Fiji: Take 3

Post Cloudbreak surf stoke in less than ideal conditions.

Bula bula bula!  Ah yes, back in Fiji and currently, back at Cardos (for the internet, of course but a pint of Fiji Bitter is somewhat obligatory).  Here at Port Denarau there are a few new faces and a few old ones.  Like I have said before, there is nothing better than arriving in a foreign country and having friendly faces waiting.  Not just the friendly Fijian faces, but the faces of friends as well.

Let's see, I arrived in Fiji last Saturday after a 13 hour flight from LAX to Nadi.  I missed my friends Sean and BJ from Slow Dance by an hour or so, as they were on their way out as I was flying in.  So it goes.  As soon as I walked off the plane I was greeted with a blast of that warm, heavy tropical air that I have grown to love.  I made my way through customs which was fairly uneventful, although they were not happy that I flew in on a one way ticket.  I promised them that I wouldn't stay forever - although it is tempting - and they let me through.

Back at the boat I felt like I was home.  Dad was waiting for me with a cold beer, but I declined as it was about 7 am.  I spent the day reacclimatizing - napping, cleaning out my cabin, going for a beer at Cardos and sneaking into the resort pool for a swim.  And whereas I was so happy to be back in Denarau, the thing I wanted to do most was get out of here - to go surf, of course.

My day finally came a few days ago when, after a vivid dream about surfing I awoke to a phone call from Teh of Go Surf Fiji, telling me to get up because the boat was leaving for Cloudbreak in 20 minutes.  I jumped out of bed, got my gear together and ran down to meet the boat, ignoring Dad's warnings that the weather forecast called for 35 knot winds and heavy rain in the afternoon.

I couldn't stop smiling as we motored out to Tavarua, in spite of the butterflies in my stomach at the prospect of surfing Cloudbreak and the rather cold rain pelting me.  As we pulled up to Cloudbreak I saw mediocre waves peeling and crumbling across the reef, and both the rain and wind started to increase.  No time like the present, so I jumped off the boat into blissfully warm 80 degree water.  So nice.

Even though the waves were not very nice there was still a crowd of 10+ out at the peak, but after surfing Southern California all summer it did not bother me at all.  And even though the waves were "small", about chest to head high, I was still a bit skittish, paddling for the horizon every time a set came through.  I have seen too many people take gnarly waves on the head to take any chances myself.  

I managed to catch two small waves before I looked around and realized the wind had picked up to 25 knots, whipping the water up the face of the waves and making it a bit hectic in the lineup.  Deciding that two waves was sufficient to say that yes, I have surfed Cloudbreak (a dream of mine since I learned of it), I paddled back to the boat in the channel.  

Inia picked me up and we sat in the boat shivering in the pouring rain and howling wind, waiting for everybody else to come back to the boat.  Isia told me he loves this weather and I told him I thought it was ironic that this is by far the worst weather I have ever been out here in, and also the only time I have ever surfed Cloudy.  We were both stoked, albeit cold.

I got back to the boat around lunchtime just as Mom, who arrived two days after me, was heating up some leftover curry.  There is nothing better than a hot bowl of curry to warm you up after a cold day on the water. 

 But it is ironic, right?  That I come back to Fiji and freeze my ass off?  No worries, it was just a few days of rain and now the weather has returned to its typical sweat-if-you-even-move days and warm but comfortable nights.

Not only did I fulfill my dream of surfing Cloudbreak on this charmed third time in Fiji, but we have now been joined by our good friends Mark on Merkava and Beth and Norm on Sarah Jean.  We have not seen them since New Zealand and it is very fun to be hanging out with them again.  I am trying to talk Mark into anchoring his boat at Tavarua and Namotu for a few days of waves, so we will see what happens.

Speaking of Namotu, yesterday morning I went out to surf my favorite wave, Namotu Lefts.  The waves were a bit big, but after catching two waves I felt pretty good about the session, until I took a wave on the head.  The wave broke right in front of me so i ditched my board and dove deep.  Unfortunately I did not dive deep enough, and the wave picked me up, tumbled me a few times, and then slammed me into the reef.  

OUCH.

I now have a nice gash on my foot that will keep me out of the water for a few days.  I should probably stay out of the water until it is healed, but that is just not realistic.  The worst part about it is that I had brand new reef booties in my pack that I decided not to wear because Namotu Lefts is a deep water take off and it was high tide.  What a chump.