Birthday Surf on a Sunday Night

Sometimes, no matter what the report says and no matter what your friends say, you just have to go surfing. I celebrated my birthday this weekend, and I decided that I had to get in some surf time. The only problem is that the waves this summer have been dreadful. Either they have been nonexistent or rough and unsurfable. Friday was flat, Saturday a little less so and, by Sunday, the strong west winds had churned up sloppy surf. Surf dude called and said that he thought it was too messy for surf. However, I was determined. I kept watching the 43rd Street jetty webcam and by late afternoon, I thought the waves seemed a little less choppy. Not sure if they really were or if I was just so determined that they needed to be a little less choppy so I could surf, but it sure seemed like the waters had calmed a tad. I saw a few surfers out, but it didn't look too crowded. I had already planned to go visit my mom and dad, but I decided to load a board just in case a late afternoon surf session was possible. (I loaded my softtop for the first time in a very long time.) At close to 5:30 p.m., I headed down.

Although the waves weren't beautiful, the seaweed was outrageous and the winds were a little strong, I

Sometimes you've
just got to surf!

unloaded and paddled out. I took the rip right behind a young boy on a shorter board than I was surfing. He paddled out and we both went for the same wave. However, I realized that the wave was probably his, so I pulled out. I rolled off my board, but that was the only time during that Sunday evening session that I was in the water. For the rest of the short time I was out, I caught every wave I attempted to surf. They were mostly white water waves, but they were strong and fast. Several of the others out were also catching white water, simply because those were the only ones holding together long enough to surf. I had a great time. I stayed out until the sun was almost setting…about 45 minutes. I'm so glad I ignored the reports and went down. About three or four other surfers were still out, and we all seemed to be catching our own waves. What a great end to my birthday weekend!

Waves One Week, None the Next

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!

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!

A Quiet Summer

This has been an unusual summer in G-town. For one thing, the seaweed has been the worst I've ever

Met pro surfers Teddy Navarro, Morgan Faulkner
 and Sunny Garcia while they were in
Galveston promoting the Mauli Ola Foundation.

seen. And, secondly, it's been unusually flat … especially on the Fridays and Sundays when I can surf. That hasn't kept me from getting in the water though. Thankfully, Dude B has been willing to let me rent/use a SUP. I'm even thinking about buying one. I've investigated a few. My problem with the SUPs is that I'm afraid I won't be able to carry one in my car or from my car down to the shore. The ones I've borrowed have been so heavy and long that carrying them across the beach is difficult. I can't imagine having to lift it to put on the top of my car, and I doubt that either of the ones I've used will fit inside my car. Hmmm… I've had a good time on them, and it definitely gets me in the water when there are no waves, but I can't decide if I should buy one.

On Friday, it was too flat to surf and dude wasn't able to bring the SUP. By Sunday, though, I knew I needed to get in the water.  Dude B thought the waves were nice enough for him to have lessons and even believed that if I had the right board, I might be able to surf. So, I packed up "Petal," my 9'6" Senator surfboard, which I don't surf often, and headed to the 43rd St. jetty. Fortunately, Dude B brought his 10'6" SUP too. I went out on the SUP and floated around for awhile, before deciding there might be just enough waves for me to go out on Petal. I got her out of the car, and I was glad I did. The waves were very small … so small, in fact, that I had to paddle really hard to get into them. In the end, though, I found a few small waves to surf. It may not have been pretty, but it sure was fun.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will have something to play on this weekend wave-wise. Not completely sure that I will, but we will see. The surf forecast projects waves all weekend. The weather forecaster, though, also predicts some bad weather. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I might even go take a look at the local surf shops to see if I can check out an SUP. Again, I will have to figure out how I will carry it. But, just going to take a look at them will be an adventure. And, I love adventure!