She rides on the back of dinosaurs!
Four weeks or so ago, I was at the wedding of Vaughan
Blakey, the noted Swellian, goon squad front-man and former editor
of Surfing World magazine. To avoid drunken guests
bouncing on their seats and playing with each others’ ding-dongs at
the wedding, no drinks were served prior to the service.
This was a sound idea although three-thirty on a sunny Friday
afternoon is, to me, an excellent time to disappear down a bottle,
ideally combined with a face grinding against my pubic thicket.
Problem one, although not problem two, was solved when I bumped
into the Western Australian big-wave surfer Felicity “Flick”
Palmateer who owned, along with her boyfriend, four litres of
well-hidden Ciroc vodka. Her kindness put
me in her debt forever, I think.
This two-and-a-bit minute short is called Facing Fear,
which Felicity is prone to do. Where big waves make my mouth so dry
swallowing feels like I’m digesting a rat, Felicity punishes them
for trying to hurt her.
This is the accompanying spiel.
“In 2016, I was omitted from the original invite list for the
first-ever Big Wave Women’s Invitational at Jaws and I was
devastated. Then, within days of the event running, I was awarded
an alternate position and suddenly I was on plane to Hawaii and
paddling out in the biggest surf I had ever seen. I was already
scared shitless to say the least, plus my left knee was still far
from 100%, after tearing the medial ligament earlier in the
year.
“In 2017, better news. I was a definite starter but then weeks
out from the call, surfing head-high waves on the Gold Coast –
snap! I did a layback and it sounded like a carrot popping inside
my right knee. Injured again. Tears walking up the beach, tears in
the car and more tears on the way to the physio.
“Preparation really is the key to success, especially when it
comes to life threatening conditions and convincing myself I could
surf Jaws even though I was in pain walking, took some help!
“Of course, you can always wish for different circumstances.
It’d be nice to have been 100% and I could wish I performed better
at Jaws, but given the circumstances, I’m proud knowing how much I
learned during those periods.
“I know by facing some of my own fears, I’ve become inspired to
try harder. Fear is opportunity! Opportunity for growth. I hope I
can inspire others to face their own fears and overcome the
obstacles they might be facing in their lives. It can be a long
road!”
