God, Love & All Things Surf

Chapter 10: What We Alone Can Bear

"Simeon, could you untie the rope and bring it when you jump in?" Max called as he climbed into the white inflatable dinghy.

Simeon untied the knot holding the dinghy to the short beach wharf and splashed his way through the warm Caribbean water toward Max. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Max coiled up the rope and tucked it safely away. "You can jump in beside your brother and we'll get moving!" After some surfing lessons Simeon, Karina, and Jericho had pleaded with Max to take them snorkeling along the reef. With permission from his parents, sitting on the beach under a large umbrella canopy with Mr. and Mrs. Tyler, Max got Thea and her siblings to help carry the family's dinghy from the back of their truck to the water and load it with their gear. "Thea, are you sure you're okay paddling out there?" Max turned and asked her for the third time.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. "I'm fine, really. It's like your parents said; you can only fit so many people in the dinghy, so someone will either have to stay behind or paddle out." Thea knew Max was just keeping in mind her fear of deep-ish water (which was sort of what they would have to maneuver through to get to the best snorkeling spot), but she could bear it. Besides, being on her surfboard made her feel a lot more secure than just plain swimming. She lifted her board from the dinghy and kissed Max's cheek. "Luckily, I'm a fast paddler." With that she jumped over a wave and landed belly-down on her board, paddling out to sea.

Max smiled as he started the motor. Thea was one of the most courageous people he knew. Fighting your fears is not something most people look forward to in their day and yet Thea tackled it as if it was her job. But then again, when you believe in God's power as much as Max knew Thea did, anything becomes possible.

The inflatable dinghy sailed over waves and smashed through others, creating the closest thing to a roller coaster that the Tyler kids had experienced. Thea chucked to herself as she heard her siblings laugh and then cheer at each wave the small boat went over. The waves weren't very big, at least not for surfing in Thea's mind, but the kids sure got a kick out of them. Thea maneuvered her board around a big section of waves, not wanting to get caught in their strong current. Unfortunately, as fast as she was, paddling just couldn't beat a motorized boat. She slowed down and decided to pace herself as the dinghy passed on her left. There was no point in completely tiring herself or she wouldn't have the energy to snorkel.

"What's wrong surfer girl?" Max called from the boat. "We too fast for ya?" Her siblings laughed at Max's comment and added in their own two cents.

"Oh! So we're all competitive now, are we? Well," Thea looked out at the few surf-able waves coming her way. "Let's see if you guys can do this!" If there was one thing that all the Tyler kids had in common, it was their competitiveness. And they didn't just get it from their Dad. Their mother, a hard-core tennis and badminton player back in her day (though she still played regularly with Mrs. Theissen), also had quite a competitive streak. Thea's Dad was her hero, but it was her Mom who inspired her.

Thea quickly paddled to her right, away from the boat, and scanned the oncoming waves. Picking the second one, she duck—dived through the first and turned herself toward the beach. Her arms were tired but adrenaline had kicked in and she suddenly just wanted to surf a wave. Not to prove anything; just for the fun and the awesome rush of it.

When Thea dropped into the wave she knew it was no barrel, but at about 4 feet tall it was prime 'hacking' material. Surfing to the left (not her favourite direction) she ran down to the bottom of the wave to gain speed preparing to do a powerful snap at the top. The satisfying spray she received off the wave was followed by loud hooting and hollering from the dinghy. Easily recovering her balance, Thea followed it with another, quicker carve. Then, once again up near the crease of the wave she took a chance and got in a short floater, riding the very crest of the wave as it broke underneath her; a trick she had just recently learned. She bent her knees and stayed low on her board; it took all of her concentration and balance just to stay upright. As she dropped off the top of the wave it crumbled, white water raining down behind her, pushing her toward the beach.