CAUGHT INSIDE
We had to make the decision to either anchor the ski outside the break or try and get to the inner reef before a set would come. We decided to maneuver the ski as close to the impact zone as possible and then try to idle to the inside reef, hoping no other waves would catch us. I saw a small gap in the sets and just went for it. We got about three quarters of the way in when a smaller wave broke and then engulfed the ski. We both tried to hang on but got ripped away from it. By the time we got to the surface our equipment that was secured on the sled was now floating on the water all over the place. After a while we gathered all the equipment and made our way ever so slowly back to the beach access.
With my ski out of action we tried desperately to get another ski. There was just no one that had a spare ski and it was now midday. The only option I could think of was to try and launch off the rocks at Jaws. No windsurfer had ever done this before – some have swum out from Maliko Gulch or landed on the rocks under the Peahi cliffs – and I had my doubts whether we could do it. Robby kept asking me if it was possible as we drove towards Jaws in the car and I just told him ‘it‘s not a problem mate’. He knows me well and I could see that look in his eyes but at the same time he’s a bit of a nutter anyway so he just stopped asking questions and I stopped making excuses.
