The Biggest Waves of the Year by Helen Hood, Troop Real Estate www.Hood4Homes.com or fill out the form below. A friend and I went to see the big waves in Ventura. We parked in the last parking lot at the end of the road across from Ventura Harbor. We stood on the sidewalk where the rock jetty goes from the sand and juts out into the ocean. On one side is the open ocean and on the other side is a little beach in the protected portion of the harbor. Huge waves were crashing over the jetty farther out in the harbor (which runs perpendicular to the jetty where we were). The open ocean waves were gigantic, rough and mighty powerful. We were transfixed by this awesome sight. There were quite a few people on the beach. Surfers were in the protected part of the little beach which normally has no waves. No one dared to step foot in the open ocean side of the jetty. The sight of the ocean at its most powerful put us both in a sweet meditative state, one that quiets the mind and embraces the soul. We saw 2 jet skiers in the harbor heading out towards the open ocean. We couldn’t see the opening between the two jetties from where we stood. We saw them go behind the rocks. Then we saw them in the BIG WAVES. They were not surfing the waves but jumping into them. Now we were worried for them, afraid they would get killed in the killer waves. I said not only are they putting themselves at risk, they are putting the rescuers who will most likely have to save them at risk as well. The sweet reverie of enjoying the biggest waves of the year was broken. Now there was danger, anxious moments. I noticed one of the jet skiers was hanging off of the other Jet Ski riding along on the back. I saw them jumping through the waves at a very fast speed flying through the air. By this time almost all of the people at the beach were involved in the watching, commenting and sharing of fear. After this tense show, they were each back on their own jet skis. Soon after that a very small police boat went out of the harbor and the jet skiers followed the boat back to the harbor. The little police boat came back into our view after it went through the opening between the jetties, its lights flashing. The jet skiers never made it through. Were they drowned, dashed on the rocks? My friend and I both felt a heavy dread for these daredevils – especially since we were so critical of their actions. A helicopter came quite quickly, circled the area a few times and took off. With each passing moment we felt worse. Lifeguards appeared with their own jet skies in tow and parked on the sand right in front of us. They put on their wet suits, but no one went in the water – this was not a good sign to us. We saw a small fire truck and a handful of firefighters behind where we were standing. (They were there the whole time we were there). KCAL news was there in a surreal flash. A larger rescue boat entered the harbor – but neither it nor the little police boat left the safety of harbor – the waves were bigger and ominous now. Each boat circled a part of the harbor and still no sign of the jet skiers. People on the beach asked us and each other if anyone knew anything. One person said she saw 3 firefighters walk out on the jetty. Another said she saw the jet skiers go south from the jetty, most likely to escape from the police. We overheard on the radio speaker the Firefighters were using that another firefighter was missing. We told one of the Firefighters there about the report of the jet skiers heading south and were told there were lots of theories – we didn’t learn anything then to change how awful it appeared. We stood around a while conversing with people around us and bantered about a few different scenarios of what could have happened. All of us saw the whole thing unfold – some saw different parts – but we were all looking at the same stage. It was getting late; the disaster we witnessed touched us with intense sorrow. We left to go home and headed south on the road. A little farther up the road the parking lot across the street from the Ventura Marina Center was filled with fire trucks and all sorts of official vehicles. We just had to find out what happened so we wouldn’t continue to think the worst. We parked in the Marina Center lot and walked over to the staging area. The Firefighters and Rescue Workers were busily engaged on radios, cell phones or talking among themselves. We noticed a lone firefighter not talking to anyone and asked him what happened. The jet skiers were FIREFIGHTER ROUGH WATER RESCUERS. They were taking advantage of the big waves to improve their skill of rough water rescue. They were both found and rescued. One was injured but not seriously, he was okay. His radio was knocked off of his wet suit and they temporarily lost contact with him – thus the helicopter and rescue boats. We went home with deep gratitude that what we saw with our own eyes with all of the accompanying evidence was not a disaster. As always, the ocean inspires and teaches me. This lesson about Perspective crystallized for me for days afterward. Over the next few days I looked to see in my own life where I might be reacting to other things from a limited Perspective. Was there more to know? Do I have all of the information? From whose Perspective was I looking? That day at the beach there was no problem for us to instantly change our conversation from one of witnessing a disaster because of recklessness to deep gratitude for the courage it takes to go into those killer waves. It was easy to make the shift because we learned new information that allowed us to change our Perspective and we trusted the source of the new information – a Firefighter. I’m a Realtor. I began thinking of Perspective relating to current real estate conversations. The consensus among the media, news, general population, home sellers and anyone else paying attention is within a conversation with the perception of disaster. People who are waiting to buy their first or next home may be waiting for the final disaster to strike. A lot of people have the perception loans are hard to get, lenders have no money to lend and interest rates are not so good. Then there’s the accompanying evidence of foreclosures, short sales, lender fees increasing and huge price reductions in the news to support the perception of a current and looming disaster. I realize that changing a person’s Perspective is a tough thing to do as a Realtor. You may think I’m only sharing my perspective because I want to sell you something. I can see that any shift in the consensus reality from disaster to opportunity will take a lot more than my saying so. However, opportunity is waiting, loans are plentiful and rates are good. Owning your own home is still a good thing. The Biggest Waves of the Year in the ocean can be measured. The crest and end of a wave (decline) have a definite moment in time and can be identified at the moment they occur. Different Perspectives are based on how one reacts to the actual size of the wave. The crest and decline of the Wave of Home Values – when prices are at their highest or lowest – can only be measured after the fact, as historical data. I offer a word of caution to all of the people who are waiting for home prices to be at their lowest before they buy their next home. The only way to tell when they were at their lowest is when prices have already started to go up again. This is the intrinsic nature of the Wave of Home Values. If you’re interested in a further conversation relating to Perspectives you’re invited to email me at helen@hood4homes.com.
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