Because I don't exactly live in a surfing mecca, I long for some weather abnormality that gives me waves when I least expect it. So much depends on the wind. One of the reasons surfing is so much better in the winter when it's cold is because the North wind cleans up our usual mushy, messy waves. Of course, during the summer when the strong south wind blows, I depend on those mush, messy waves for my fun. This year, we've had some north winds blow through on a semi-regular basis. The timing has been good for me since it has been the weekend. A couple of weeks ago, north winds were forecasted. Friday was a rainy day, so I went SUP shopping with a running friend. I hadn't planned on buying anything that day, but I wanted to look at what was out there, lift them up and see if they were too heavy for me. I'm pretty sure I have it narrowed down to one or two, including one that Brian has that is very reasonably priced. The two I have it narrowed down to both have pink designs. Go figure!
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The 43rd Street jetty got quite
crowded two weeks ago when
an unusual summer north
wind brought some pretty sets. |
By Saturday (two weeks ago), the rain had stopped and the north wind had blown through bringing with it somewhat nicely formed waves. The beaches were crowded, not just because the waves had finally re-appeared, but because it was July. Local families and vacationers from afar packed the beaches. And, surfers crowded the breaks. 43rd was crowded so I went down the street to 36th. Had a great Saturday afternoon of fun. It didn't stop there. On Sunday morning early, with waves still appearing on the webcam, I headed to 43rd Street. I went out and caught the first wave i paddled for and had an incredible ride. I started on the east side of the jetty, but quickly moved to the west side because the waves looked a little stronger and the east side of the jetty was so crowded. I had a blast. I caught some and missed a few, but I had pretty waves to play in for a little while. I stayed for a couple of hours, and it felt good to be out. As I was packing up to leave, I noticed quite a few more surfers were out. In fact, it was quite crowded, especially on the east side of 43rd. I was so happy to have had a few waves to surf.
The past two weekends, though, have been completely flat. Last weekend, although flat, was too windy even to go out on an SUP, which meant I didn't participate in any water sports. But, by this weekend, I knew I had to get back in the water. Fortunately, although it was flat, the wind was weak enough to make SUPing a possibility. I contacted Dude B. about using a few of his SUPs. I had a couple of friends who wanted to go out on an SUP. Because of the wind direction, we decided it would be better to go out at 25th near the Pleasure Pier. What fun we all had. We began by paddling against the current toward the beach near Murdoch's (the old bathhouse turned souvenir shop). We paddled under the Pleasure Pier and safely made it to shore. Then we paddled back with the current. What a difference the direction made. Although it hadn't been unbearable to paddle against the tide, paddling with it was extraordinarily easy. We floated all the way back to the beach at 25th in no time. It was a wonderful morning and a great way to start Sunday Funday!
