While my children were young I pointed out road kill and told them...
"Oh look, that poor opossum didn't look both ways before it crossed the road."
That's were I was at...I was looking up and down the roads of my personal life pondering which interesting highway to take for the years ahead. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to get hit with something big and deadly. Then Mark cut into my thoughts and asked me..."How about we go to Tavarua this year."
"Ok!" I say...nothing big and deadly there right?The thought of dropping into a Cloudbreak wave excited me. We had been trying to get on the island for a couple of years now but they were always booked up. At the January Expo a rep told us Volcom canceled their team's week in October. We quickly got a group together and booked the opening. We would leave right after the Hot Wax Challenge. Perfect! I counted down the days.
Our first condo in Carolina Beach
In the mean time Mark and I were making and spending money like true 30-something Yuppies. First we bought a Salty Hammocks condo in Carolina Beach. I didn't really know why that was a good idea since we lived close enough to the beach anyway. The truth was, Mark was a wealthy business man and he liked buying things.
"We can surf and then shower." Mark said. "And then I have to clean the shower." I retorted. I never used the place for that reason. We lived close enough for me to drive home and shower.
"We'll remodel and rent it out as a summer rental." Mark told me. And we did.
I liked remodeling. Up to this point I had designed two houses and three retail shops. This condo would be fun to fix up. Wallpaper was in fashion and I filled the place with it. I bought new beddings, window treatments, and I placed games and books out for the guests. We made some money renting the little ocean-front place but we spent a lot of time fixing sliding glass doors, windows, and there were constant plumbing issues. One day I drove by and saw renters in it. It was a hot July day and the renters had the AC on with the windows and doors wide open. I was so pissed because we paid the electric and AC repair bills. It reminded me of the self-centered renters we had in our little house when we lived on Bald Head Island. Truth be told, the whole CB condo-rental thing didn't interest me as much as it interested Mark at tax time. I would have rather bought a place at Snowshoe since snowboarding was a family sport for us. I would have used that shower...and more!
Snowshoe WV
This was also the year we bought land to build our own freestanding Hot Wax Surf Shop. When it was finished, we did one of our famous over night moves. After we got everything set up Hot Wax consisted of over 6000sq. ft. of surf and skate everything. Our sales were so good our worth jumped up to the Wilmington 100 status and we began going to black-tie events with the local rich and famous. Mark loved these events because I never wore undies and I drank, which I rarely did outside of a good party. We were teaching wealthy young-ones how to surf and we were dressing their moms, dads, and teen siblings. We were the place to get back-to-school stuff for at least 5 high schools, 9 middle-schools, and countless elementary schools. Mark was shaping about 100 boards a year and they were selling like hot-sticks. Life was moving so fast and changing everywhere I looked. It was exciting and consuming.
The new and final Hot Wax Surf Shop
Then in August Hurricane Fran hit. The day before it made landfall Mark and I paddled out at Topsail Beach. The waves were 8 foot and clean. Waves are always good before hurricanes hit..and right after, when the winds go off-shore. At this point we'd been through and surfed...
1984: Diana; Category 4 hurricane
1985: Gloria; Cat. 4
1986: Charley; Cat. 1
1993: Emily; Cat. 3
And now we had to deal with 2 in 1996. Bertha; Cat. 3 & Fran; Cat. 3. Both full of heavy rains and flooding.
Mark had made plans to go to the Surf Expo in Long Beach Calif. and it just so happened that he had to leave the morning before Fran was to hit. His plane was the last to leave Wilmington airport. When he landed in LAX reporters came up to him asking questions about the hurricane. To this day I stand impressed on how they knew he was from Wilmington. His plane came from Charlotte NC. That's a big diverse hub.
"Aren't you concerned about your home and family in Wilmington?" they asked him.
"No. It's not our first hurricane. My family's prepared." He told them. They asked other questions and I know he loved the spot-light. It was in his nature. After the interview he called to check up on things. I was excited to hear about his So. Cal. fame and said not to worry. "We're good to go." I told him, "Enjoy the show." I didn't want him to worry, there was no reason. Personally I had defined the word Faith a long time ago, so, I knew God would keep a close eye on things around us. The kids were incredibly calm and inwardly ready for the hours of loud winds, board games, and listening to NOAA on the portable radio telling us every move the storm takes. It wasn't the kids first rodeo and they knew just what to do.
Hurricane day Mark's bother came over to stay with me and the kids for the storm. We prepped the windows with storm-shudders and the house with candles, batteries, extra water, lots of snacks, and sleeping bags in the living room. Then Mark's brother, the kids and I, settled in for the long come-what-may event. There's nothing anyone can do about anything during a hurricane. God has all the say.
Once a hurricane starts it seems to last forever. There's hours and hours of winds bending trees and sending anything not tied down flying and slamming into other things. The sounds are always scary, but Fran had a more powerful destruction up her sleeve. She made landfall around dinnertime and at an unusual high tide. I literately watched the creek behind our house rise up to our porch...a whole 13 feet+! By the time Fran's eye moved over us the creek water was lapping a foot from our decks. Some of the ripples were threatening to come in the front and back doors. My Maxima was floating, rocking with the wind blown waves into the side-door steps. Some neighbors of ours had to stay in their attic during the storm because the creek filled the first floor of their house.
I got pretty concerned when the back-side of Fran lasted all night long. I have to admit, hurricanes in the dark are really creepy. There are all kinds of noises. They sound like the world is blowing down on the house. One can literately hear trees breaking and roofs ripping apart. With the morning sun and calmness came the reality of what we just went through.
Mark's shaping room that was flooded up to the ceiling
My car. I'm pointing at the water-line
After the storm Allstate fixed our house which had lost a corner of the roof and rebuilt Mark's shaping room. We used the room as storage because Mark had built a shaping room in the new shop so people could watch him shape their custom boards. Allstate also replaced my car with a brand new '96 Maxima, Allstate didn't replace Mark's Toyota Land Cruiser however, which had somewhat flooded with creek-water but still ran. As the kids and I drove around in it to see all the damage Fran did to our town the locks on the Land Cruiser kept going off and on randomly and the lights flickered, so did the radio. Eventually Mark would have to buy a new vehicle because we could never get the wiring fixed after the storm. (I wonder what that Car Fax said about that Land Cruiser!) Our condo at CB needed a little water damage work and the surf shop needed some water clean up too, but neither place suffered much structural damage from the winds. It was surreal at how well we fared with all our stuff. It was true Fran was harsh, but, the aftermath made things kind of better. Life is ironic like that.
My new ride. Zoom Zoom!
After the Hot Wax Challenge in October we headed across the Atlantic and below the Equator for Fiji. I was finally going to be able to surf Cloudbreak. I pack my Bible, a few other good books, and three kneeboards just in case I broke one. I was about to surf my biggest waves since Hawaii, and I was glad I was in good physical shape for them.
The flight was long but the drinks were free so it wasn't too bad. When I arrived I was met with some of the nicest people. We had a group with us and it took an hour to put all the boards on the trucks to take them to the boat that would drive us to Tavarua. Once on the small island we were met with a group of locals that would be our cooks, entertainment, and boat crew for the next two weeks.
The waves were big from the start and all of us surfers lined up for the early boat to Cloudbreak. I was the only girl who surfed on this trip and I loved it! Over the years I would be the only girl on a lot of our surf trips to exotic beaches, islands, and other remote breaks. I felt privileged...I also felt challenged. The last thing I wanted to be called was a pussy. My brother had helped raised a tomboy and I wasn't about to let him down. I was hell bent on showing these guys what girl-balls looked like (on a kneeboard)....because if I didn't, I'd never get a wave.
Cloudbreak was incredible. The boat pulled up to these monsters out in the middle of the ocean. There was no wind so the waves were glassy. My heart almost beat out of my chest when I saw and heard the waves pounding on the shallow reef. We were told how to paddle into the gigantic lefts and how to signal for help if we needed it. Then we all jumped out of the boat and set ourselves up in the lineup. It took me awhile to build up the nerves to take off, but eventually I did. I paddled into a set wave and let it take me. I heard hoots and hollers from the other surfers when I dropped in and held the line. One thing about kneeboarding is the waves always look bigger. As I rode the famous magazine wave into Shish Kabobs I started to panic. The water was so clear I could see the reef below me. I went low for a bottom turn then headed up to the lip and over the back. I wasn't ready to go for a Cloudbreak tube yet, but, I determined I was going to get inside one before I left.
I surfed 4 to 6 foot Restaurants a lot. Its a spooky break because leashes can snag on the reef if the tide gets too low. Restaurant waves are really fast. They're transparently hollow and very beautiful. It's an easy paddle out after a wave too. I like that.
Tavarua Rights even broke while we were there. I love rights and was happy to see them. I heard they don't break often.
Waxing up for Cloudbreak
Cloudbreak
Restaurants
Tavarua Rights
The trip was incredible. I realized I had pretty big balls for a girl and I carried that confidence around with me for years to come.
While on Tavarua I had stimulating conversations with interesting people and I ate odd foods and liked it. In 1996 there wasn't much to do on the small round surf island that can be walked around in fifteen minutes, so, I spent my non-surfing time catching sea snakes (which are pretty docile), and laying in a hammock reading and journaling. I also did a lot of reflecting and talking with God. Eventually, before I left Tavarua, I pulled into a Shish Kabob tube and made it out. Trip completed...
The stench filled bird poop tower at Cloudbreak where the judges sit.
There are two ways to get on this stinking tower and both are tide sensitive. If the tide is high the local boat guys can maneuver in close, but, if the tide is low the boats can't go in and I had to walk yards over reef to climb the tower and film the waves. I did both. I'd plug in the IPod and film away. The smell of all the bird poop would stick to my nose all night, but the view from the tower was so spectacular I thought it was well worth it. We went back the next year for more.
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