Arriving at Pelana West Beach, at the end of December 2012, I got back on the surfboard for the first time since 2006. I felt like a complete novice, my first outing, resulted in a stomach rash and skinless nipples. I had taken a few good wipe-outs, swallowed one half of the Indian Ocean and the other half went up my nose, after an hour I sat back on the beach watching the waves, knackered.
Pelana West, is the beginners paradise for surfing in SL, a long sandy beach with numerous beach breaks offer beginners the perfect place to practice safely.
I spent January doing the same improving my skills and increasing my fitness level, surfing first once a day and then progressing to twice a day. I wanted to be in the right frame of mind before I took on SL more intense breaks. The most important thing when surfing is to be confident on the take off, standing up. You need to paddle your heart out when a wave approaches, position yourself correctly, then when you feel the wave push you forward, spring to your feet, making sure your front foot lands on the board first, this increases your speed and gives you the best chance of 'survival'.
After a month of applying this I felt I was ready for the breaks of Midigama, Coconuts, Plantations, Rams and Lazy Left. I chose Coconuts because it broke to the left, meaning I would be on my forehand facing the wave and because less people surfed it. It is a powerful wave that arcs in a semi-circle, which means it jacks up really fast and you need to get in as close to the crest as possible to catch it. Once you survive the take off, there is a steep section, on low tide this can get very hallow, making the take off even more treacherous and the speed is immense. Below you the board shakes and you need to crouch to counter the speed wobble, leaving your fear behind.
Last Saturday I decided I was ready, I knew there was a small swell predicted, with waves of 0.3 - 0.6 meters. Perfect for my introduction to the outer breaks. I paddled out at 7 am on a rented board, a wide 6.4 foot thruster.
Two hours later I wore a smile from ear to ear, Coconuts was for me, the speed and shape of the wave was incredible.
Sunday morning I paddled out at 6:30 am, it was at least a foot bigger, no wind meant it was as smooth as glass and exhilarating.
That afternoon I returned, the wind blows on shore most afternoons, dying down around 5pm, making the water very choppy, like having speed bumps. I chose a longer board this time, a 7.1 foot hunk of old foam and glass fiber, it had seen better days, but the surf was bigger, I paddled out around 4pm.
A longer, thicker board makes it easier to paddle but harder to steer. I was rewarded with my choice, for the next two hours I beamed with adrenaline, paddling out turning around and riding wave after wave of the biggest waves I had ridden on this trip, making large swooping turns, which did not look that spectacular but felt divine.
As the afternoon wore on I began to tire and get sluggish, I kept on saying just one more, I had lost respect for the strength of the sea. I took off on the first of a line of sets, large infrequent waves, being tired I fell and ended up in the danger zone, this is not where you want to be. As this is where the waves break on the reef and the white water rushes towards the shore, clearing all in it's path.
Here you need to do a maneuver called 'duck-diving', if you've ever seen a duck in a lake looking for food below the surface, you will know why it's called this. First you dip the nose and try to go as deep as you can to get below the white water, then push hard on the tail to re-surface.
I got through the first one and came up gasping for air, the second my arms stared to shake. I took a deep breath for the biggest of the three waves, doubt filled my mind, panic. I did not get the board deep enough on the dive, worried I might hit the reef and also my arms had lost power. Stranded, the board rocketed back at me, my weary arms gave way, bam, my head felt like I had just been punched and whip-lashed backwards. My eyes closed for a second, darkness, I tumbled in the white water, dragged by the leash around my ankle, I had lost grip of the board, very bad, and the force of the water, fear washed over me.
I followed the direction of the leash and made for the surface, knowing the buoyancy of the board would mean it would be bobbing at the surface, and that way was up. I broke through the surface gasping for air, surrounded by bubble filled white water, hoping there wasn't another one coming, lucky for me there wasn't.
I collected the nose which was floating 10 meters closer to shore and made for the beach. I crawled onto the sand, glad to be out of the water. I lifted my left hand to the painful side of the head, touched the spot, felt a lump and then brought it back in-front of my eyes. My two fingers showed the red of blood, diluted with the salty water.
I returned shaken to my guest house and the dreadful news that two local boys were missing and presumed drowned in Weligama Bay. One body of a sixteen year old boy was found this morning the other is sadly still missing. R.I.P
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