Avalon, a small, gorgeous, crystal-clear, spring fed lake that gets up to 136 feet deep lake, in Hillman, Michigan, about a half hour from my house. We met my mom’s cousin, Luke, and I quickly learned that wakeboarding was not all it was cut out to be. Just getting up out of the water proved to be a tremendous challenge for me. I tried the entire day to get up out of the water, my dad pulling upwards of twenty times until my moment arrived. Luke told me from the beginning that I would get up without a doubt, at the time I was a very light kid and the board would just pop me right out of the water. I finally realized how to transfer my weight to my back leg and resist the boat’s pull enough to get up out of the water. Of course, my show boat self tried to do an arm pump out of pure happiness and found my pride diminished by a little wave knocking me into the water after staying up for just 20 yards. But I didn’t stop
Not one cloud to be seen. My heart was racing, scared to go down this hill. Giving myself time to be mentally prepared to go down. I was ready all my friends and neighbors gathered around. My left foot is placed on the fine sand paper of my long board.
...y past the point of remedy, it is still exudes a sence of majesty just from it’s sheer size and swift current. Certain windy days will produce small waves that could compare to a calm surf.
This lukewarm water was deceiving though, because it only seemed lukewarm due to the drop in temperature and misty rainfall. The waves were rushing toward me like a bull to a matador’s red flag. My mouth tasted as if someone dumped a whole shaker of salt on my tongue. The wave pushed my further and faster as it I could feel the wave breaking on my body and there I was back at the shallows again floating in with the white wash and was ready for another wave. As I stood back up and ran back out to the deep water I saw one of my surfing mates catch the most perfect barrel it was rad. It would have been a great snap shot. I caught another wave, this one was even bigger. The thrust of the wave was twisting my body and I was pulled towards the sea
I use any excuse to walk along the ocean, especially alone and without my phone. The wind blew cold air, but the sun’s warm rays kept my body at a perfect temperature. It was three in the afternoon and I was calm.
Everyone has a memorable unforgettable moment in their life time and will charish that momement as long as they live. I am one of those many with a memorable loving moment. I will never forget it and happy to share it with others. It has been one of many favorite moment in my life. That it even open my heart to be happy and always thankful.