I love surf humor. Like that rumor Dale started about the Mako Shark at Blackies! I thought it was true because my own experience at Newport. I even thought it might have been the same shark except the one that bumped me was too big to see all at once!
I started my own rumor once and it spread like wild fire. It was during the 1996 World Championships in Huntington Beach (USA took 1st!). There was a big swell so in between heats me and a couple of friends jammed down to 56th street in Newport to get some good south swell barrels. In the process of duck diving I got slammed on the bottom and came up with a black eye. When we got back to H.B. we told everyone I got in a fight and ended up beating this guy up! Just living up to the Danger Woman name. Before we could stop it people were talking about it everywhere. I even heard these guys that were sitting behind me on the beach saying how they were there and witnessed the whole thing. Other guys saying they saw it down at trestles. I did not know any of these guys and obviously they didn't know me or they would have seen me sitting right there. Imagine what I didn't hear! Some people gave me sh#$ for fighting and others a pat on the back for not tolerating the bully. I felt really stupid and will never do that again. I still hear about it even though we told everyone right away it was just a joke. I guess the black eye was pretty convincing!
I just hope Dale doesn't run into my SHARK!
