COMMITTED
Finally Blacky parked up at the top of a wafty cabbage field, where we could just about make out lines of swell beyond the fields below. There were already a couple of guys out but they didn’t seem to be powered and the waves looked small and mushy to me. By this time, I already had cold feet and was ready to pull the plug, but Blacky was on a mission and I was committed with no possible escape route. The scenario facing me at this stage was to sit and sulk in the van, or follow Blacky across a mile or so of muddy country fields down the break. Reality finally hit that there was no way out of this situation so I bit the bullet, loaded up a back pack full of camera equipment and decided to run with Blacky’s hair-brained scheme and endure the artic temperatures. Rare for me, but I really did try to switch from negative to positive and give this situation my 100% commitment and hope that the day would deliver! I knew by Blacky’s body language that he would be prepared to wait until hell freezes over to score this spot and so far I was just experiencing the tip of the iceberg of this horrific day.
Blacky seemed to have the situation under control and tied together his quiver ‘Diamond Head style’ with a board, spare sail and provisions for the day ahead. Despite the ice cold conditions, Blacky seemed to be setting up for a full session on the water as if it was a beautiful summer’s day. We were barely five minutes down the track before my fingers were burning numb as the biting wind hit home. This was going to be a tough, there was no going back and I was now fully pledged to braving this day out to the bitter end despite wishing Blacky would stub his toe imminently and we would have to retire to the nearest ale house with an open fire and watch sky sports like any normal person.