so

about a week or so ago, i had this session at pt judith. it was late, i spent most of the day looking at waves wondering if i was worth the paddle out. i hit jamestown first for photos. it was ok but nothing special excpet for the bomb set that came through right as i was leaving. i got some super sick photos of the set. some of the best i have of any wave, period. but there was such an obscene amount of wildlife in the water i decided against surfing it. a HUGE flock of birds, including the ones that divebomb into the water, flew/sat right on the takeoff zone. and then this huge seal pops up right next to the rock in the take off. so i decided not to deal with the wildlife and go elsewhere. judith was the call late in the day tho. i paddeled out after alot of indecisiveness. turned out to be a great decision. first it was just ok. chest high, maybe head of the bomb sets. i got some waves, did some forward spins on a couple of lefts. only about 20 guys out, which isnt bad for judith. then later, there were only 5 guys left, and the sun started setting, which is really nice to watch from the water. but on the other horizon, the full moon was rising. so it was sunset on one side of the sky, and the water would be all yellow/gold/blue when looking that way. and then moorise of the other horizon, so there were stars and the silver glare from the moon on the water. looking one way and then other gave me the feeling of being on the edge of two worlds. pretty neat. then the ISS flew by. it moves real slow, but its incredibly bright. about 10 minutes later, it was really getting past sunset, but the moon was bright enough that we could surf anyway. at this point it was down to me and two other guys. so we were just trading waves, dropping into one and then paddeling out as quickly as possible to cram as many waves in before the light disappeared. i found my own peak, which was super fun. i took this one left, and the first thing i see is this surf pull into a complete barrel. i was so pumped. judith never does that, i've only gotten one ok tube in the last three years. i was super pumped, and just decided right there i was not leaving until i got a barrel myself. i paddeled over, subetly as not to be invasive, to the surfers peak. i got one wave; too far on the shoulder. another set came through, and i took off deeper. i saw it wall up and stalled as hard as i could, thinking "no, i missed the tube"...but then it pitched right over my head and i was nice and depe beind the curtain. it was really something else. ive had bigger, heavier, and deeper tubes, but the best thing ever was looking out of the barrel, with my field of vision framed by the pitching lip of the wave, and watching the moonlight light up the inside of the barrel. i managed to squeeze out of it, super pumped, and threw a rollo on the end closeout. barrel + roll at judith, of all places.
after that, i was just so content. i dont really know why. ive had bigger, heavier, and more critical barrels than that. i guess it was just the lighting, the time, the place, and whole setting, and how i knew i was going to get barreled long before it happened. the rest of the session went well too. i threw the most pefect rollo ever a few waves later, and took one in after everyone left. being out in the ocean at night by oneself is un-nerving
so ive had bigger and more critical surf sessions, but this one was still one of the best. just being out there, with God, the ocean, the sky, and a few other people, is enough. i couldnt give enough thanks for those few hours.