I have been wanting to surf. But, like always, when I am off, there are no waves. I know I have said/wrote it before: The best waves are always Wednesday mornings at 8 or 9 a.m., just as I am about to go to a meeting or right after I finish one. Therefore, I miss the good waves. Of course, no matter what day or time it is, I think many people think they miss the "good waves." I was determined last week to go to surf on Friday afternoon, which is my usual time for surfing. The forecast didn't look great, but by Friday morning, I could see a few little ripples out there. On the webcam Friday morning, it looked as thought a few people were out at 45th. I kept my fingers crossed that it would stay that way until I got off work on Friday afternoon. I originally had planned to got to Surfside, but with the waves being "iffy" at best, I decided Galveston was my best option. Made it to 43rd around 2:30 p.m. and worried that I had almost missed them all. However, I paddled out and noticed there were a few little peelers just for me. I got caught on the inside once, causing me to flip under the water and lose my sunglasses even though they were on a string around my neck. I am always caught off-guard when these things happen. Never even saw this happen. I caught a few little waves and had lots of fun. The beach was quite full because of summer vacations, but I was still able to get out past the crowds in the water. One young lady was out (Autumn) and she was making the waves look pretty and easy. I was in awe of her abilities. A couple of young boys were also out and, of course, they told me how the waves had been bigger in the morning. I chuckled. The only other eventful thing that happened was when the key I wear around my neck became detached from the ribbon it was on and, in slow motion, fell first to the top of the board just as a wave was coming in. Of course, I never saw it again. But, after a $115 visit from a locksmith, I was able to get back in my car. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon.
By Sunday, it was even smaller than Friday. I loaded up my SUP and met a friend at 43rd for a quick morning session. We had a ball. I hadn't been out on my SUP in awhile, and I still have a lot of learning to do, but I still had fun. I fell off the board twice -- once when I was was wading through the white wash to get out past the break, and another time when my board was knocked awry by the beginning of a wave. If the waves had been a little bigger and stronger, I would have definitely been surfing, but the waves weren't really breaking until they got closer to shore. I started to question my decision of buying such a short SUP, but at the same time, I realize that if the board was bigger, I would definitely have trouble loading and unloading. I think my friend had fun too. As the summer flat spell hangs on as it usually does in July, I'm so glad I can least go out and SUP.
