take me to church

“Wheeeeeeee, Whooaaaa!” A group of senior-aged women shrieking in delight caused me to look up from my camera. The corners of my mouth lifted it to a smile as I recognized immediately what it was that evoked their thrill. My husband had just launched out of the water, gripping the board beneath him…spinning high into the air before landing in the whitewater and collapsing into the blue - the waves dared not wash the satisfaction from his face. It was one of his specialties, and I too, was a fan. Captivated each time I saw him pumping against the wave, building just the right amount of speed and power to hit the open face of the launch section. The man just knows how to show.

I giggled to myself as the group of seven or eight women went on about what they just saw. A few of them held their palms to their chests, mouths agape in awe - their breath having evaded them for the moment; others reenacted the scene with hands waving wildly in the air.

Now, a few years later, Cody has only continued to improved his craft; surfing is his religion, and the ocean his place of worship.

When COVID-19 struck, we never imagined that the ocean would soon become another forbidden fruit on the tree of our everyday existence. State and Federal restrictions, combined with a nasty case of red tide, kept Cody out of the water for a few months; a surfing drought longer than any he can remember in his forty some-odd years. Once the bans were lifted and the algae bloom had subsided, Cody slowly made his way to his church once again…but this time it felt different.

Upon returning to the waves, Cody found himself struggling to get his feet beneath him. For a man who seems as though he were born of the ocean, Cody found that his muscles had forgotten what it is they do best...but it would be a temporary amnesia. A week or two into the water again and Cody was feeling better, his body appearing to not have been robbed completely of its memory after all. It was then that we got the news.

We were headed to Kalani Robb’s wave pool.

Now, Kalani and Cody have been friends for years, growing up together in the Preschool generation of Seaside; but opportunities like this don’t show up every day. Kalani, in partnership with a few of other talented individuals, is in the process of building an incredible waterpark resort and wave pool experience. While it is still in very early stages of the process, the wave exists...and let me just tell you, it’s epic. Cody’s pressure to begin surfing well again increased exponentially with this news. In a wave pool, the wave is not subject to sandbars, and funky tides, or erratic winds in the way the ocean can be. The wave is science and the skills of the surfer become very evident. I knew Cody was beyond excited, but I also knew he was feeling anxious about it - especially on the heels of a long absence from the ocean.

Oh, and let me not fail to mention that accompanying us on the journey would be Kalani himself, Cheyne Magnusson, Rob Machado, Cody’s brother Taylor Steele, and a few other heavy hitters in the world of surf. Having known these guys for years, it wasn’t their mere attendance that stoked Cody’s nerves. Instead, it was the often denied, but palpably present, competitive nature among these friends.

At first, the wave takes some getting used to, due in part to the clarity of the water. Unlike the ocean, the wave pool is so clear you can’t read the wave. The funny part is, after a while, you realize that you don’t have to. Paddling is minimal, and take off is a calculated routine. No need to look behind you; the wave is coming, and it’s perfect. After only a few waves, it was on. Even from the distance allowed by my telephoto lens, I saw the moment Cody’s muscle memory snapped back into action again. He was ripping. Some of the guys came in for a snack in between sets, others swapped boards periodically throughout the day, but Cody was like a kid in a candy store…and as long as waves were being served, he was out there eating it up.

Cheyne mixed it up with a few alternative style waves. The science behind these wave pools is fascinating, and Kalani and Cheyne have it down to an art. Each wave is gorgeous in its own right. One was a dumping, barreling, right; then, a lined-up right, the kinds that implores you to launch an aerial; another was a quick, racing barrel wave, and there was even a super wedgy left. All in all, it was breathtaking, warm, friendly, and insanely fun.

But, the very best part, and the part that will sit in my memory forever when I look back on that day, was the joyful and skilled exhibition of Cody’s return to his reverence.