My son's first Big Wave

Last year toward the end of summer my son caught his first big wave. Now big is a relative term but for a 7 year old I'm sure the thick wedgy 6-7 foot wave I put him into registered as epic on his scale.

I had just bought him his current board and the summer was ending and I really wanted get him into a good wave before the water turned cold. My wife and daughter were busy so I decided to take my son to the beach and give it a go. I left my board on the beach, put my swim fins on and towed him out to the outer break (a sandbar maybe 40 yards out) on his board. These big wedgy crumbly waves were rolling in and after about 10 minutes of waiting (impatiently on his part) I was able to put him into a good one. Holding his board at the front I positioned myself under it laying on my back. Kicking as hard as I could as the wave overtook us I pulled him forward with one arm and watched him disappear into a 5 foot mass of crumbling whitewash.

The wave rolled on and I hung behind looking for him. 10 feet away, 20, 30 feet away and still I didn't see him and I started to get worried. Finally as the last of the wave dissolved I saw him and he turned around and waved to me, half smiling and unafraid but looking very grateful to see me. I swam over to him and he told me a little nervously that he wanted to go back to the beach. He played in the sand the rest of the day uninterested in the waves and I didn't pressure him for any more, but I was proud as I could be for the one he caught.

I'm not sure if he'll remember that wave when he grows up but I promise I'll never forget it.

Stay Stoked,
DH