Fog, Surfers and a Run-in with the Jetty

I've already mentioned how sporadic surfing has been in G-town this winter. Either it was flat or the waves came at a time I couldn't make it down; so my surfing has been minimal. This past Friday, I was dying to get out. Of course, the weather didn't cooperate. While the sun eventually made an appearance on the mainland, Galveston, especially on the Seawall, remained foggy all day. I began looking at the G-town.com webcam early in the day. It was so foggy, that it was nearly impossible to see the waves. But, by the first-hand accounts, the waves were waist-high, with an occasional chest-high set. They weren't pretty little north wind waves, but rather the mushy, crazy south wind type. However, I was willing to try just about anything.

I made it to the island about 3 p.m., as did hoards of other mainlanders who had just got off work. Although I noticed all the other surfers driving up when I arrived, I was focused on a group of men walking along the beach in yellow all-weather gear. Two oil tankers had collided just days earlier causing a huge release of oil and the men I saw was the HazMat team walking the beach to see the effects of the oil release. I noticed tar balls, but the 43rd street jetty and at least a few of the jetties to the east and the west had been spared the major damage. It has sounded as if the majority of the spill was heading further south. Nevertheless, the coast guard had assigned a HazMat team to walk the length of the beach to see the damage and by 3 p.m., they were at 43rd street. It was a little eerie seeing them there, but I still put on my 3-2 wetsuit and got ready to go in. It would be cold in the water, but I opted not to wear my booties.

It's never good to see a HazMat team at your break.

Dude B. had some business to take care  of, so he wasn't going to be surfing that day.I unloaded and headed down to the east side of the jetty. I paddled out with great difficulty. The current was strong and the waves were coming in fast and hard. The sets were erratic so planning the paddle-out was difficult. I made it to the outside only to find about 12 surfers already waiting for the next wave. I couldn't see them from the seawall because of the fog, so I had no idea how many were out. I watched for a few minutes and decided that I would give the west side of the jetty a shot. If I could get out to the middle between the 43rd and 45th Street Jetty, I might be able to catch a few without the crowds. I made it out there and if I had been a better surfer, I would have caught several. However, I struggled with timing. I caught one close to shore. When I made it to the beach, I walked down to the 43rd street jetty and was about to paddle out, when I decided that going out on the west side would be easier. And, it was at first. But I hadn't adequately analyzed the situation. I didn't look far enough down the jetty. I walked in, eventually jumped on the board and paddled out. However, when I got to the end of the jetty, I got caught up in what I can best describe as a whirlpool. This, of course, was why NO ONE was taking the west side riptide out. I got pushed into the rocky, barnacle-covered jetty. In order to protect the board, I used my feet to push away. I was in a whirlpool because wave after wave was coming in. A lady standing on the jetty was getting concerned about me, but I told her I was fine. When I finally got a break in the waves, I got out of the vicious cycle and made it back to the outside.

My feet were stinging. I decided I better go to the beach and check out my injuries. When I could finally lift my feet out of the water, I could see my left foot was covered in blood. Both feet hurt. I made it to shore to assess my injuries. When I got out of the beach, all I could see was blood. Just then, the hazmat team saw me. Since they are volunteers and two of them were doctors at UTMB, they were concerned. They had some gauze and one of them grabbed my foot and set it on his knee and applied pressure. The cuts were just topical, but the blood was everywhere. Dude B. arrived back at the beach about this time and let me use his first aid kit. The cuts were not deep, but I had several of them. I decided to call it a day. I'm really bummed by the fact I didn't get to surf much, but I'm glad my injuries weren't worse. My run and ride the next day were a little more difficult because of the cuts, but I still managed to get through both activities.

Saturday brought a north wind and beautiful waves to the coast. All I could do was watch. I had too much to do on the mainland. Bummer! I really wanted to go surfing, but I could not. Keeping my fingers crossed for next week.

Even colder weather, but very nice waves

Well, southeast Texas is experiencing its fall cycle. Every year, the weather changes at a moment's notice. Just as we all start grumbling about 85-degree weather in October, the next cold front pushes through and drops the temps to more seasonable degree expectations. While I admit to liking the first cold snap, by the time the second or third front makes an appearance, I'm ready for summer again. I've always been a fan of hot, sticky weather (I think I've written that before) so it's probably a good thing I live where I live. However, I must admit that if a strong "norther" blows through like it did on Thursday evening, the north wind creates phenomenal waves. So, Friday afternoon I definitely made my weekly afternoon jaunt to Galveston. This time, instead of a spring suit, I had to wear my 3-2 wetsuit. I met Super Brian at the 43rd Street pier and we surfed. I probably caught three or four waves and this week, Brian wanted to surf himself so he didn't offer to push me at all, which is good 'cause I had told him I needed the practice. I had to time the waves myself. I missed several of the waves because I stopped paddling before they made it to me (this timing thing is hard for me), but I also caught a few. I had two or three phenomenal rides that I took all the way down the shore by turning and riding in the wave. We were eventually joined by four or five other surfers and it was good to see that they also had timing issues. Brian is the only one who knew when the wave was right. It made me feel better to know that timing must be an issue for everyone. In fact, other than Brian, I probably caught more waves than the others. I wiped out a few times too. I have no idea why; well, I do know why I wiped out a couple of times. Even though I was on Brian's phenomenal fiberglass board, I didn't get in trim. I was way too far forward and the wave just pushed me over. We outlasted most of the surfers. They usually only stay 30 minutes to an hour, but Brian and I were out a little over two hours. I got a little tired once or twice paddling back out. The strong waves, even while in the rip current, can make the paddle out past the breaks tiring. I seem to still get pushed around alot, and I try to be extra careful because I'm on Brian's board and I don't want it to get pushed into the jetty.(I had a jetty encounter last week and while protecting Brian's board, I shredded the top of my foot on the barnacles.) All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon! I hope tomorrow's surfing experience will be just as good, but I fear that it will be like last Sunday when the waves were inconsistent and hard to read and get through.

As part of my usual weekend workout, today (Saturday) I rode my bike and had an outstanding 60-mile ride with the 21+ mph group. It was quite cool at the start. In fact, I was colder at the start of the ride despite having on leggings, a vest, arm warmers and a jacket, than I was in the water yesterday. The only bad thing so far about surfing in the winter isn't the water, but the walk from the water back to the car with wet hair and then having to take the wetsuit off to put on sweats, while cycling in the winter requires me to get through the first 20 miles of freezing and sucking in cold air. Brrrr!

(P.S. This morning -- Sunday -- was a bust. NO WAVES. So, I had to ride again. Beautiful day for a ride, but I sure wish I could have surfed.)