November 2024 - Director's Corner

By Melissa Mahoney - November 6, 2024

Life’s journey is filled with unpredictable ups and downs. One moment, we're basking in success; the next, we're hit by a wave of adversity. Few people understand this better than fishermen. Each trip to sea might yield the best haul of their lives—or leave them deeper in debt. I recently had my own encounter with life's shifting tides—a literal fall from grace.  

Coming off the high of our wildly successful 10-year anniversary celebration, I entered the Women on Waves surf contest. Since moving to Santa Cruz over 20 years ago, surfing has become one of my favorite things about the ocean—a source of fitness, joy, and mental clarity. Days before, the swell had been pumping, but on contest day, the waves were barely a ripple. During my semi-final heat, as I finished my second ride in the shallows, I stepped off my board onto an uneven rock, and my body crumpled in an instant. 

The pain was immediate and intense. Another surfer rushed to help me out of the water, and a spectator gave me a piggyback to shore. In a haze of shock, I tried to breathe through each moment as the lifeguards splinted my ankle, and friends kept the humor coming as they took me to urgent care. Sure enough, the X-ray revealed a fractured fibula. I was devastated as the reality set in: it would mean weeks or even months off my feet. I was now unable to walk, to drive, or worse yet, to go on a long-planned surfing trip. All this for a 2-foot wave?!

But there’s no changing the past. According to Google, adversity is defined as misfortune, hardship, or difficulty. I’ve faced challenges before, and I’ve seen many in my community rise to meet them, but this is my first true physical setback. This experience is teaching me a lot about resilience and patience in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

Adversity is, in many ways, a mirror—it reflects back who we are when tested. I’m learning to be vulnerable, have patience, to accept what I can’t change, and to trust that healing will come in time. There’s a gift in all this: a chance to slow down, to be grateful for all that I do have, for supportive friends and family, a loving partner, and for the privilege to heal day by day. 

And when I finally get back on my board, I know I’ll return with a deeper appreciation—not just for surfing but for the strength that comes from overcoming setbacks. And like the fishermen whom I admire for their persistence in the face of adversity, when I paddle out for my next surf session, I’ll take my lessons with me. I will never take the privilege of movement for granted again, and yes, I’ll keep a sharp eye out for rocks!