Friday floating

Light north winds have flattened the Gulf again making my Friday surfing day a bust. Well...I should say it was almost a bust. Robin and I still went down to Galveston with our surfboards to have some fun. Although I'm sure we looked quite foolish, we took them out and swam out past the end of the pier. We floated and swam. We practiced our knee paddling, which will help us a little. However, how we swim out when we have real waves will be a different matter. I'm sure we will be a little less certain of ourselves the first time we confront a 4- to 6-foot wave as we're swimming out past the breaks. We got a pretty good workout today though, swimming from pier to pier. Because the wind was out of the north, we also got pushed out quite a way from the shore line. Brian joined us eventually and talked to us about catching waves, which seems to be a problem these days for both of us. Once we catch the wave, we know what we are supposed to do, but actually timing everything just right and catching the wave is the hard part. That's something that will just have to come with practice I think.

Tonight, I went shopping for a springsuit, which Brian says we will need probably by October. I had been given a $50 gift certificate by my fabulous office mates for my birthday in August. Although I went by Sun & Ski last week and couldn't find a springsuit or wetsuit, I decided to give it another try. This time I found a very small selection. I'm guessing the store drug them out of their storage area hoping that they would sell them during their bike sale. I questioned their small selection of springsuits only to be met with a very rude, "We're not a surf store," to which I wished I would have answered, "No, you're a SPORTING GOODS store," hoping that the sarcasm would tell him that as a sporting goods store they should be able to cover a variety of sports. But, alas, I said nothing. I just picked up a couple of springsuits and took them to the dressing room. A young female clerk from Germany came to help me. She was delightful. Of the two springsuits, one was a little loose, but comfortable, while the second was like...well...a second skin. I was assured that the second one was how it should fit. With it being on sale for $75 and me having a $50 gift card, I was able to buy it for $25. The price was right. I decided I could make it work. It was a men's small. ummm...Hope I can get it on when I need it! It certainly fits like a glove; a little tighter than my 3-2 wetsuit. Note to self: DON'T GAIN ANY WEIGHT BETWEEN NOW AND OCTOBER!

Dancing on the board

I extended my Labor Day weekend during the past week by taking Tuesday off. I made it to the beach early and met my surfing mentor Brian. He and I were the only ones at the beach that day. Waves were not big, but at least there were some. Also, because no one else was on the beach, I had plenty of room to play on my board. I had been learning about taking off at a slight angle so I could ride the wave farther down the beach. Brian told me that I needed more of a Mae West wiggle with my back leg because it looked so stiff when I was standing on the board. I certainly didn't argue since I felt like I was stiff, and because when I saw photos of myself on the board, I looked stiff. Tuesday was a good day to practice. I successfully caught the small waves at an angle, popped up and wiggled. I was able to walk on the board and turn it successfully. Brian thought I improved quite a bit on Tuesday. I won't really know though until I'm out on a real wave and successfully riding it in. I also practiced my knee paddling, which has turned out to be a very effective way of getting out quickly.

I usually surf on Friday too, but, today (9-11), the seas were flat! It was also quite rainy with showers popping up quickly and offering much-needed downpours to the area. However, where there are rainstorms in southeast Texas, there is also lightning. Lightning and surfing don't go together at all.

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I was looking for a poem to share. I'm close to finding one. I believe I located the title and the author, but I haven't read the actual poem yet. Maybe next time...

(The photo posted with this blog was taken Sunday, Sept. 6, before I caught some waves.)

Flat seas, again

No waves dude! That's the first thing my surfing mentor and friend, Brian, said to me when he called me with the surf report last night and again today. No waves! I had actually seen the flatness myself by logging on to several of the webcams. However, I didn't want to believe it was happening again. Ordinarily I would have gone down alone, but Brian reminded me of it being Labor Day weekend and the crowds I would experience on the Friday afternoon before a long weekend. I had other things to keep me busy today anyway, but still, I missed going to the beach. So, I went shopping at the surf shop. I didn't buy anything, but I eyed a couple of really pretty fiberglass and epoxy boards. I also went to Sun & Ski to check on wetsuits. I knew they carried 3-2s, but I wasn't sure if I would be able to find a 5-4-3. To my surprise, they didn't have ANY wetsuits. Apparently it's a seasonal item and when I asked when they would get some in, the clerk said January. January? I might need it before then, so I'll definitely have to order it on the Internet. I know I'm going to need it and, more than likely, before January. I hate being cold.

The weather this weekend has been forecasted as rainy. I hate to hear that too, since I want to be able to surf at least one day during this long weekend. This will also require a wind-shift so that waves can be created. Brian is calling me on Saturday night to let me know about Sunday's forecast. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I was planning to close today's blog with a poem about the ocean, but, after my rather bold Facebook statement about southern writers being the best, I decided the poem definitely had to be written by a Southerner. However, I couldn't find one in any of my anthologies. I also couldn't find one on the Web. I know there are plenty out there, but I guess since I needed it right away, I would not be able to locate one. All I could think of was Kate Chopin's novel, "The Awakening." But, then I realized I didn't really want to include a suicide beach scene in my surfing blog. Death by drowning is never a good way to think about surfing. So now I'm on a quest to find a good southern beach poem. Oh, and I definitely need some waves.

p.s. The photo posted with this blog is not from Friday, Sept. 4. It's just an example of what Galveston surfers experience at the end of summer when we want to surf.