big wind peaks were scattered about. they’d appear on the horizon, look like they were going to break on my head, then shift away. i was having trouble finding a rhythm. i was constantly paddling for waves while looking over my shoulder to make sure none were going to break on me, hold me down. when the wind kicks a swell up like that, the ocean looks dark, the shore a long ways away. we’d been out over an hour. she was picking off waves relatively easily. in between sets, i asked her why she was on the north shore. her season was over. as much as she may like 