After a winter storm dumped a moderate amount of snow on the south shore Christmas day, the sun came out and Nantasket Beach delivered some fun waves. It was SUPER cold with windchills in the teens and lower. The short period east swell was a constant barrage of sets, one after another. After five duckdives in a row paddling out, I popped out the back of a wave and uncontrollably projectile vomited. My head felt like it was going to pop off and I started to see stars. Then my hands and feet started to tingle and shake. I knew I was in trouble. I paddled as hard as I could to scratch over one more wave to clear the impact zone. After getting to a good spot on the outside I sat up and tried to gather myself. My body felt weak and I vomited again. My feet became numb in my 5mil boots like never before. I was physically rejecting these ocean conditions and wanted nothing more than to get out and be warm. After shivering for a few minutes and feeling the numbness creep up my legs and into my torso, I knew I needed to catch a wave and get the hell out of there. Just then I noticed a bigger set mounting in the distance. I scratched towards the horizon as fast as I could, paddling really deep and pulling myself over the first two waves. As the third wall approached I turned around and went for it. My 9'2 did it's thing, got me in early, and set me up for a 101 yard racer all the way into shore. It was maybe the best ride of the year for me. I was on a 9'2 but I shredded that thing like a 6'2. As I stepped off, right onto the beach, I started walking back up to the car completely spent and nearly frozen. I was shivering uncontrollably and more than half of my body was numb. This entire ordeal lasted less than 20 minutes, and I'd only caught one wave, but the experience was very intense. It took nearly 6 hours to feel normal again, I just laid in the hot tub until the shakes subsided. Being from Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, sometimes I underestimate how cold, cold can be. Today was the coldest I've ever been.
