Hurricane Andrew - 1992 - The Wildest Stoke of a Lifetime

It was  1992. I lived in South Florida. Hurricane Andrew was quickly approaching the South Florida coast.

The night before the hurricane hit, I was in Orlando. I had been at Disney World. When I heard of the approaching hurricane, I immediately left and began the drive south for I had to get to my cat, Cholla, for she was all alone in my apartment and I could not bear for her to be in fear when a hurricane struck.

As I drove through West Palm Beach on my way south, the town looked abandoned. Nobody was anywhere. Not a car in site. Previously, on the expressway heading south, I was the only car driving towards the hurricane as far as I could see for miles ahead of me and behind me on the road. The highway headed north was so packed with traffic that it was almost stopped.

That night was a long night as I awaited with my kitty,  the coming of the hurrricane early the next morning.

As soon as I could, I headed to the beach. And, directly into  the churly churly sea. Not only was I the only one in the water that day, I was the only one on the beach too no matter how far I looked in any direction. Sure, it might have been not the wisest of moves, yet, to a watergirl, it had to be done.

The power of the storm was beyond incredible. It's fury, seemingly unknown. I'd never felt anything like it in my life. The water pulled at my so hard it was as though I'd be ripped literally limb from limb.

The rain wiped my face exactly horizontally with such power that it was filled with sand that tore my skin. And the rip was so strong it would pull be 75 yards in mere seconds, maybe less.

Yet, into the sea I remained. A lone girl. And a hurricane. Never before has my surfing days been filled with such incredible energy, such raw power, such unimagineable stoke.

And here it is, about 17 years later. And I can still feel that stoke from that one day. I can still feel the rides I had, the power of the sea, the pure unimagineable awesomeness. And, I want that feeling of the sea again. I want more. For I am a storm surfer, I am, a Hurricane Rider.

Hurricane Stoked,

Lily of the Valley