Surfing in very cold water

This forecast got me thinking about the cold, because Sunday and Monday are gonna be cold.. Whenever the weather gets extreme something happens, 90% of the times it means some kind of surf, only 20% of that means good surf, usually it's huge, or messy or freezing... Sometimes it's good and freezing, or good, huge, and freezing... About ten yeArs ago it dumped 30" in a single night and winds cranked offshore, my brother and I grabbed a ride with a friend to a spot that could handle a swell this size... I remember there being so much snow, you could walk down the cliffs to the break... Needless to say the waves were stupid big.. Probably the biggest winter surf that was still on the surfable realm I've seen ... When u jump into 34 degree water at that size with 5 mil suit, gloves and booties there's a whole other element involved... after ten minutes of paddling out we all got separated, and I saw my brother scrape over a set into the horizon so far up the point and out to sea, it was mass card time...this was second time in past 5 years i thought i was going to break some bad news to our parents ;) ...the first time was just north of mahaka on the westside of Oahu, we didn't stand a chance that day, or this one... I might of caught 2 waves in two hours of feverish paddling , the third wave one shut down on me good, real good... Being held down and grabbing your leash just to figure out which way is up, completely sucks in the prettiest tropical setting, do it in water that is two degrees warm then an ice cube, and you are stressed!! .. .. But we all lived...this Tuesday could be one of those days... I'm praying for powder, and a life vest.. I got two more cold winter surf stories to go.. Share in comments if you have a good one .., peace