The kid who spotted an apparently “huge” shark swim under me must’ve not been messing around, because I looked down at the water for what seemed like a second, and lifted my head to see him almost at the shore, knee paddling in, swiftly.
Before that moment, South Bay soul surfer Kris Hall and I pulled up to Blackies Beach in Newport, a mellow, forgiving wave good for beginners and even better for longboarders wanting an easy day. The offshore wind was howling and the air was crisp at 7 a.m., so Kris and I did the logical thing and paddled into the lineup in thin springsuits. Uh, yeah, that was a stretch. But if you can balance deep breathing, continuous movement, and a strong focus (on anything but being cold), you won’t get a single goosebump.
And so an hour of constant zippy little waves and the apparent shark encounter had me fulfilled, and I sat in Kris’s car and watched the talented 18 year old hang 5, 10, switch stance, rollercoaster, and just about every other move in the book, and a few that looked like hadn’t even been written down yet.
