Surfing There is something particularly gratifying about surfing a sailboat. It is that perfect harmonious moment when wind, wave, place and time align and your world accelerates in a manner that is both exhilarating and terrifying. Exhilarating because the vessel breaks it�s own wave and you can feel it � it is no longer bound by the laws of physics that make it what it is. There are a lot of metaphors I find in the act of surfing � it is like if you have ever had a dream where you can fly and it is that exhilarating moment when you release yourself from the laws that govern you remove yourself from displacement mode and fly free. This is equally terrifying because the consequences are substantial if it get�s out of control� certainly some room for more metaphors here.

The night was so black you could only see how angry the waves were when they stood up behind you and the stern light reflected off them. And it is during this time you can�t see anything in a howling squall that your senses become so heightened that you can hear the waves crashing above you as you sit in a trough and know weather or not that crashing wave will bowl you. I think back to the speed contest and realize, that would fit the exhilarating category. 2 nights ago I not only found the terrifying side, but I wrestled with that monster for 8 hours straight. As our winds kicked up to steady 40 kts the seas were dead astern. The boat began to surf with just the auto-pilot keeping her in perfect line. 16kts became the norm, with the odd 20kt roll here and there. You can�t help but think of the consequences of failure in this situation: The boat surfs and does not stay square to the wave and you carve out broadside into a crashing wave and roll the entire boat. The boa t surfs so fast that it buries the nose into the next wave ahead and the entire boat pitch-poles � the thought of 32 tonnes of boat going ass over teakettle is enough to make anyone catch their breath!

So with the auto pilot set to it�s most sensitive setting to keep us in line we surfed along regularly at speeds that previously would have terrified me. So the question is � where did we top out? We had seen 20+ knots on a couple of occasions, and at about 0200 while I was on watch I felt the boat rise in that familiar way that screamed potential energy waiting to release. The wave was HUGE - I say 20 feet. As we reached the top of the wave I felt the wind howl in such a way that the hairs on my neck began to bristle � 45kts of air filled the little storm jib and I could tell we were ready for liftoff. I punched standby on the autopilot and took the helm because I could tell this would be big� the boat shot down the wave like a bobsled on an ice track. I watched 16kts appear instantly, my instincts at the helm just let her ride with both hands lightly on the wheel for emergency only, I watched 18, 20, then 22 kts appear, we caught up to the next wave in front of us a nd blasted down that, wind still surging behind me the bow wave from our boat reaching nearly 10 feet in the air and flying up and out almost 20 feet from the boat she shuddered and hummed and screamed past 25kts and as I saw 28.6kts appear on the speedo and I understood the true meaning of terrified exhilaration� I was calm in that moment of going over 30 miles per hour on a sailboat designed to go 8, but understood that I was more lucky than smart, and am thankful to be here to write about it.