All My Limbs are Original

Most islands in the South Pacific do not have good waves because they are usually surrounded by a shallow reef where the waves break before forming anything good to ride. But someone knew about a good spot in Tonga. I never surfed growing up because I was always scared of the point of the surfboard hitting my face. I was usually in a place with reef too and when you stand, the fall is always harder with more potential to land on the reef. I always what we called boogie boarded.

I have since found out that the correct generic term for this kind of board is a body board. But in those days, we called it a boogie board because Morey Boogie was the dominant manufacturer of body boards. So, as old habits die hard, that is what I still call them.   

The best waves to ride are the ones you catch when they start breaking at one end, riding them down the face of the wave as they keep breaking. We didn’t have a good boogie board. Either because we couldn’t find a good one in Tonga or because of the usual reason, we had a cheap, white styrofoam board.

When we got to the spot it was high tide and the waves were breaking nice about 50 yards out. When we got out to the waves we could see the reef below us about five feet down but we had a lot of fun, even with a cheap board. 

After a while, we went in for some lunch and took a rest. When you go out riding waves you should always have at least one other person with you in case of an accident. But after lunch, as no one else wanted to go back out, I went alone. 

By this time it was low tide, so the reef was a lot shallower. The waves had also become dumpers. Instead of breaking moving down the wave, they just broke all down the wave at the same time. If you try to catch dumpers, they do just that on you – dump.

While it’s not as fun as catching the face of the wave, with a good board, you can still catch dumpers if you want to just ride the white water. Of course, I did not have a good board. On the first wave I tried to catch, the wave shattered the board, plunged me under the water and shoved me onto the reef. 

Coral reefs are not the softest things on the planet. In fact, they may be one of the sharpest. Skin is one of the softest things on the planet. And when you get a collision with force between the two, you know what loses. I also got bounced several times. 

The impact opened up some large, very deep cuts on my side. I was bleeding profusely and I was 50 yards out. As I was injured, I could not go full speed. I just had to kick my fins slow and steady to go as fast as I could. My main fear was sharks. These were warm waters where sharks like to be and I was trailing blood. I was just swimming, praying constantly and expecting to feel a yank at any moment.   

All my limbs are original - meaning, I made it without a shark attack. We were quite a drive away from the ship but we got back as soon as we could. I was patched up and took some time to repair. Once again, I still bear the scars. The very next day, someone from the ship said they saw a hammerhead shark right at the scene of my trauma. Hammerhead sharks are some of the most aggressive in the world. I was thanking God that I was still alive.


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