Travel Channel 

By Luke Sauer

I have to say that when I heard that we were shooting a show on sea glass, I wasn't too stoked. My parents' friends collect sea glass, and I always thought of the hobby as something I might do when I retire. A long lovely sunset stroll on the beach, the waves gently lapping at my feet as I comb the sand for bits of glass to throw in a planter or a jar at home - certainly not the most adrenaline-pumping adventure out there! But then we met Charles Peden, our guide for the week. It is not often that you meet someone with such a lust for something so many might be quick to dismiss. It didn't take long before Charles' lust for glass spread and I started to imagine becoming a sea glass hunter myself. 

Donning a wetsuit and an underwater camera rig, I knew that collecting with Charles would be so unlike anything I could imagine associating with sea glass. The objective seemed clear, dash in to the surf as the surge washed out, grab a handful of gravel and run back to dry sand to examine the contents for glass. Getting closer and closer to the surf, Charles and Kirsten would push the limits of every mad dash into the waves and each time would be one step closer to being eaten alive by a massive beach breaker. This all meant that as they put themselves further into harm's way, they threw me in the same fire. Mirroring their actions, I would run alongside the two hunters, hoping to keep them in frame, crouch down to get a shot of their hands as they scooped up gravel on the water line and then dash back with them to the shore. Our timing in all of this was completely dictated by the water, the retreat of the surf would be a green light initiation and the roar of an oncoming wave would cue our hasty withdrawal back to shore. I have to say, it was a lot of fun! 

I could tell that each time they would run into the water, they would push the limits a bit more. They would go a bit further and stay a little longer before retreating. The power of water can be deceiving. Only a few inches rushing past your feet can undermine your footing and send you cart-wheeling end over end into the mouth of a wave. Soon enough, we got a taste of that as their testing the limits got the best of all of us. Going a bit too far, we suddenly all knew that we wouldn't be able to escape an oncoming breaker. Struggling to dash back up the beach, the sand liquefied with the imminent water and before we knew it, we got hit with a wave that was more like a brick wall then it was water. Our feet were immediately taken out from under us, and we were washed up the beach by the impressive force of the wave. A bit dazed, I looked up to see Charles and Kirsten splayed out at different lengths up the beach from me. We all got up and shaking it off, couldn't help but laughing. Brushing the sand from our palms and cheeks, we readied ourselves for another kamikaze run into the surf. Just another day in the life of a sea-glass hunter I suppose!