Wave of panic.

When I was about 19 I did a workshop in London. In one exercise all the people in the room (about 70) were told they were on a sinking ship and only six people could be saved as their was just one lifeboat. In one minute or less we had to individually convince the group leaders why we should be saved. Guess who was first and didn't make the lifeboat cut?! "Too panicy", was the feedback and nearly thirty years later with a 5:00am phone call from a loving friend that a tsunami was on it's way, not much has changed. Others drank champagne had parties and generally frolicked in the face of the unknown. Meanwhile at 5:45am I was in line for an hour at the store for groceries, while calling our IT guy to shut down the work server and generally not being a whole lot of fun.

...and lord knows you need a bit of fun on a lifeboat.

Playful rest.

The wave is big and rolly as it comes through the mouth of Kahului Harbor. It's undulation takes a bit of getting used to, but it's longer runs, heavier water and steeper pitch provide a perfect playground for my next level of learning. I like the fact that it's eerily flat as a pancake between sets, because that way you can definitely see what's coming.

As I paddled out I chose the smallest break and validated my choice with a defensive response to an imaginary critic in my head, "Well I did grow up in the industrial North of England where we don't even go in the water" I said, feeling better for having spoken my piece to no one in particular. (With apologies for yet another Gopro self obsessed picture of myself ...I just can't help it)!

As luck would have it this 'am I received this (not so) self obsessed pic of my bro and realized that talking of water, there must have been something in it from our youth! Yorkshire folk, nowt like 'um-look at us, what a pair of bobby dazzlers!

Post playtime, I relaxed and nattered with my wonderful and lovely friend Cheyenne. Never under estimate the value of resting your paws while watching the world go by.

Talking of the world going by, as I've been living my life eagerly crossing things off my to-do list...

• Taxes delivered to accountant.
• Paint laundry room.
• Dish soap.
• Burn CD's for girls.
• Call Wendy.
• Take vac to office.

... nature has been busily doing her thing and growing creatively in my back garden, how groovy is that?!

Ahhhhhh, if you're not doing so already... rest your paws and have a moment, 'tis molto tranquillo.

A picture tells a thousand words.

Oh my goodness, I'm having so much fun with my new little GoPro.

It makes every session on the water more fun because God knows we're all vain enough to like a good picture of ourselves!

So not only do I get the thrill of having the magical experience, but I get to share it.

Woooohooooo!

1000 Peaks from Sharon on Vimeo.

This says it all.

SUP Saturday.

For my birthday I was lucky enough to receive an HD Gopro camera and this weekend I finally got to take it for a spin.

In February, with a mill pond for an ocean there's only one glorious & exciting thing to do......whale watch.

It can be a little spooky out there, woah, what da fuk was that?!

From 1000 Peaks I paddled back toward the tunnel and toward a pod of three small whales that were gently going about their business. There were a couple of kayaks already enjoying the show and (in what I hopped was stealth mode) I snuck in to join them. Plumes if spray were accompanied by a breathy 'puffffffff ' and even when they went down into the inky sea, the trio surfaced in almost the same spot, seemingly in no hurry to swim away.

Untitled from Sharon on Vimeo.

Clearly I had the camera was mounted too low as you can't see the whale's backs or tails, but I'm on a learning curve and hope to improve while these amazing creatures are still in town.

Meanwhile on the way back I caught a few ripples.

It might only be small and frothy, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun :-)

As an aside, I drive a 1993 Ranger with more than 250,000 miles on it, so I'm starting to shop for a new/used vehicle. The deciding factor.....it has to be able to easily transport 10ft of pure joy! Having test driven a Honda Element for 24 hrs last week, that top contender is officially out of the running as it's not big board friendly. Next......!