August Surf

At least this year, we have had a little rain. Thank goodness! Sometimes the small summer storms cause the waves to build a bit. Of course, we rarely get the strong, clean sets, but we do get some mushy waves that are, at least, surfable. Two weeks ago, I went with my friend, Dave, to G-town for a pre-work surf session one early Friday. He texted and said that after driving by 43rd and 36th, he thought the surf was better at 25th, also known as the Pleasure Pier, and formerly known as Flagship. Only a couple of other people were out on that early Friday morning at 25th, which left a lot of waves for many to catch. I took the rip current out and caught a wave right away. I knew it was going to be a good morning. Several more surfers came out, but there were enough waves for everyone. Dave also caught several too. As it turns out, I even got my picture taken by a local photographer/writer who writes surf reports and posts pictures online of surfers and other Gtown scenes. I didn't know until I received a text from Dave. After five years of trying, I finally made it on. He caught me on a good wave for Galveston, but I long for the day I can have a picture of me on a big wave. Hmmm…yeah, that would be nice.

By Sunday, the waves looked small…borderline surfable. A friend of mine and I decided to take our SUPs down for just some fun in the water. When we made it to 43rd, there was a little wave action. But, we were able to knee paddle out and then stand and paddle to our heart's content. Eventually, my friend who is quite good on the SUP, decided to take a surf lesson. The waves were perfect that day for lessons. She took one from my friend Brian who had her standing on the board and surfing in no time. I think I might have a new surf buddy, and I'm so glad.

This past Friday, the waves were back. While they had been bigger in the morning, they were still quite nice in the afternoon by the time I got finished from work, loaded the board and headed down. Thought about paddling out at 43rd until I saw about a dozen or more surfers already out there. I drove by 36th and saw two or three surfers out there also. Fortunately, only about two surfers were out at 25th. I immediately unloaded and paddled out. I caught a wave right away, but during the second paddle out, I realized that it was easier with the current and wind to paddle out closer to the pilings under the Pleasure Pier rather than the jetty. Brian, the surf dude, made it out. He suggested that the best place to be was in the corner pocket of the Pleasure Pier. Because of the way the wind was blowing, the waves were coming in from east. At first, it was just me and the surf dude, but after a short while, a couple of others paddled out to the pocket. One of the guys was a very good surfer who had no problem catching every wave. I pulled out of two waves because of him, and loudly protested. Once he noticed, he let me catch a few. Wow! One of the waves I caught reminded me why I love this sport. Hope to catch more waves this 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!

Dodging Sharks and Storms

I skipped posting last week partially because I was busy and partially because I didn't get to surf last weekend. However, I had gotten to surf during the week, including a fabulous Tuesday night session with incredible waves. I'm back in a strange pattern with the waves. When the waves are around, I can't go; and, when I can go, there are no waves. According to my surfing buddy, the waves were good this past Friday morning. However, by the time I got off at noon, they were weak and messy. I didn't care. I decided to load up Roxanne and take her down. Surf dude didn't like the looks of 43rd because so many surfers were out at that jetty. (The webcam makes 43rd a popular place, and, for some reason, the waves are the best there.) He suggested we go down to Flagship, which used to be the most popular surf spot on the island before the Galveston Island History Pleasure Pier opened up with games and rides. I thought the waves looked weak there, but I was willing to give it a try. I only caught a couple of waves, while a couple of the more experienced guys caught wave after wave. The break was unusually quiet though; possibly because the waves were better at 43rd and the parking is so difficult at 25th because of the Pleasure Pier. After the first 45 minutes, I was ready to leave, but it wasn't until surf dude  saw a 6' shark that we got out of the water. He paddled up to me and said, "Get out of the water, now." I thought he was joking, but when he looked at me and said it again, I knew it was time to get out of the water.  By that time, he and I were the only ones out there, but he warned the lifeguards anyway just so that they could warn any other swimmers or surfers who wanted to paddle out on the east side of the 26th St. jetty. We ended up at 51st Street, where I had a ball with only a couple of other surfers out. The waves weren't any stronger, but they seemed a little easier for me to paddle into and to surf.

This morning (Sunday), I received a text early that the waves were good. However, since I had already

Thunderstorms moved in and cut
my Sunday surf session short

planned a 5:30 a.m. run, I wasn't ready to head down until about 9:30. Of course, according to a couple of the guys I surf with, the waves turned to mush before I got there. I paddled out anyway and caught a couple of waves before a thunderstorm appeared, and I was forced to get out of the water because of lightning. I hate it when that happens! I would have loved to surf more waves, but it didn't look as though it would let up any time soon. I went with a couple of the guys to a garage where the surf dude and one of his instructors mend boards. It was fun to see their place and to see T, one of the owners of the surf repair shop, hard at work mending what looked like a little board. What an artistic endeavor creating and fixing boards seem. Hmmm...

Looking at possibly taking a surf trip to Bali sometime in the spring. I really want to go, but I need to check into the safety of such a trip, especially if I have to go alone. I read the book "Eat Pray Love," but I'm not sure I will have the financial backing that the author of the book had. But, I can't wait to discover more about it.