Friday Fun on Mother's Day Weekend

It was a somewhat last-minute decision, but I felt like I just had to get wet. Despite dismal surf reports about strong currents and hefty winds, I followed my gut and went to Galveston on Friday afternoon. When I made it to the 43rd Street jetty, it was packed. I knew right away that if I stayed, I would be competing for waves. I met up with the dude, and he suggested that we go to 36th. No one was surfing down there. I arrived just as a school bus-load of kids from somewhere else in the state were arriving to have "fun on the beach." They weren't in bathing suits, so I knew I wasn't going to have to maneuver around them to get out in the waves. The tide was in, so I would be paddling out a little farther than usual, which is slightly more tedious at 36th since I'm not in a rip current near the jetty. I didn't care. I was ready to get wet.

The air temp was warm and, although the water temps are still in the mid-70s, I was able to get out in

A pic of Pipeline. Love my G-town waves.

just a 2mm long-sleeved rash guard. Many were out in just bathing suits, but I was glad I had my long-sleeved rash guard. I needed the extra warmth. I think I'll be in a regular rash guard by next week. The toughest part of 36th is, as I stated earlier, paddling out since there is no jetty. But, I made it out without too much trouble. I just have to take a second to regain my composure when I'm paddling out in this sandbar break. I felt completely in control though. I had a great session even though I did get wiped out by a wave once. I caught several and had wonderful and playful rides. It's not Pipeline, but it is a fun place to surf nevertheless. It's my home break, and I will always think it is wonderful.

Since Sunday was Mother's Day, I couldn't make it down. I had a friend who went to Surfside and the surf sounded a lot like the surf I had on Friday, messy but fun enough to make a trip worth it. I'm hoping to make it to Surfside a few times this summer. It's just a little further than G-town, but I'm willing to give it a chance…especially on those days when it is crowded.

We are scheduled to get a late season cold front this week, so I might have to break away to make a trip to the island on either Tuesday or Wednesday evening. We'll see! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

International Surfing Day and remnants of yet another tropical disturbance

On Thursday, June 20, all the surfers and surfing sites were talking about International Surfing Day.  I've since done a little research and found that different groups celebrate it on different dates throughout the world, but that the Surfrider Foundation celebrates on June 20. The local Surfrider organization was having a paddle out and surf session beginning early on the 20th. I was just returning from vacation where I had run my first full marathon, so I knew that I wasn't going to be able to make it down for an early morning surf session on the first day I was returning to work. I saw the pics on Facebook and it looked like a decent sized group that gathered in G-town. They had small, close-to-the-shore waves. According to the wave forecast, the better waves were going to be on early Friday morning. Unfortunately, I knew I couldn't surf then either and hoped that they would last until the afternoon. Tropical Storm Barry kicked up in the southern Gulf of Mexico and quickly headed toward Mexico. It was in the Gulf just long enough to cause some nice, well-formed waves to develop in Galveston.

Friday morning was definitely the best time to benefit from Barry. Many surfers were out, and the pictures showed them having fun. I kept my fingers crossed that they would still be around by Friday afternoon.  And they were. I made it to the 37th Street jetty by 1:30 and was out in the water by 1:40. The waves were not quite as big as they had been that morning, but the sets were still clean. With a longboard, they were definitely manageable. I paddled out to wait for waves with about three others who were already out in the water. (The 43rd Street jetty was packed...in fact, so packed that I couldn't find parking near there. Managed to find a spot across from 37th.) I caught my first wave and had fun from then on. I missed several, but, all in all, surfed so many more than I missed that I quit thinking about the ones I missed. After one successful ride, a guy on the beach applauded. I don't think he was clapping because of my style; I think he was just being nice because I rode it all the way in. Most surfers slap back down on their boards before getting so close to shore so they won't have so far to paddle back out. However, I hate to stop the ride. So, even though it makes me look like an amateur, I take the wave all the way in. All in all, it was a fabulous Friday for me to surf.

I hoped to go surfing this morning too, but it was messy mush. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that things get better by the end of the week!

Friday fun day and a different break

A new break? Beautiful Friday waves -
A photo taken from the Seawall

Friday afternoons are just plain FUN! I think most people would agree that there is a lighthearted attitude in the air because it's the beginning of a weekend. In fact, the feeling starts in the morning. I work half a day on Friday and, in the summer, that means lots of surf time. This Friday was perfect for it. Some strange, weak cold front/norther came through, which shifted the winds out of the north and dropped the humidity for a few hours. I was worried that by the time I got off of work, which is usually noon but was changed to 11 a.m. this week, the waves would be gone.  But a phone call from my friend at 11 included a positive message. The waves were small, but still very pretty. I can certainly enjoy small. I brought two boards to work with me on Friday. I'm usually a little worried about leaving a fiberglass board in the car during the summer because of the melting wax, which means I usually just bring my Softop. However, because of the lower humidity this past Friday as a result of the weak cold front, I decided to take my 9' Softop AND my 8'1" McTavish with me and, because of that lower humidity, I didn't find wax melted all over the inside of my car. (On a side note, I'm thinking about selling my McTavish to get another 9' board since I've decided that 9' is my perfect size, but that's for another post.) By the time I made it to the island, the 43rd Street jetty was packed. So, my friend and I decided to surf at 36th. I had surfed 37th near the jetty, but I had never surfed at 36th, which is a sandbar break. With that said, it means that I don't have the rip next to the jetty to help me get out. It didn't matter much on Friday, though, since the waves were still pretty well formed and getting out only required some strong paddling and timing. Sets were pretty consistent, so if I counted and watched, it was possible to make it out between sets. It was definitely the right choice for me. The waves were fantastic. They were small...maybe two or three feet...but perfect. I used my Softop because they were on the small side and because I was at a new break. I think I would have had a hard time on anything smaller because it would have required a lot more paddling. All in all, I had a fantastic time. I caught wave after wave. I missed a few, but not many.  I wish we could have more afternoons like that.

My other usual surf day is Sunday. I found out late Saturday that I would have out-of-town company on Sunday, so my surf time was going to be short. When I woke up this morning though, I realized that I wasn't going to miss much. The waves were very crappy, and although the dude would have enough for lessons, they were not rideable. The G-townsurf.com report described them as "barely rideable if at all." It was a good excuse to stay home and wait for my visitors.

On another note, I am trying to figure out a way to solve my workout dilemma. I'm not sure there is an answer I'm willing to accept. Because I surf in the middle of the day on Fridays, it's usually extremely warm. When I work out hard surfing like I did this past Friday, my workouts on Saturday suffer. This weekend, I joined a new group for my Saturday workout. I worked out with a triathlon training group. Their Saturday workout is a run-bike-run plan. I debated whether I would make it this Saturday because I had my heart set on just cycling, but I knew I needed to get a run in and, ultimately, decided that the only way to ensure a run would be to join with this group. I ran 6.3 miles and then rode 48 miles. I was supposed to finish the workout with a 4-mile run, but because of some bad communication and the fact I was so dehydrated from surfing on Friday, I opted out of the second run. I need to figure out a way to stay hydrated. I'm not sure if it means less surfing on Friday or just carrying more fluids with me on Friday AND Saturday, but either way, I need to figure it out. I think I will have plenty of weekends this summer to do just that.

Fun Friday surf...and SUP Sunday

I was anxious to get back to my home break and transfer some of my Pacific waves skills to the G-town waves. HAHAHAHA.  I really just wanted to get back out in the water and practice. One of the things I realized while in Nicaragua is that I had a long way to go. Some people pick things up quickly, but I need a lot of practice in all of my sports. One of the things that I realized from looking at my pics is that I need to practice on my pop-up STILL. I explained it to my G-town Surf Dude Brian and he asked me to show it to him. I did it on the beach PERFECTLY. However, I'm not sure I always translate this perfection on the board in the waves. But, I had a chance to try it out on Friday.

Friday waves

Dude said that the waves were nice when he called me at noon. So, I loaded up my 9' Softop "Iris" (one of the Nica Chica gals told me I needed to stick with one size until I really get my surf skills perfected) and headed down. I'm sure glad I did. I had a ball. I had to wait awhile for my waves, but when the sets came in, they were beautiful. They weren't huge, but they were well formed. I pearled once. And, it happened to be while the dude was watching, which isn't always a good thing and caused him to say things like "WOW, I haven't seen you pearl in a long time..." But, he's wrong. I have pearled. He just doesn't see it. I was in the wrong position for that wave and knew it was coming. However, once I had that out of the way, I caught just about everything else I paddled for. I had a ball! We moved from the west side of the jetty when it got crowded (and, gosh, it got crowded once people got off of work) to the east side. I was able to catch waves on both sides. Brian said I looked good except that I needed to stand up straighter. Good call! I definitely need to do that. I think I'm actually trying to mimic big wave surfers by bending at the waist and knees. It looks ridiculous in three foot waves. I'm so glad I went to surf that day!

My other regularly scheduled day is Sunday (today). So, I loaded up and headed down. The dude wanted to introduce me to a yoga instructor who is going to start offering classes in conjunction with the dude's surf classes. I'm sure it will be successful. Many people have expressed interest in taking yoga, so I think it will be a good thing for surfers and the dude's surf lessons. I'm anxious to see how it goes. The surf today, though, was nonexistent. The dude insisted that I (and my friend and surfer R) go paddle-boarding with him. I'm glad I did. It was so much fun! First of all, it was an absolutely beautiful day. Secondly, several others were out paddle-boarding, but it still felt like we had the entire Gulf to ourselves. I tried to catch a small wave in, but fell off. One of the other paddle-boarders out was successfully catching the waves. I tried to copy him, but did not do a very good job of it. I didn't transfer my weight enough and was knocked off the minute the wave caught me from behind. Oh well! I'll try again next time it is flat.

I topped off my surf session with a great lunch on the Strand, a relaxing ride on the Ferry, a cold beverage at The Tremont and an evening six-mile run. Sundays do not get much better than this!

If it's Friday, I must be surfing

It must be Friday!! That's my usual surfing day, and I always look forward to some afternoon surf. Although the waves were less than perfect...downright crappy to be exact...I still had fun. The surfing takes my mind off of things. I can be a million miles away when I'm out in the water. My experiment with sunglasses ended rather abruptly today when a wave caught me off guard and knocked them off of my face. I had no idea they would come off that easily. In fact, it happened so fast that I didn't even see what direction they went. I was just in the wrong place and the wrong time. I've attached a photo of today's surf so that I can remember what it was like when I read my description. The board is Brian's surf lesson board. (His student fell off and I snapped this shot.)

I can't complain too much though. Every once in awhile a decent little wave would push through and I would get a ride. I didn't really miss many today. Of course, that's not saying much since I didn't catch all that many either. However, I was patient and caught just about everything I tried to surf. Sometimes, the wave would close out fast, and I would get a very short ride. But, a short ride is still better than no ride. Several surfers were out. Brian was giving a lesson. I finally got a great photo of her actually standing. (She had a rough time.) Of the other five or six surfers out, only a couple of them were very good. Although, one of them didn't really look fantastic when he was up, he was still able to catch the wave and ride it sideways down the wave, which gave him a much longer ride. I hope to be able to do that one day soon.

This week has been a much more positive week than last week. I'm so glad! I'm ready for some good times. Surfing on a Friday afternoon is one of those times, that's for sure.

back to Galveston

Although Brian -- the Galveston surfer DUDE -- called Thursday evening to say that the water was flat and he didn't think it would be possible to give a lesson on Friday, on Friday morning he called back to say that things had changed during the night and the waves were perfect for lessons. The sets were real this time he said, not nearly as sloppy as it had been during our past Friday afternoon sessions. The waves calmed considerably by the time Robin and I arrived for our 1:30 session. However, Brian felt like they were good for us to learn and practice some important lessons. For instance, we actually practiced the turnaround in the water. Brian explained that the whole process of surfing was a big circle. Because we weren't getting beat up by the waves, we practiced our jump onto the board, our turns, our look-back for waves, our swim forward and, finally, our pop-up on the waves. We also tried different boards including an 8' soft top (nearly impossible to stand on), an 8'6" hard top (a cool, marvelous ride; but different to maneuver), and a 9'4" soft top (my favorite). We both got approximately 6 to 8 good rides on small, but manageable waves.

What a great afternoon!