When Jill K. Robinson launched her sea kayak in Half Moon Bay, California, she didn't realize that she was about to go nose-to-nose with the Chilean earthquake tsunami.

She wrote an essay online, "The Accidental Tsunami Rider," that nicely captures the feeling of planetary connection that comes with being in a sea kayak. It reminds me of why I was inspired to take up sea kayaking when I moved to the coast 15 years ago.

Here at Half Moon Bay, water sports lovers tend to focus on the swells from Alaska and their effects on the big-wave surf spot, Mavericks. It’s possible to forget that the water in the Pacific Ocean touches land from Australia to Alaska, Peru to the Philippines. The liquid energy surrounding my kayak on any given day could come from Japan just as easily as Chile.

You can read Robinson's whole essay here: http://www.worldhum.com/features/travel-stories/the-accidental-tsunami-rider-20100310/