Paying Dues in Costa Rica

I took my first surfing lesson today here in Costa Rica.  It was fun surfing the white-water and I want to become a competent surfer and even plan on going back to sharpen my skills- but at this point, I'm still a stand up surfer girl.  I can't help it, it was my first surfing love. 

Today, I heard there was a secluded right point break just a couple miles up the road.  Fortunately, a local, Steve from Coconut Harry's, is an avid stand up paddler and he was fired up to drive us out there.  It was basically a dream set up; there wasn't anyone there.  A major reason for the lack of a crowd was the paddle, there aren't too many surfers willing to paddle out a quarter of a mile for waves when there are super fun beach break waves just out the front door. The wave was a long, right point- I was blown away, this is basically a perfect stand up surfer's wave. 

Three of us paddled out to the point.  The waves were crankin'.  This whole trip I've been amping to go paddle-surfing so I just charged it.  I warmed up on a few good, head high waves and was feeling confident and loose. Then it happened, I was in the perfect spot and I turned to see a cobalt blue wall coming right for me. This was a set wave, probably two and a half times overhead and I knew it was now or never. I paddled in and honestly, I got tunnel vision. I couldn't even see how high the wave was above my head- but I did see the wall stretching two hundred yards off to my right and the thing was turning inside out. This was not the time to hotdog- this was a survival situation. I made the drop, came off the bottom, set my rail and took a speed line for the shoulder hoping I could make it to clear water. The last thing I remember was the sound of the lip detonating on my heels. I was in trouble.

I learned a lot from that wave. Basically, if you're going to challenge a wave, you take it to the end.  Otherwise, there's a price to pay.  When that wave closed out on the back of my board, I decided to jump off. Don't ask me why, it just seemed like the right thing to do at the time.  Unfortunately, I chose the wrong moment to do that because the wave broke right on top of the side of my head.  The pressure from the wave was so strong and heavy that it pushed me down deep.  On top of that, my board was still caught in the wave and it dragged me.  I've had both of these happen to me before but this time I was scared for my life.  I was pushed so deep that I was already out of breath when the whitewater released me. Here's the scary thing: I opened my eyes and it was still pitch black. 

Funny thing is, I was able to stop myself from panicking by thinking of Gerry Lopez. I had read in his book, Surf is Where You Find It, that if you're stuck in a life or death situation you need to stay calm and relax. It's crazy but that's the first thought that came to my mind and, believe it or not, it helped me.  I did relax, I threw my arms to my side and let myself float.  Eventually, I saw the light of the surface, popped up and took a big breath. I was relieved but I was scared. After that wave I was done, I'd ridden some of the biggest waves of my life and learned a few lessons- I figured I might as well quit while I was ahead.