Slow. Immense. Intimidating.

The wave loomed, a ripple in the pond we call an ocean, but a threat to the speck of a human on that ponds surface.

Kenton didn’t even bother to wipe the rain from his eyes. The rain never stopped. It peppered the oceans surface as far as the eye could see. It would have been cold were it not for the wetsuit and that the ocean had the thermal mass of the summer keeping it at a cozy 23 degrees.

Looking into the wave, that very big wave, Kenton nearly made a donation to the ocean that would have raised that temperature a few degrees. Instead he laid down on his surf board and paddled for his life…. or was that “for the time of his life”? One of the two…

“PADDLE DUDE!” Kentons surf instructor, Rob Holley, urged Kenton to give some secret reserve of energy. Is it possible to paddle faster than when you think you are going to die? Apparently Kenton paddled fast enough because the wave didn’t just pass around him. Some 4 days of training had drilled it into him that, yes, this is what he wants. There is nothing better than “riding the swell”.

“Swell. Yes. I am just swell,” he thought. Somehow puns are possible when bladder control is being seriously questioned.

The wave behind Kentons Mal surfing board felt like a giant slowly picking him up. The problem is that time sure moves funny when your adrenaline is waiting for you to act. First, time slows down. In your anticipation to make a fight or flight response your senses are like a movie in slow motion. Second, you have that split second decision to physically act but your mind is moving so fast that your action seems slow. Your mind is second guessing if you should act, talking to you like a kid that needs some Ritalin: “Yousureyouwannago?Idontthinkyoushouldgo.Maybeyoushouldgo.DOit.K,wait,dont.Nevermind.GO!!”!!

Next, comes the plunge. Its like that time that you realize that there is a fast forward 100x on your DVD player. Sound is omitted by the what can only be described as a “static rush” in your ear. That’s your blood by the way.

Did Kenton die? No. He didn’t even wet his wetsuit from the inside! He did ride the wave though. Unfortunately, he only rode it till it white capped… perhaps 4 seconds. BUT, he did it. He had gotten out to where the waves hadn’t white capped, a feat none of the other students could. He had earned Robs respect for his ability to surf so quickly and to come out surfing on this gnarly day. And now he had just tried to ride one of those beastly waves.  Kenton was a little washed up having been rolled around and spat out by a few million liters of sea water, but he was pretty exhilarated. He had rode a “big wave”.

The Surf camp truly was an adventure.

Traveling with a 23 year old Scottish pharmacist, a 18 year old German violinist and a 16 year old who thinks he’s a surf guru made for an interesting group. Add a young surf instructor, who is a surf guru, and his carefree girlfriend and you have the recipe for an intimate surf camp. Pick up was from Sydney where we loaded into the landrover we called the “troopa” and then drove up the sunshine coast to our base camp where we ended up staying for the week.

On weeks end, Scottish and Kenton got dropped off at the Bus depot and off we went. Destination: Byron Bay - a truly unique place with a transient population almost entirely made up of young travelers.

When Scottish and Kenton arrived we wandered over to the hostel which the surf company had booked for us... Scottish had a booking. Kenton apparently did not. And so Kenton found myself waiting outside the office while the hostel staff tried to convert the T.V. room into a space he could sleep in.

Standing there in the hallway Kenton ended up making small talk with two guys from Brisbane. Turns out they didn’t just book beds here, they had booked a room! They generously offered him the free bed and then we went out on the town for a night at the local bars and clubs. The next morning Scottish and Kenton rendezvoused with a girl we had met on the bus the previous day. Off we went to walk the beach, explore the coast, go to a lighthouse and stand on the most eastern point of Australia.  Before he knew it he was off to catch a bus to get away from this crazy party town.

Destination: The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia for my 10 week internship.