It’s 3:18 in the morning. I can’t sleep.
Do you know the feeling when you’re expecting a phone call or a text from someone and you keep checking your phone like a million times? Except I don’t expect a call or text from anyone.
It’s Nazaré calling me! I just bloody miss her! And I can’t get her out of my head!
I’ve checked the forecast during the last hours at least a 1000 times. I’ve just checked it 5 minutes ago, but I’m looking at it again…
The forecast tells me the waves will be around the second half of the week about 20 feet high, which is amplified by the canyon, so probably even bigger. The period is 12 second, which is quite good. Really good actually. The energy of the wave won’t be so big, but ok. And there is not much wind either. Just the perfect conditions to try my new M8 Lethal board (which I just got from the factory today) and the foil, that was made directly for this spot. Except I’m not there…
I miss the smell of the ocean. I miss the noise of the breaking waves. I also miss the great food and playing on the shore with Panka and Bebe. I swear I miss that tiny nervous ball from my stomach when I’m there. You know, the feeling that you get on a first date. And when I’m there I can’t stop scanning the beach to spot friends in the distance, just like when you’re about to meet your hot date actually! Sounds crazy even writing it down!
While we’ve planned to spend some time in Nazaré during the second half of March before the big wave season closes, we are now unable to travel, due to the COVID-19 virus. Everything is in survival mode, not only the foiling and big wave season, but us on land as well.
I’m staring at the wall in the dark. We have some cool surf signs on the walls. Some of them are from Nazaré, that Panka bought, to add some ‘Nazaré feeling’ to our home, at the North of Lake Balaton. But I’m homesick, and I can’t go home. Which is weird, cause I am home. The more I visit Nazaré, the more it feels like a second home to me. Nazaré earned this title in a very short time, as whenever I’m there, suddenly everything falls is in its place. When I’m there, I feel like I’m exactly where I need to be. But now I’m not calm, I can’t sleep and the sound of the waves are pumping in my ear… and just realised that I’m wearing a Praia do Norte t-shirt. I almost sniff it to see if I can smell the ocean. 🤦🏻 Seriously Marton, what the heck is wrong with you? Are you homesick or lovesick, man!?
I can’t even stay in bed anymore. So I get out of bed. Let’s start to work… But I can’t work on sail designs, as a FLEX structural analysis is running now. Thankfully I have a great server, with many different machines on it and I can work on different projects/tasks simultaneously. Yes, let’s do some 3D modelling for an upcoming M8 project! Great. I’m clicking on Rhino, my modelling software, then as part of my routine I’m clicking on Youtube to listen to some interviews, learning courses, or some music.
And what’s Youtube’s first recommendation? Nazaré CALLING. Eyeroll… Sigh… Time to check the waves again, I guess :D.
And as I’m sitting there in the dark a strange idea comes to mind. If I can’t magically appear in Nazaré, maybe the forecast here at Lake Balaton will be kind to me. Water is 9 celsius. I can live with that. But flat and no wind during the next few days. There must be a solution! Tadaaa! I have a pretty awesome flat water and downwinder wing with huge area and lift. Perhaps that could be a good match with my Lethal board and I can do some flat water pumping at least?
Then I stop myself from night-dreaming… Wait it’s 6AM all of a sudden! How did this happen? I pull myself back to reality, I need to get ready soon, and head out to the loft. It’s going to be almost as much fun as being on water at least, cause I love sail making! And I’m visualising what’s ahead of us. These next weeks will be hopefully filled with work in the loft unless we’ll be fully quarantined. I’ll be concentrating on the production, delivering sails on time and try to live through this special situation and time in the world. No more Nazaré for a while…
But I can’t control myself. I’m reaching to my phone. I need to check on her… Nazaré is calling!
‘Hey, Marton! Your shake is ready!’ – shouts Panka from the kitchen making my heart stop for a second!
Shit! Why do I feel busted? Like I did something wrong? 😀
