Four years ago, my boyfriend and I found a secret wave. Ok, well, it wasn't just our secret, but it was incredibly uncrowded for how perfect it was. Like most things that seem too good to be true, the perfection was elusive. Due to a very strong current that would suck you out to sea on a dropping tide, it could only be surfed on the incoming tide. Since the wind turns onshore around noon, that only allows for a small window of opportunity. All the elements had to come together to make it happen, the right swell, the right wind, and a rising tide. Unfortunately for us, those elements were coming together, but only very early in the morning. In order to catch a few waves before tide bottomed out and the horrendous current took over, we had to get up at 4am, be down at the beach just before sunrise, and beginning the long paddle out to the outer reef as soon as it was light enough to see. The fact that the only restaurant in the tiny remote town didn't open until around 9am, meant that we were going to have to do it all without coffee. It was almost a deal breaker, but we kept thinking of those perfect waves and had to go for it.
We did it! Well, sort of. We made it all the way out there and caught a few leg-burning long rides. It was just the two of us and when one person caught a wave, the other would be left bobbing alone in the lineup. The swell was big and lumpy, the sky low and clouded. I got that creepy feeling that something just wasn't right. When my boyfriend finally made it back out after another seemingly endless ride I was just about to say something about the strangely creeped out feeling I was having when we both saw something that rendered us speechless. A fin popped up in the face of the approaching wave, not gliding up and down like a dolphin but charging straight towards us with an agressive swishing motion a few feet behind it. Not wanting to completely panic, I said, "did you see that?" He had already started to paddle for the first wave he could. We rode it together on our bellys, not wanting to risk the chance of falling, all the way in to the sand. We hadn't seen any teeth, but we didn't want to stick around to make sure. Whatever it was, we were happy to leave it out there to take any wave it wanted, or maybe we just really needed a warm cup of coffee.
Last month we went back. The tide was rising all morning and there was a new swell building, perfect for our secret wave. Inevitably, the secret has spread. We were no longer the only ones in the lineup, but the crowd was still small and friendly, and at least we figured the odds were better in case that toothy local showed up again. Or maybe we just felt better because we were caffeinated. I had packed an electric kettle and a pound of Silver Joe's French Roast on the trip, so there were no excuses to get up early and charge out there!