On Thursday, June 20, all the surfers and surfing sites were talking about International Surfing Day. I've since done a little research and found that different groups celebrate it on different dates throughout the world, but that the Surfrider Foundation celebrates on June 20. The local Surfrider organization was having a paddle out and surf session beginning early on the 20th. I was just returning from vacation where I had run my first full marathon, so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to make it down for an early morning surf session on the first day I was returning to work. I saw the pics on Facebook and it looked like a decent sized group that gathered in G-town. They had small, close-to-the-shore waves. According to the wave forecast, the better waves were going to be on early Friday morning. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't surf then either and hoped that they would last until the afternoon. Tropical Storm Barry kicked up in the southern Gulf of Mexico and quickly headed toward Mexico. It was in the Gulf just long enough to cause some nice, well-formed waves to develop in Galveston.
Friday morning was definitely the best time to benefit from Barry. Many surfers were out, and the pictures showed them having fun. I kept my fingers crossed that they would still be around by Friday afternoon. And they were. I made it to the 37th Street jetty by 1:30 and was out in the water by 1:40. The waves were not quite as big as they had been that morning, but the sets were still clean. With a longboard, they were definitely manageable. I paddled out to wait for waves with about three others who were already out in the water. (The 43rd Street jetty was packed...in fact, so packed that I couldn't find parking near there. Managed to find a spot across from 37th.) I caught my first wave and had fun from then on. I missed several, but, all in all, surfed so many more than I missed that I quit thinking about the ones I missed. After one successful ride, a guy on the beach applauded. I don't think he was clapping because of my style; I think he was just being nice because I rode it all the way in. Most surfers slap back down on their boards before getting so close to shore so they won't have so far to paddle back out. However, I hate to stop the ride. So, even though it makes me look like an amateur, I take the wave all the way in. All in all, it was a fabulous Friday for me to surf.
I hoped to go surfing this morning too, but it was messy mush. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things get better by the end of the week!
