Beach Fight Two

BT - Beach Fight Two

Francisco’s jet ski has sucked up the tow rope into its impeller, up underneath the machine. It will not start!  Quickly Francisco’s eyes turn toward the rapidly approaching waves behind him. Knowing what is about to happen AGAIN, he holds his head in despair as he is quickly swept towards shore on the back of a surging wave that has him in its grip.  He, and his Chilean friend, Rafael , are about to engage in yet another “beach fight”, an often-horrific  battle between man and sea for the possession of a jet ski.  

 

Once on the steep beach, Francisco and Rafael fight to land the jet ski quickly, and almost do, but the ocean takes it back.   Moments later, in calf-deep rushing water, they are both knocked down, then sucked straight towards their jet ski in a frightening moment - as a wave lifts and tosses the jet ski back at them.  Fortunately their skills and a heap of luck allow them to end the fight fairly quickly.

 

Local Lifeguards have been watching the scene carefully.  Their responsibilities do NOT include getting involved to save jet skis, only to guard the surfers as they fight.  Now that the fight is over, a call is made to Lino at the harbor, who quickly  responds with his 4-wheel drive “buggy”, a  few helpers, and a long rope.    

When Lino arrives all work together in order to tie the jet ski on the long rope and drag it off the beach.

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Francisco has been incredibly frustrated through all of this.  The same thing had happened to him just a week before, when he and Haroldo and the Argentinian girl, Flor, had engaged in a very serious beach fight for four exhausting and perilous minutes - his worst ever. The pain was fresh!  To make matters worse, the repair cost for that incident was in the thousands. As one of the team’s major financiers, Francisco will have to pay for much of this destruction.

 

As Francisco describes all of this, he reflects back on how today’s event really began for him.  He explains that he wasn’t even driving the jet ski, he just tried to take over from Rafael when it wouldn’t start.  He had been surfing and had just suffered a bad fall.   Before the beach fight even began, Francisco had already experienced a violent beating and a lengthy “hold down”, which took him to the very end of his ability to hold his breath.   

 

In the end, as they arrive at the harbor, Francisco sits on his damaged jet ski, while they are both riding on a trailer behind Lino’s buggy. As they turn the corner towards expensive repairs at Lino’s shop, Francisco gives a last sigh of dismay and lays back on the jet ski, staring at the sky as he slides out of frame.  

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