Namotu day 3

Day three was just as good as the previous ones.

I woke up pretty tired partly because of all the surfing and partly because of the massage. That lady went in pretty deep and as it always happens to me after a massage, I felt a bit out of juice.

Nonetheless I couldn't resist the temptation of going back to Cloudbreak. According to the forecast, this would be my last chance to surf it again, since tomorrow it should be already too big.

The presence of the photographer on the boat was another motivational factor...

Fortunately, it wasn't quite as big as the day before. Or at least as consistent. As the photos clearly show though, there were still some size in the sets...

I caught my six waves and got stuck on the inside only once. Didn't touch the reef, but had to ditch the board and try to dive under the heavy white water at least 8-9 times. 8-9 times I got hold down quite a bit and despite my effort to stay calm and relaxed, I was getting definitely more and more tired and out of breath. Great was the relief when the current finally decided to let go of me.

There's no other way around. Big, steep, powerful waves have their bad side and struggling/eating it/getting worked is part of the game of being able to ride them and enjoy them.

Fortunately this time I didn't hit the reef at all. I was actually kinda prepared for that, since I was using a tip that one of the lifeguards gave me: only use a bootie on the back foot. In that way in case you really get stuck in super shallow water where you can't even dive under the white water, you can use that foot to push you over it. And the bootie on the back foot didn't seem to bother my surfing. Not as much as the one on the front foot, at least.

There was a pretty strong current running through the lineup and it was pretty much a constant paddling exercise. Just what my sore shoulders needed. The good thing was that when you finally caught a wave, there was no need to paddle back to the takeoff spot. In a few minutes the current would put you back in position and in the meantime if you were lucky you could sneak a wide breaker.

I'm now officially done with Cloudbreak. I'm overly stoked for having been able to surf it, to the point that if I think about some of the waves I got, I almost get teary eyes...
After the session I took a few shots.

Boat to Cloudbreak (the hardcore crew).This guy's name is Dylan. He's from Oahu and is a manager a Tavarua. His barrel riding was pretty damn good.

Check his technique.




Can't see him, but he's still in there.


Ouch!

Pretty solid stance.

Same as above.


Reef McIntosh.

Sorry, blurred but too good to toss.


Reef in another barrel. He was in there long enough that all the boats were screaming and hooting when he came out. Watching that incredible barrel was for sure one of the highlight of the trip.


Afternoon session at Namotu lefts was fun, but it got a bit too choppy (sideshore wind). So I asked the boat driver to drop me at Wilkes where the wind was offshore instead. Pretty gnarly and very hard to get in. Didn't catch any wave (even the lifeguards were struggling), but an epic over the falls wipeout.
Great day again.