Enter world of the Roxy Crossing – a luxurious boat, insane waves, good friends and someone else foots the bill.

Five girls find out that dreams really do come true.

The lowdown: Five girls: Lisa Andersen, Veronica Kay, Nani Nash, Amber Reason and Rachael Griff, horny (the photog), the cook Paul, Albert our Captain, three happy Indonesians with the key to it all, the King Don (videographer), and the star of the whole show, our boat The Indies Trader herself. One week together on the sea and then docked for the Quiksilver pro contest at Tavarua-Namotu.

I don’t know where to start. It’s all a dream really, one that I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. One thing I do know is that it’s the real thing, not just another surf video staged to look like a dream, I watch the footage and it makes me want to cry. The only negative thing I can say about the boat is that everyone can go on it. There are very few times when we get to experience what it is to be alive – where you can live moment to moment, from one impulse to the next. I swear time doesn’t exist when you’re out there, at least it didn’t for me. I’m not going to go into any detail starting from 7 AM when we woke up and ate cereal or whatever because that’s not how it was. I’ll just tell you like I remember.

Lisa Andersen picking shells (she always finds all the good ones). Fruity umbrella drinks, Hours in our cabin with Sarah (the CD), Horny’s “death in a cup” coffee, Paul getting nervous in front of all the girls and burning his foot. Sunbathing in the nude on top of the boat. Listening to Jeff’s sob stories, Waking up to Paul’s fresh bread, Me eating all the papaya and chocolate and tandem surfing with Melvin Pu’u (can you believe he got me over his head?) Wearing clothes underwater. Surfing in black pants. Late nights in the Galley. Getting in and out of the tinny in pouring rain and wind. Perfect waves, just us five girls. Occy’s singing and dancing debut, Fishing at dusk with Nick Carroll, Horny as Jaques Cousteau. Lisa and me playing ukulele on a longboard for two hours. Diving with the fishes, exploring their reefs. Playing like we were mermaids, dancing on the beach. Surfing ‘til dark. Paddling toward the boat, the delicious smell of dinner cooking calling us home. Knocking the boss (Bruce Raymond) off the jet ski while standing still. Holy sea lice and the attack of the suction fish that was trying to latch on like we were sharks. Amber the Brave and Bleeding. Lisa the Legend. Rachael the Blonde and Beautiful. Maritxu charging. Nani the killer Nash and Veronica (I don’t know how I got this name), the Belle of the Ball. Two weeks in Paradise was what it was. One week with the girls, all alone in the Fijian sea; one week with the boys, cruising the islands, surfing some of the best waves in the world with the best surfers in the world. I have a feeling that this trip, with it’s friendships shared and the memories made, will be with me always, and will make me smile. Who could ask for more? Get out there and start living. You never know how much longer it is all going to last.