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Tag Archives: surfing
Legally Challenged
I popped my head out of the hatch around 10am after another brutal passage east from Bora Bora the prior day. Just then, the big gray French police boat pulled into the bay. My heart lurched. I had a letter from the yard stating that Swell was ‘unsuitable to take to the sea’ until the [...]
Don’t Kill the Star!
And the next day at ten o’clock sharp, Jimmy circled Swell on his stand-up paddle board. “Come aboard,” I called. “I’m nearly ready!” He descended into Swell’s cabin, eyes wide, taking in all the quotes and photos and details. I showed him my book collection, hoping I could give him one of my favorites, but [...]
Posted in Captain Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell, Uncategorized Also tagged Bora Bora, Jimmy Buffett 8 Comments
Ketchup on the Presqu'isle
Here is a bit of everything from the last two months on the Presqu’isle… between my engine woes, the WCT circus, my recent submersion in a writing assignment (check out the upcoming October issue of Surfer’s Journal), a bout with Dengue fever (or Beamish flu?), a last minute haul-out, and the Ahuna-Marotta wedding in Hawai’i… [...]
Big Waves Heroes Save the Sea Nymphs
Just then, Greg Long and Twiggy “Grant Baker”, two of surfing’s big-wave heroes, paddled out for the sunset session. Twiggy, the cheerfully fearless South African, quickly caught a wave. Andy and his ‘sea nymphs’ still frolicked in the impact zone. I felt a pang of anxiousness. “You should take those girls in,” another guy called [...]
Posted in Captain Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell Also tagged chopes, French Polynesia, Tahiti, Teahupo'o 1 Comment
Teahupo'o Fog
Session after session I gained confidence at this beastly wave. In the afternoons the crowd would thin and the circus of photographers and spectators would run off to find food and shade. With just a few locals out I began to sit deeper and understand which waves I wanted and which I DEFINITELY didn’t. One [...]
Posted in Captain Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell Also tagged chopes, Tahiti, Teahupo'o Leave a comment
Trust the King
There is MUCH more energy on the reef this morning. Its thunder is like a constant itch. I can’t focus. I’m scared again. I want to go, but I don’t. I want to catch a big one, but I don’t. The jet skis buzz by and a flash orange boat loads up across the way [...]
Posted in Captain Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell Also tagged chopes, Tahiti, Teahupo'o 3 Comments
No "Poo" in Teahupo'o
The thundering sound on the reef made it impossible to sleep. I tossed and turned, fearing the fear I already knew I would feel during my first session. After all, it was Teahupoo*! In my mind, it was so thick and punishing and frightening and reefy and everything scary about a wave except for ‘cold’ [...]
Posted in Captain Liz Clark and the Voyage of Swell Also tagged chopes, Tahiti, Teahupo'o 2 Comments
All Part of the Miracle
And then one afternoon, when my faith in the male gender had plummeted to an abysmal low, I turned in and saw Bali talking to a guy on the inside. He was the best surfer in the water. He took his waves but wasn’t greedy. He looked at me as he paddled by and said, [...]
Reef Smooch
To my own disbelief, I had correctly wired in the wind generator and watched with glee the next morning as the ammeter on the board showed amps coming in with each gust! Without further celebration, I got back to work to remount and rewire the solar panels. My ‘albatross’, arrived in timely fashion with my [...]
From a day in the ‘Vortex’