FINALLY! After three weeks of flatness, today I found waves at the 43rd Street jetty. The Surfline forecast has looked dismal, and it has actually been quite accurate. I don't remember having this many days during the summer unsurfable, not that I've been surfing for that long. However, for the past four years, I could always count on a few windblown peaks during July and August on my usual Friday afternoon and early Sunday morning outings that I could play around on with a long enough board. That has not been the case this summer. The only small, rideable waves have come during the week when I am at work. If I understand it all properly, a high pressure system has been sitting over part Texas and the Gulf, which has kept the wind from circulating the right direction and kicking up the waves.
I have a general workout plan each week. I usually run early on Saturdays before going to my bicycle rides; on Sundays I surf, while Monday is a rest day; on Tuesday, I cycle; on Wednesday, I run; on Thursday, I cycle; and Fridays I surf. My schedule has been strange lately, so my workout schedule has been a little skewed, but, most of all, Galveston hasn't had any waves during my regular surfing time. Because of rain yesterday, I didn't get to run and decided I would do it on Sunday. After all, Surfline was forecasting really small, slow surf, which means I probably wasn't going to need to hurry home and load up the board. 5:15 a.m. came early, but I knew my only chance for running would be if I got out of the house early before it became unbearably hot. By the time I returned from my 4.25-mile, I had a text from surfer "dude" letting me know that the surf was the best it had been for the past few days. (It wasn't great, but it was surfable!) So, I headed down to G-town.
 |
I wish I knew psychic who
could tell me when
I would have waves. |
Just as I was pulling up to the seawall, I received a text from an old friend I hadn't seen for a couple of years. He said he was in town and wanted to know how the surf was. I said that we had waves for the first time in weeks and noticed, to my surprise, that he had pulled in behind me to park. I was thrilled to see him. He moved to Dallas a couple of years ago and doesn't get to surf as often as he likes. I ran into several other friends, who had also just arrived. Everyone was excited to finally have waves on the weekend. Initially, I struggled because the waves lacked force. My timing was a little off also. However, after about 20 minutes, I caught my first wave and the rest of the morning was a blast! I, literally, dropped in on a few waves that allowed me to turn and guide my board. I received some good advice from a surfing friend who suggested I would probably catch more waves if I scooted my body up on the board. I did it and caught the next wave. It allowed the board to be "picked up" since the back was slightly up higher for the wave. I realized, though, that in that position I had to get up quickly or I would pearl. All in all it was a great morning.
Good friends AND waves! Who could ask for more?
