The Tales from The Sea

Four lines are tied to the outer tips of my white and black colored kite. The other ends of the lines are attached to a bar about a foot and a half wide, that is connected to a Chicken Loop, which hooks onto a Donkey Dick. Go figure! I didn’t make the names for the parts of equipment up myself. So, this Donkey Dick ( a hook) is a part of a harness that you wear around your waist. You hook a Donkey Dick, to the Chicken loop while another person some ninety feet away, launches your kite into the air. Off you go into the water! Mounting the board of choice, either directional (surf board), two directional (wakeboard style) or foil board, you go flying across the water. And you pray! I used to pray a lot, now I pray a little less often. After all these years of painful learning, including being dragged over the rocks on the beach, and yanked fifty feet into the air involuntarily, I am finally proficient enough at this sport, that I am enjoying it. Some of my fellow kiters get big air and do all kinds of tricks. They often crash and burn, but that’s fun to watch from shore drinking beer.

Monty and the Wind

Me? I like to stay close to the ground, close to the water that is. I ride on a surfboard without foot straps, so my knee hurts less. I like riding the waves, and I really don’t mind just going back and forth. My husband calls that “mowing the lawn.” Yeah, it sounds pretty dull, but I like it. My lawn looks pretty good, thank you very much! 

So today, I was out there mowing the lawn. Not too many people out on the water. The place has cleared out in the past two weeks. U.S. Borders closed down, and the last flights have departed from Baja Mexico, taking many people back to their homes. Uncertain and scary times for sure.

It’s early yet, but winds are blowing steady twenty-five-plus and gusting over 30 miles an hour. How do I know that? Well, the sand on the beach was blowing about a foot high, and my six-meter kite is just about all that I can handle. I wish I had a smaller size kite. Guys twice my size, are on the same or smaller size kites today. The wind and the kite are pulling me fast and furious across deep dark waters, over the choppy waves. These winds are called El Norte and are created by the pressure gradient from a weak to strong, North of us. Another storm system is passing over California, dumping more snow in the Sierras. Bittersweet, as the ski areas are closed.

Beautiful translucent wings of a flying fish

Unsettled weather, uncertain and stressful times right now, but the reason I am out on the water, is to clear my head. I am trying to not think and worry too much. The wind is so strong, I can barely hang on, and I have to be completely present and in the moment. Conditions do not allow mistakes. My eye gazes in a direction I am speeding along and just upwind from me, a flying fish jumps out of the water. It flies for several feet with its wings spread wide open. The translucent metallic blue wings glimmer in the sun as the fish flies almost parallel to me before it dives back into the sea. Several more pop up and fly in front of me. It looks as if they are playing and catching the wind. Most likely though, they are chased by larger fish. But who knows. Animals do play! Flying fish slammed against my body many times before, and it feels as if a slimy wet frog hits you. I am on my toes now.

Tylosorus Crocodilus

I make a wide sweeping turn down a large swell and point the kite and the surfboard back toward the shore. I carve some consecutive turns down a large swell. Nice! I imagine a dolphin playing with me on the wave, when I am startled by a needlefish flying through the air, barely missing my thigh. At the speed I am moving, being hit by a sharp-pointed beak, full of large teeth, would most likely mean a trip to the hospital. The Latin name for Giant Mexican needlefish is Tylosurus Crocodilus. Yes, it resembles a crocodile. Now imagine this crocodile, albeit smaller, flying through the air in your direction. Pointed beak can penetrate not just your wetsuit and muscles, but it is known to lodge itself into the bone of your leg or your butt. I bring the kite out of the power zone, push the bar away from me, which spills the air out of the kite and allows me to slow down. I inhale and exhale deeply to relax.

Cormorant bird diving for fish

Close to shore, I catch some waves again, making smooth carving turns, my hand reaching toward the ridge of the wave. Two black colored birds pop up to the surface and my fingertips almost touch them. I scare them, so they both quickly dive back into the depths of the ocean. I think they belong to the species of Brand’s Cormorant. They feed on fish mostly, and their webbed feet can propel them to great depths.

 I go back to mowing the lawn. With the wind in my hair, sun on my face, and joy in my heart, I am connected to this kite by ninety feet of lines, being pulled across the deep, dark, turbulent waters. Everything in this world is connected. For better or for worse. I am going back and forth, thinking of nothing in particular, except dealing with strong gusts of wind, which want to yank me off the board and into the air. Out of the corner of my eyes, I see a large dark shadow moving to my left. I am on my toes again! A shark? No, probably a seal. Sharks don’t swim this close to the surface. I don’t know if I should slow down to see it from close up or speed up and get away from it. And then, a turtle swims to the surface.

Turtle laying eggs on the shores of The Sea of Cortez

I’ve wanted to see a turtle so badly after hearing the reports of the sightings. Its shell has a span of at least two feet. The turtle’s head pops out of the water to take a breath. I scream: “A turtle! There she is!” with great excitement! She turns her head in my direction; her eyes meet mine. 

“What are you screaming at you idiot?” Her look says to me. Frightened she dives back under the surface. 

“Yeah, what are you screaming at you idiot!” I scold myself. “You’ve frightened it!” But how could I not be excited out of my mind at the sight of the magnificent creature?

I know how lucky I am. I know these moments are so precious. I know nothing lasts forever, and there is plenty to worry about. But I also know how important it is to carve the time out to not worry about things we have little or no control over. 

“Feel the pure joy of just being alive, well and present.”

When I return back to the beach elated and tired, all the talk is about the ramifications of the Corona virus. It is all anyone talks about, even on the beautiful sandy shores of Baja. Different opinions, different rumors, different predictions, and most of all, fear of what is to come and fear of the unknown.

Whatever you do today, try to live in the moment with nature, your loved ones and your true friends even if it is just for a short moment.