PHOTO: Tom Cozad www.newportsurfshots.comIt is a new year, new decade in fact. This time of year makes me think of how much I have progressed since the previous year, decade. Life is always about change. You can resist if you want but everything is changing anyhow so it is best to learn to flow. Life is like surfing, the wave is always changing and if you don't flow with it you will be left behind.
I think the most profound thing that happen to me this past year was getting BUMPED BY A SHARK, enough to knock the wind out of me and bruise a few ribs. I was at 36th Street in Newport Beach and it was about 1:00 in the afternoon. The swell was a solid 4' - 6' with a few bigger sets, the winds put a bump on the surface and with the tide dropping quickly there were a lot of rips and some hard pounding close-outs but there were some good barrels and only one other person out. The guy had wiped out close to the Jetty so I was watching to make sure he was O.K. when I got sucker punched in the kidney area. That was surprising enough knowing no one else was out but when I turned around to see what hit me all I saw was a portion of a big gray shark that was already diving back under the water. It was murky out so that was all I saw but, that was enough. I was pretty much in shock. It happen so fast I couldn't believe it. I told the other surfer that I just got hit by a BIG SHARK and he scrambled onto his board and frantically paddled in before all the words were even out of my mouth!
Always following my intuition I knew to get out of the water but I also knew that I did not want to paddle anywhere near the other guy. I figured if the shark was going to go after anyone it was going to be the one in fear splashing water out of control. I did come in and I did paddle faster than usual but I did it CALMLY AND WITH LOVING THOUGHTS towards the shark as one of my brothers that gave me a friendly bump, warning me to get out of the water for only reasons God knows. It serves me to believe this so I don't go into thoughts of fear. I have seen so many sharks in my life surfing (Even in places where the locals swear there aren't any) that I choose to believe they are here to PROTECT ME, not eat me. I was told once by an old Hawaiian that I was blessed to see sharks and not be eaten for that means they are my Amakua (Guardians). Yet still I handle every situation as it comes up and I have gotten out of the water on many occasions for no apparent reason just because I was guided by my inner voice to.
Fortunate for me my chiropractor, friend, was on the beach and I was able to get adjusted immediately! She thought I was rushing in so she wouldn't be late for her next appointment. (Anyone who has ever gone surfing with me knows I am not so prompt about getting out of the water).
I traveled quite a bit this past year and had an encounters with crocodiles, numerous sharks, barracudas and even monkeys! But those will be stories for later. What I find most interesting is that of all the places I have been around the world the gnarliest experiences I have ever had have been right here in Newport Beach. The other time when I was sitting on my board and suddenly found my entire foot (Past my ankle) inside the mouth of something. Luckily I scared it as much as it scared me and it let go and swam off but not before its tail or something slapped me in the calf and ripped my wetsuit. It was red tide so it was to murky to see what it was but I am FOREVER GRATEFUL that I still have two feet and am alive to share these stories with you!
