Ghost Tree

[mallorys_camera]

High surf advisory's been in effect on Monterey Bay for several days now. When I was walking the beach yesterday the waves were just boggling, eight feet high and crashing on the shore in a kind of centrifugal Doom Machine effect, sucking everything inside and under. I was afraid to let Milo near the water.

Later that day came the news that Peter Davi had died at Pescadero Point, surfing the Ghost Tree.

The Ghost Tree is one of those secrets that hasn't quite broken in the big media yet although it's well known to the surfing community. It's a Maverick wave, sixty feet high, that appears three or four times a year off Pebble Beach, a blue crush of epic proportions and a long ways off the rocky coast. Many surfers rely on jet skis to get them there, preferring instant gratification to the long hard paddle out. But tow-surfing is illegal.

There is some confusion that hasn't made it into the media yet as to what role jet skis may or may not have played in Davi's death. Kind of Sharks against the Jets – Monterey vs. Santa Cruz.

I didn't know Peter Davi personally but in a town this size, everyone is connected. Robin was over at Gio's house working on a homework project when the news broke, and Gio's father – one of Davi's closest friends, a big strong Sicilian fisherman – sank his head in his hands and began to cry.

I love surfers. It's one of the last two venues where a man – or a woman, of course – can challenge nature to a one-on-one contest. (The other venue is climbing.) Adventuresome souls, surfers. Individuals.

So I feel sad today, although I suppose if you can't live forever, the best way to die is doing something you love.

Comments

[bandicoot.livejournal.com]

I heard about that. It's always a shock when somebody of that stature turns out to be as vulnerable as the rest of us.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

I always feel personally diminished when that kind of spark goes out.

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

the deaths of surfer strangers always makes me sadder than with regular strangers. I think it's because whenever there's a high surf advisory, I go to the beach to watch the waves. I hate to think of people dying in them. But I love the violent crashes.

[mallorys-camera.livejournal.com]

Ocean Beach? My mom for years lived on 46th Avenue near Judah and I know that beach very, very well. It's where the ghost ship comes up every thirty years or so!

[gordonzola.livejournal.com]

yeah, Ocean Beach because it's the most convenient though the Mendocino Coast is my favorite for wave crashing. Where your mom lived is my favorite part of Ocean Beach.

[(Anonymous)]

The soul has to follow its muse even if it is a 60'demon of a muse, god bless him for following his.