TS Nicole: Ode to a Storm

Normally I hate tropical storms. They knock down trees, flood basements and lose power.

But now with my newfound love of SUP, I wait for you at the end of the pier, every day, every single hour

Tropical Storm Nicole brought strong winds, heavy rain

I dash out to the Potomac ecstatic, feeling soundly insane

I crossed the Douglass Bridge and turned right at Nationals Park, 

I launched my board at the sparkling Diamond Teague Pier, designed to make the southeast waterfront spark.

The Anacostia River, grimy, polluted and brown

Normally I would grimace, my face wrinkled in a bitter frown

But today I was elated, the wind right behind my back

And I paddled gleefully down the Anacostia on a broad reach tack (wind to my starboard quarter)

The trick to running a downwind is to ride the swells and not lose balance. 

It's all about focus, not your strengths or your talents.

Normally swells are long and steady and ragged like a mop.

But today, the swells were gusting and tall, full of ripples and chop.

Soon, I decided to give in and not work any longer

As I past by the National airport, the waves grew higher and the winds blew stronger.

I shut my eyes, felt the breeze and let the river take me home.

I was in Heaven on the Potomac, surrounded by towering swells, just me, my board alone.