|
|
|
|
Dolphin or Angel?
My true awakening off the NE Florida coast
A 100% factual account circa 1995 by Marian Benjamin Hunter
Intro by Anne Beasley
Marian
B. Hunter lives in Neptune Beach,
Florida and had only been surfing
for two years when this actually
happened. She began surfing after
inheriting stepsons who were 10
& 11 yrs. old. I wanted to relate
to them (besides yelling at them
to clean their messes). None of
us had a clue about surfing and
for the 1st time in my adult life,
I wasn't committed to a regular
job. Surfing was just what I needed
for us to all be humbled, laugh
and help each other together.
Marian's stepsons didn't get the surf bug but she did! I'm so grateful for the water time I
had with those boys. Even though I got hooked and they didn't, it gave us some great times
together. It provided some scary, iffy, exhilarating, gleeful togetherness. Ben, Adam and I
bonded then and supported each other. Surfing's GREAT therapy.
Marian also helped launch a Florida surf group, Sisters of the Sea. I met some of the Sisters
at the East Coast Wahine Championships and they are truly high-spirited unique individuals.
Every surfer girl in Florida should become a part of this group. And I hope every beach town
up and down the coast can have as successful a group of surfing women as Sisters of the Sea.
Marian says it's one of the greatest things she's ever been involved with. The consequences of
participating in this group have been nurturing beyond all expectations I had. It's ranged from
much needed teen and college age emotional support, to family-to-lean-on during divorce and death.
Girl surfing buds are soul replenishing. We laugh a whole lot and can talk about ANYthing. The cumulative
knowledge is advantageous too. We can make surf checks along a ten mile stretch of beach, decide where
the best spot is and alert our club members by phone tree. We just about always have someone to paddle out
with, and that's a Very Good Thing.
I was lying face down on my 9'2 ", shaking, quaking with involuntary violent shivers. I was cold and
starving. It was mid September, and the sun gave way to thick clouds, howling wind, and horizontal rain
that stung my cheeks. I was way outside, test riding the "Gentle Giants" that came in sloping sets, from
the hurricane churning farther out in the Atlantic.
Three hours before I was riding perfect glass. Inside sections that pitched and heaved and dumped heavy
into shallow water tempted me to paddle farther out. The drops kept getting bigger, faster. I was gaining
more speed down the walls, cranking it around and back up, flying across the face, kicking out before getting
caught inside. I was focused only on my surfing, testing my skills, challenging myself on the incoming tide.
I didn't realize how far out I was until the sky darkened. I realized my body was exhausted. I squinted,
looking for other surfers, they were all so far away. I was cold and scared and when the shakes came I lay
down and thought, "I'll just close my eyes for a little while. I'll warm up a bit and then try to catch one in."
I'm not sure how long I had lain there, slipping in an out of some weird sleep. Being splashed forced me back
from the comfort of faraway, painfree, warm sleep and made me open my eyes to realize searing cold again. I resisted,
but the splashing insisted I WAKE UP! Opening one eye against my will to remain unconscious where it felt warm and cozy,
I discovered the source of my forced awakening (from hypothermic, nearly complete comfort) I was looking right into the
eyes of a dolphin! I was alarmed, but still didn't budge. The pink skinned dolphin swam away. I closed my eyes longing to
be warm again, but she came back to splash me some more. She made me think of 'Lassie', like I'd better follow her, she's
trying to tell me something really important. I began to paddle. That dolphin literally swam ahead of me then would turn back,
as if waiting for me. I stroked hard to keep up with her. My focus was the dolphin; she was beautiful and so clearly communicating
with me. She would look me in the eye, then sprint ahead as if to say, "Hurry Up!" I charged to try to catch up.
Suddenly, I felt a shadow more than saw it. When I looked toward the horizon, a monster set was almost upon me. Thanks to the dolphin,
I was up to speed to catch a shoulder instead of just being cleaned up. The 1st wave of the set began to push me fast, forward. I was
into it long before it broke and suddenly my focus switched; this was my ONE chance to make it in. It was well overhead and I knew that
if I didn't make it the whitewater would be too much for my exhausted body. I stood up focusing on the trim line when I saw her. My beloved
dolphin was just ahead of me, sliding down the face of the wave. It was like slow motion, she was riding high and low, carving like the best
surfer. Quickly she shot out the back of the wave, hung some airtime and was gone.
I looked to the shore for the first time. She had led me through the inside sections! I lay down and clung to my board riding thick
whitewater until my skeg was in the sand.
It was later, after a long hot shower, some hot soup and cocoa that I realized my experience was not a dream. It was real. My pink
skinned Dolphin friend was an Angel to me that day.
|
|
|
|
