Something I just wrote in my spare time.

Less than 24 hours ago the ocean was an angry and unruly beast, confused, contorted and dangerous.

The local surfer knew that the time would come when the beast was tamed and the aftermath would be perfect for a dawn patrol.

A week ago with fingers crossed looking at the various charts and maps available at the click of a button he made the call, the email was sent that flexi hours were going to be used..it was on..

The day before the session went as clockwork with the wind dropping off and the ocean regaining some normality in the afternoon, the swell was larger than it was supposed to be but he was sure it would drop overnight.

With the car pre packed the surfer had a restless night?s sleep, forcing himself to stop checking the live swell chart. Finally some shut eye.

A classic late winter morning greeted him, no wind and a chill in the air. With a late morning start at work there was not the usual rush to get to the beach, a more subdued drive to the coast than normal. He did not even think to check the swell before turning into the carpark with a view..bugger!

As the larger sets exploded on the banks it appeared that the ocean was smirking at him, in the pre-packing of the car the night before he assumed the swell size and strapped on the longboard, whilst it is a performance model it is still a longboard and you cannot duck dive a longboard.

Stretching before the drive worked a treat, feeling balanced and sharp he went about his routine of warming up the shoulders, back and legs with vigorous sets of exercises, it was going to be tough going with the swell up so he needed to be on when he hit the water.

Car locked, wetsuit on, ready to go.

As he picks up his board and makes his way he spots a broken board in the bin and another surfer emerges from the track with a bloodied nose and another broken board, the surfer looked dejected and did not even look up as they passed each other. Should have packed the shortboard he silenty said to himself.

Getting to the beach he susses out the scene, a foam trail tells the story of the banks on a beach break, what he was looking for was an arrow or triangle of foam pointing out to sea instead of a straight line parallel to the beach. A triangle of foam means a wave has peeled along, a straight line means a straight wave. Straight waves with a big swell are no good, especially when you cannot duck dive.

A good bank was soon spotted and once he had lined the bank up with a particular building behind him he started the task of making his way out the back. As he got about waist deep 4 bombs broke in a row sending white water up the beach knocking over a young body boarder. The ocean was now taunting him. He needed to be patient and wait for a lull.

After the sets he started to make his way out, with a lot of water moving around he was getting pulled sideways along the beach at a rapid rate. Figuring he knew how to line up with the bank he would not fight the side drift as much. Make up the ground once away from the current in the shallower water.

Once in the safety of deeper water he susses out the vibe of the crew. When it is big it can appear crowded but not as much agro as not everyone wants every wave. One thing about the longboard was that he did not need to sit right on the peak to get the wave and he would use less energy fighting the rips. Maybe a longboard was the right choice?

Spotting his building marker he makes his way past a pack of surfers, getting strange looks was nothing new, still he does not understand the attitude when you are out there on a mal.

Almost immediately as he gets to the peak of the bank with no one around a wave pitches up and starts to gain speed towards him. To let it go or not?he lets it go, it was a good decision as a bigger one follows, chasing the first wave of the set when there is a big swell can be dangerous as you can get stuck on the inside and cop the bigger waves that follow.

After the second closeout passes underneath a nicely shaped wave appears and he decides this is the one, he puts his head down and paddles hard, feeling the wave pick him up he drops in and smiles..this is what it is all about.

The sun was barely poking out from the buildings as he made his way along the glassy powerful wave, cutting back to the breaking section and setting up another arcing bottom turn before swooping on the wave a couple more he kicks out with a bigger grin on his face. The water was warm, the air had a chill and the bank was all his..for now anyway.