TS Lee and the possibility of waves

Galveston-area surfers get a little excited when there's a storm brewing in the Gulf. Although we don't want any devastation for anyone, when something is churning in the Gulf we can at least count on waves. It's been so flat lately, that just about any ripple is appreciated. And, you could tell that everyone felt that way today. Brian convinced me yesterday to pack my board and surfing gear and take it to work today so that I could head straight to G-town when I got off at noon. So, when he called today at noon and told me that the current was way too strong and waves too rough and inconsistent, I explained that it was too late. I already had everything packed was ready to go.

When I arrived at the 43rd street jetty at about 1:30 for my regular Friday afternoon surf session, I saw in person what I had seen on the web cam (g-townsurf.com) and exactly what Brian described. But I was committed, so I unloaded and went out. I decided before entering the rough waves that I would stay on the inside and just catch the ones breaking closer to shore.  Because of the storm, the tide was being pushed to the shore making the tide higher than usual, even though it really wasn't high tide. The wind was blowing strong from the east, which meant that in order to surf without getting pushed into the jetty, we had to surf on the west side. Probably six or seven surfers were already out. Only one was doing what I was going to do and surfing on the inside. The rest were taking the rip current out and going to the outside before catching waves that seemed to offer rides lasting forever...or at least a minute or two. I was in awe. Brian paddled to the outside, but I remained intimidated by the roughness and stayed right where I was. All of the elements were in place, though, for me to catch some really long rides even if it was whitewater. I was on "Sunshine," my 8'1", so I enjoyed the practice. I had some terrific runs. I even managed to turn the board a little and stay with the wave down the line. However, I still have the problem of looking down instead of where I want to go. I mentioned that to Brian. He said I was being too hard on myself. He eventually had to leave after about an hour, but I stayed another hour and got a good two hours in of surfing. Rumor had it tomorrow the waves will be 8 feet. I find it hard to believe. However, the wind is howling and with the storm still out there spinning around (forecasted to go into Louisiana tomorrow), anything is possible. Hopefully, either tomorrow or Sunday the waves will calm a bit and, yet, still be out of the north so they will be clean.  I am glad I went today though!

"Beach Blanket Bingo" is on AMC tonight. I just saw a scene where a guy went out to surf, caught a wave and then, for some unknown reason, fell into it and bumped his head on a rock. A mermaid rescued him. I just did a google search for male mermaids and found that, according to a couple of sources (ask.com and Wikipedia...what sources! :-), mermaids in the male form are called mermen. (hee hee) I just hope that if I ever crash and hit my head on a rock, a merman will save me!

Flat, Flat, Flat and Flat

Welcome to the end of summer! A person wouldn't know it by the heat, but summer is coming to a close and I can tell because it is soooooo flat. Actually, I think the flatness last year was a little earlier in the summer...July or so. But this year, it's been flatter in August. In fact, this weekend has been the flattest of the year. I didn't bother even going down on Friday, my usual weekday surf time. It was quite flat, and I had other things to take care of, so I opted out. I was working later in the afternoon on Friday because of an event scheduled for the new fall semester. If there had been waves, I would have definitely headed down to the beach right after 5:30 a.m. spin class. However, without the waves to help lure me down, I just stayed on the mainland.

I decided to head down today despite the flat conditions. I was lusting for the beach, so I thought I would do some Stand Up Paddling. Brian graciously brought his SUPs to the 43rd street jetty so that he, Robin and I could play around in the lake-like Gulf. He also brought a small kayak, which was a good thing 'cause surfer Bre joined us. We all had something to play around on. We had a blast and, during the first half of my time on the beach, I never fell off my SUP. On my second round, though, I had trouble with the current a couple of times and forgot to use my core to stay steady and fell. (I used my legs instead, which just doesn't provide enough stability.)

Although nothing exciting happened in the water, I experienced a little thrill when I bought today's Galveston County Daily News. A couple of weeks ago, a reporter with GCDN interviewed me and Robin for a story in the newspaper's Coast magazine. She had been approached by Brian to come take a lesson and learn to surf. She took him up on it. While taking the lesson, Brian told her about me and Robin. (I believe she even met Robin during the first lesson; I met her during the second lesson.) It was a fun interview and, eventually, "photo shoot." (The story begins on page 29.)