You can’t plan when, where or how you’ll get the wave of your life.

It could be today. It could be tomorrow. It could be in 12 years. The ocean is unpredictable — which is partly what makes this whole dance so fun. All you can do is try to put yourself in the right place at the right time and hope for the best.

Someday, it’ll all align.

Just ask 16-year-old Kauli Vaast. He just whipped into the wave of his life at Teahupo’o, and here’s what had to say in an interview with Surfline.

“That was the wave of my life! Baptiste Gossein, my tow partner, and I were waiting for two and a half hours for this wave. We had priority when it came, and Baptiste dropped me in at the perfect place. I did a short bottom turn before finding my line down the wave. Then the wave came into the west bowl and I had a hard time finding my balance. The foam ball hit me two times, the spit came and ejected me into the middle of the boats. Far and away my best surf memory — and I can’t wait to feel it again.”

Can’t wait to feel it again…

That’s the other thing about getting the wave of your life — it’s an endless journey. Once you’ve got one, well, that just means you have to get another.