Surfing Paia Bay: Excerpt from "The Tradewinds"

Excerpt from "The Tradewinds" by Philip Scott Wikel

"By the time an approaching squall had moved as close as the outer reefs Morgan had caught several waves and then decided that it was best to go in before the storm hit. Beyond the outer reefs the ocean had become a choppy white froth. However, close to shore there was a lull in the, until now, consistent sets of waves. Morgan waited patiently, feeling warm, clean, and clear. Then came another set of waves. He paddled over the first two and caught the third, knowing it would be the best of the set. It rose about two feet overhead as he dropped in. He stalled at the bottom, shifting his weight to the rear of his surfboard, and slipped slowly into the curl. He then stepped slightly forward and found perfect trim on the bending face of the wave. It folded over his head as he crouched, and he could hear the internal echo, sounding like the gushing of the primordial soup. From the beach it looked as if he had disappeared, and for a moment, the ocean seemed to embrace him."

The Tradewinds is a timeless tale of two writers coming-of-age. While it's set in the late 70s Ticket to Ride is as universal in it's message as Homer's Odyssey. Enriched with allusions to literary and rock 'n roll classics, readers of The Tradewinds (Ticket to Ride) will see Morgan and Livy moving from being innocent 17-year-olds to becoming fully realized adults and, like America, anxiously redefining the ideas of "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

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