Where has the time gone?

What a busy few months! It's not that I haven't been surfing since May, but I haven't had time to post about it. In June, I had some fabulous surfing days early in the month. A couple of last-minute "cold" fronts (actually, they were just some fronts from the north) cleaned up the waves for some fantastic after-work and Sunday morning surfing. I surfed a few times throughout July too. But, as usual, by the end of June the summer flats took over and forced me to bring out my SUP. A little over a month ago, a friend and I went out on a Friday morning to find a quiet beach waiting for us.

A crazy summer! One of
my surf sessions was
 early August.
8/7/16

We met early at the 43rd Street Jetty and appeared to have the beach to ourselves. It was completely flat, and the water had that clear blue look that only happens after a north wind cleans it up. Although it wasn't as blue as a true winter norther makes it, the water was clearer than it had been since later April or early May. We paddled for a couple of hours and had a blast. The only unfortunate part of the morning was an incident with my shoes and a handle. I wear some old blue flip-flops to the beach. I bought them shortly after I started surfing. They weren't expensive shoes, but they were my standbys. I had left them on the beach before while I surfed and never had a problem. I also had a plastic SUP handle that also should have been safe on the beach. But, all it took was a a paddle a few jetties away and, by the time I made it back to 43rd, the shoes and the handle was gone. I walked down the beach looking for them and found a couple of thugs acting suspicious. I asked if they had seen my shoes, and they denied it. Oh well, trying hard not to sweat the small stuff...and it's really all small stuff.

A family illness has kept me busy for most of July and the early part of August. I'm not ready to really write about it just yet. And, because the story is not mine to share, I need to ask permission before I do so. But, I will say that it has been a an emotionally draining experience. And, the outcome to the most recent test has been good. Add to the mix that in early July, I was injured in a car accident. I was lucky. I had a fractured pelvic ring in the front and back, which was painful, but not sidelining. After a couple of appointments, I found out that the fracture was a stable one, which meant I didn't really have to give up any activities long term, but I would probably have to ease back into my running, cycling and surfing slowly. With that said, I only really missed a couple of weeks of surfing and even then, I don't think that the waves were great for both weeks.

I was excited to get out this weekend. I had a full schedule of activities planned. Friday afternoon is one of my usual surf days, so I loaded up and headed down around 3. The tide was out, but I could see some fun waist-high waves coming through. I paddled out in the rip and quickly found out what the struggle would be -- the current. I was pushed down the beach. I had noticed that a couple of short boarders were out, but they were staying on the inside because of the current. I caught a wave and took it left, which meant that I had quite a walk back to the rip on the inside of the jetty. From then on, I worked at staying closer to the jetty. I still had a couple of short walks, but I managed to stay relatively close. All in all, I had a wonderful time. I thought I might be able to make it back out again on Sunday (today), but mixed reviews on the wave report and other plans kept me from making it down. However, I'm looking forward to next weekend!

Back at it

With a weather forecast promising  a sunny afternoon after several rainy weeks, I couldn't resist loading up my board and heading to the 43rd Street Jetty. Early morning reports were that waves were about knee high and nice. But, just as I crossed the Causeway and entered Galveston, I got a call from a surfing friend saying it wasn't worth the drive down. The wind had started to blow and was causing the surf to be a mess. I mentioned that it was too late...that I was already on the island and, since I had my board, I was going surfing anyway. I was glad I did. Yes, in fact, the waves were kind of a mess and the current was rough. After taking the rip out, it didn't take long for me or anyone else to be pushed down the beach away from where the stronger waves were breaking. I definitely did a lot of paddling today. I caught my first wave within the first 15 minutes and, from then on, had a blast despite the current and the constant paddling.

From the seawall, waves look
smaller than they actually were.

Although there were only two of us out for the first 30 minutes or so that I got in the water, a steady stream of surfers paddled out for the next two hours while I was surfing. Because the wind was blowing out of the east and pushing us west, the waves were breaking to the left and right, which was good for me as a goofy-footer who is usually surfing the wrong direction on the wave no matter how hard I try to go the other way. For the most part, it seems Galveston is perfect for regular footers, but, on occasion, the messy waves break both directions and goofy-footers get to go right. Stayed out for a little over two hours, and, all in all, had a great time. I'm tired tonight, though. I guess I'm just not used to the paddling since.

I'm back to working a 9-40 schedule,which should give me a few free Friday afternoons to get out. And, with the longer days, I should make it down for a couple of after-work evening sessions as well. I'm determined to make the most of my surfing experiences this summer. I still need to work on looking out instead of down. However, even if I don't, I'm sure I'll still have fun and that's what surfing is all about -- having FUN!

April Already?!?

I can't believe that it's April already. I haven't published a post since February. I started one in March, but for some unknown reason, I never finished it. My March post began with a description of my February marathon. I ran my sixth marathon at the end of February in New Orleans; my third in five months. I didn't have a record-breaking finish time, but anytime you can finish a marathon, you should feel good about yourself. I've signed up for the Houston Marathon in January 2017, but other than that, I don't have any other full marathons taking place. I'm still running, but it feels good not to have to run a 12-, 15- or 18-mile training run. Last week, my run group opted for bridge repeats on the Kemah Bridge. I'm proud to say I completed 4 1/2 complete up-and-overs for a total of 8 miles. With an upcoming half marathon later this month, I probably need at least a 10-miler this weekend. Alas, I digress. This is a blog about surfing.

Once again, waves have been sporadic with the best ones coming during the middle of the week in the middle of the day while I'm at work. The weekends have been flat. The good thing about mid-week waves this time of year is that the sun is out long enough to allow for an after-work surf session. Last Thursday (3/31), everyone with a surfboard went surfing. The wind shifted from the north/northeast and the waves were nice. The problem was that the winds were incredibly strong as was the current. I made it down to Gtown before 6. Because of crowds, I ended up at Flagship, which wasn't nearly as crowded because of the current. I paddled out near the pier, which had a strong rip current to pull me along. However, the current was rough -- very rough -- and I got pulled out. I could see the surfable waves midway between the Pleasure Pier and the jetty. However, trying to swim to the waves was nearly impossible. I kept getting pushed back to the pier, which was tiring and disturbing. Finally, I decided I needed to be a little bit more on the inside. Once I paddled in a little, I caught a few waves. I paddled out once or twice more, but used the rip near the jetty rather than the pier. I always ended up back on the inside. However, I caught a few waves there, so it was the better place for me. All in all, I had a great time. I can't wait to get back out.

The forecast for waves has been dismal, although I noticed that sloppy knee- to waist-high waves are forecasted for tomorrow (Sunday, 4/10), which may be good enough to get me back out in the water. I completed a brick workout today (Saturday, 4/9), so I got in a good weekend cardio workout. And the paddling will help me too. A good little surf session will help round out the weekend.

Catching a Few On a Tuesday Evening

A little over a week ago, a front passed the coast at just the right time with just the right energy. Those who had the day off or took a little time off, had some of the best waves of the season so far. Waves were rumored to be 6-8 ft., although I always find that hard to believe when I'm looking at the webcam. Because of the angle of the camera at 43rd and the placement above the coast the waves always look small. The waves looked a little bigger on the 37th camera, and although I couldn't tell if they were 6 or 8 feet, I could tell that they were beautiful. Tons of surfers were out, and I was jealous of them. I've been on deadline with a big project so taking time off was not an option for me. Later that night, many of my surfing Facebook friends talked about their afternoon and it sounded glorious. Although there were  few lingering waves on Friday, I still couldn't make it down to 43rd and, by Saturday, it was flat.

Tuesday night surf session was fun

Monday afternoon started to show promise. And the forecast for Tuesday was even better. It was correct. Since the SwellInfo forecast had predicted such good waves on Tuesday, I loaded my board on the off chance that we would have a repeat of the previous Thursday. Tuesday morning, Galveston once again had 6-8 ft waves. By that afternoon, the waves had gotten quite a bit smaller, but were still well-formed and 3-5 ft. When I made it to 43rd, at a little after 4 o'clock, I found about eight surfers still out. I paddled out and immediately caught a wave. I struggled a little after that because the waves were more intermittent and less easy to read than they had been earlier in the day. I played for another hour or so and had a ball, despite the trouble I had reading the waves. I caught about four or five before it got a little too dark. As I got out of the water at dusk, five or so surfers were still out. But they only had about 15 minutes before it was too dark.

By Wednesday morning, it was flat, and it has been flat for the rest of the week. The forecast doesn't look good either. A couple of fronts have crossed the coast since Tuesday, but the waves haven't built enough for the fronts to clean them up. We need a strong South or SWS wind to build mushy disorganized waves so that the next front can clean it up and build the waves. Maybe next weekend? Keeping my fingers crossed.

A New Year Filled with New Adventures

I've been neglecting my blog lately. The holiday season combined with some added responsibilities at work as well as marathon training has kept me from having the time to sit down and write about my surfing. Of course, all of this coupled with weather has also slowed down mine surfing. While I had ten used to surfing twice a week, the last couple of months, I've been only surfing once a week at best. Although Texas had a couple of cool spells in the fall, the first part of December was pretty warm. By Christmas week, temps were in the 70s and I was lucky enough to have some small waves to surf on Christmas Eve.

I loaded up my 9' because of the wind and the thought of having to control my 9'6" as I walk from my car down to the shore. I also brought my 5-4 wetsuit, and I'm very glad that I had it because the water temps were in the low 60s, which is just a tad too cold for a 4-3. The waves were weak and small, and although the dude I was surfing with didn't have trouble catching any waves, I had a more difficult time. I paddled like crazy, which was not only necessary because of the weakness of the waves, but also because of the strong current caused by the winds. It was hard to stay close to the jetty, which was necessary because that was where the surfable waves appeared. I caught a few though, and that always makes a session worthwhile.

Surfline originally promised waves for the last week of December. All of the surfers were betting on at least four good days of waves at the end of the year. However, just as weather forecasters cannot predict the weather, neither can surf forecasters predict waves. Although I, too, had been hoping for lots of surfing during my time off from work, I only ended up with my Christmas Eve surf. Since the holidays, the waves have been awful…except for when I'm at work. In fact, this past week, those lucky enough to get to Galveston during the week had two exceptional days of California-like surf. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it unfold on the webcam and reading about it in the many Facebook posts of surfing friends. Waves were gorgeous, and I hope that one day soon, we can have waves like that on the weekend.

Right now, my focus is on the Houston Marathon, which is next week. This will be my fifth marathon.

I have another one scheduled in February, but will more than likely, drop back to the half marathon distance. After that, I plan to take a little break from full marathons. I won't say "never," but I want to quit the training for full marathons for a little while. That might actually give me a little more time to surf. We'll see. Keeping my fingers crossed for nice waves throughout the rest of the winter and into the spring and summer. Happy 2016!