Another morning in the Teahupo'o marina. There is grass growing out from the cracks in the rotting wooden planks. Some are missing completely; the water pipe below the dock nearest Swell is cracked and constantly spewing freshwater into the sea. But the sky water spews constantly, too, so maybe that's why no one around here seems to think the cracked pipe is much of a problem. A cup of tea, a scan of the reef, and a bit of yoga. It's bigger again today and I can see Raimana's boat tied to the buoy in the channel, trailed by a flotilla of other smaller boats all in a line like baby ducks.
I load up and head over. There's a funky morning bump and the thickest crowd I've seen yet, but Josh motions wildly for me to paddle out, so I tie my 'duck' in the back of the line and go sit amongst the chaos. After a half hour, I finally scrap to catch one small wave then paddle back to my 'duck' and doze off under my pareo.
"It's not the time," I tell myself. "With sets like today, I know I don't want to be battling for the inside waves."
Waking from my nap, I find that the crowd has thinned and it's actually beginning to glass-off. The sets look bigger, but Raimana is here. Just his presence makes me feel safer.
As I paddle back out, a flock of guys paddle away at once. The sun breaks through the clouds and there are only five locals out, including Raimana. I stroke into a wide one on my own, then sit in the channel for a while just to watch this natural wonder of a wave - the power and beauty and colors, just look at that wave! Raimana's voice interrupts my awe.
"Liz, come here. Sit here, beside me. No, THIS side of me," he directs, pointing me to the inside of him. "You ready? Relax, take deep breaths, it's okay."
But I already felt surprisingly calm. He sensed it. This was the biggest I'd surfed it yet, but I'd made some of these drops now and he'd already taught me how to catch the west ones - and okay - here we go. Here comes a set!
Liz Clark sails solo around the world on her 40-foot sailboat, Swell, in search of people, places and waves. She sends us travel updates, stories and photos several times a week.
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