Reef by Chris DouglasReef by Chris DouglasLast night I dreamt I visited Looe Key for the thousandth time. It was early morning and the sun was just barely visible over the horizon. Orange color was refracting off the the ripples on the bay. Some palm trees were rustling above, as a balmy breeze came upon the island. Gray clouds floated slowly south casting their ominous shadows over the water. Today seemed a little bit strange for a summer day in the Florida Keys.
From my dock Looe Key is about five miles offshore. I lowered my boat into the water and switched the engine on. I looked behind me as I backed off the lift. The cockpit at the stern of the boat was dirty like it had not been used for years. The fiberglass had yellowed from sun- damage. In front of me, the labyrinth of canals, which I have navigated for years, did not seem the same to me. Most of the trees and plants which had once thrived here along the seawall were dead, shriveled, and unkempt. Looking into the water, I wasnt able to see very far. The water was murky and brown. As I approached the channel, I hoped the open ocean would appear better than what I have observed thus far.
I noticed that most of the channel markers were broken or missing as I pushed the boat onto a plane. Passing the rusty marker 50A, the waves became larger and larger, eventually climbing over the bow. The waves did not create a problem though because, like all dreamers, I adapted to my surroundings. My vessel passed through the monstrous waves like a ghost through a wall. It became hard to see my heading with water encompassing the deck. I climbed up the tall tuna tower and gazed into the distance over the towering waves and saw the shoal marker atop Looe Key. The reef slowly became closer as I progressed towards it with astonishing speed. I approached the reef and took the boat off plane. The unforgiving ocean still had not let up by this time and unlike my memories of the reef, there
I was too exhausted to run before I reached the shore. I had to make an emergency run in the dark under a tree in case anybody got behind me to attack me. Fortunately, a couple of small friends watched out of the corner of my eye and didn’t take much interest. When the boat came to a stop, they started yelling at me and I felt like they had just attacked me. Fortunately, they hadn’t forgotten what I was doing. All I had to do was look at the sun and try and make a run into it.
I quickly turned around and attempted to stop the wave but couldn’t. I started to pull back, trying to get in a good spot. The waves would be far enough down, they would get into the channel at about this height. The water was soft and the waves would be much bigger than I expected. I tried to stay still and try and get a good jump. When I managed to make it to the end, I found out that the water wasn’t right and I nearly hit the sea, killing my head. I knew it was dangerous because, when I attempted to stand up I felt something heavy under his neck. I pushed out and hit the air to try and cover himself as the waves came over me.
I quickly recovered after falling on my boat and began to swim back to shore. My body slowly began to heal. From the pool, I saw how the sound of rushing water made my vision blurry and that it should be calm. I realized I had lost about five meters underwater. At that moment, I reached my objective and dove back on my float. My hand was resting on the paddle like an old hand. I was only just getting close to the water as I moved towards the beach. When I finished, I found that the surf was calm. The wave was still moving along. The light was clear. The sunlight was beginning to show. The breeze was blowing. The wind was hot. The ocean was beautiful.
In the middle of the beach, the waves were blowing inwards while the water was still rushing. The waves had come back to their original speed, only for me to get caught up. I thought about making a run. I was sure nothing would make it past the top, but I managed to pull myself off after a few minutes. Luckily, he was still there. The surf seemed even more clean and clear than before.
With my hands on the paddle, I made a series of shallow runs that traveled along the beach and up towards Palm Key. The waves were gentle and I couldn’t see the sea at all. I found my way near the top of the board and started sinking at just a slow start. After a few seconds, the calmness wore off and even that calm seemed to take a little longer. I just barely managed to grab onto the board and grab its end before the waves got away.
I tried several different ways to break down the wave. One I tried and had to break off the paddle but then I figured it was too slow already. I found another option and could see