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| Sunday (4/15) didn't look much different than Friday (4/13) |
Watching the weather during the local news broadcast has become even more important to me since I've started surfing. I've watched the weekend forecasts since I started cycling about 20 years ago, making sure that the Saturday morning "atmosphere" was the right one for a good 60-mile bike ride. When I started surfing approximately three years ago though, one of the first things I attempted to learn was what kind of weather would be the right weather to create waves for surfing not just for the weekend, but for any day/afternoon. In Galveston (like most places), waves are very dependent on the wind. If Galveston has a strong south, east-southeast wind, we will have waves. If the wind is out of the north at just the right speed, we will get perfect waves in nice sets. Usually, a north wind blows through too strong and flattens the waves, but sometimes, the wind is perfect. This week, the forecasts on Surfline, network weather, etc., say that the really nice waves might be on Tuesday (4/17) morning. I'm not completely sure it will play out as predicted, because some of the wave prediction sites are changing the winds back to strong east winds. We'll just have to wait and see. All the forecasts for this past weekend, though, were right. Strong winds caused some bigger waves, but forecasters cautioned surfers that the really strong currents would make getting out to the waves (or even staying the whitewater) tough. Since Friday is my day to go surfing, despite some forecast warnings, I loaded my 9' Softop and headed to G-town. I was originally going to take my 8'1" because I didn't want to have to struggle with the wind loading and unloading my board as well as carrying it down to the beach. However, I also didn't want to have to worry about the gusts picking up the board while I was out in the waves and either pushing me off, or, while I'm in the water, the wind picking it up and causing the board to hit me in the face. So, at surf dude's suggestion, I brought my 9'. It was the right choice.
Because of the G-townsurf.com report about the waves, the 43rd Street jetty had six surfers already fighting over the waves when I got there at 3 p.m. So, I went to the 39th Street jetty. Dude B. had recommended it, and I think he was right. The really big waves were on the outside. In fact, one wave-caster suggested that only expert surfers should go out in the waves. I'm not an expert by no means, but I felt comfortable on the outside. The waves made getting out -- even in the rip current -- challenging, but once on the outside, waves definitely offered surfing opportunities. I caught a couple from the outside (and wiped out a few times), but I also chose to practice my turning and board positioning by catching waves in the whitewater. I successfully turned the board multiple times. I still have a lot of work to do though. I need to turn myself on the board much quicker to be able to ride down the line. I've made a lot of progress, but I still have quite a bit of work to do. I need more consistent waves on a regular basis to help me practice. (Today was too rough, so, unfortunately, I was only able to surf one day this week.) Not much I can do about this, but wish...for bigger waves...for more chances to surf.
I love G-town!
