July Doldrums: Missing the Waves

It sure is hot! For some reason, it seems warmer than I remember in a long while, and I'm less tolerant of it this year. I ran at 5:15 a.m. this morning and it seems crazy warm. I don't remember being so drenched with sweat after a run. I finished with six miles, which is what I had planned, but I wished I could have laid down on the bed for just a few minutes for a cat nap. I also had a busy day at work. I received a text message from a surfing friend saying that although the waves were small, He was able to surf early on. Sometimes I wish I lived a little closer to the beach so that I could more routinely show up for dawn patrol. But, I think it would still be a difficult thing to do because of the nature of my work.  I love working early in the morning. I get a lot of work completed before 8 a.m. But, still, it probably wouldn't hurt me to have a few mornings of dawn patrol. After all, I have vacation to burn so that I don't lose it when the new academic year begins Sept. 1.

I have not had many waves to surf the last month because of the summer doldrums…flat water due to lack of wind strength or bad wind direction. But, last Friday, I heard the waves were surfable. I looked at the webcam, but I didn't think they looked surfable. They looked a little too rough for an SUP, but not quite big enough for a surfboard. I took the advice of my friend, though, and loaded my 9'6" and headed to 43rd. I'm so glad I did. I met a friend who had been examining the waves before I got there. He suggested that since the tide was out, it might be easier to walk the board out further than usual. I followed his lead. It was the smart thing to do, and I'm glad he suggested. I caught several waves for the next couple of hours and had a great Friday afternoon. I would have preferred for the waves to be a little more defined and bigger, but at least I had something to surf. By Sunday, the waves were not strong or big enough to surf and a little too rough to use an SUP. The forecast for this weekend does not look good, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I desperately want to get back out in the water and SURF!

Really Small Waves and Some SUP Time

I have been wanting to surf. But, like always, when I am off, there are no waves. I know I have said/wrote it before: The best waves are always Wednesday mornings at 8 or 9 a.m., just as I am about to go to a meeting or right after I finish one. Therefore, I miss the good waves. Of course, no matter what day or time it is, I think many people think they miss the "good waves." I was determined last week to go to surf on Friday afternoon, which is my usual time for surfing. The forecast didn't look great, but by Friday morning, I could see a few little ripples out there. On the webcam Friday morning, it looked as thought a few people were out at 45th. I kept my fingers crossed that it would stay that way until I got off work on Friday afternoon. I originally had planned to got to Surfside, but with the waves being "iffy" at best, I decided Galveston was my best option. Made it to 43rd around 2:30 p.m. and worried that I had almost missed them all. However, I paddled out and noticed there were a few little peelers just for me. I got caught on the inside once, causing me to flip under the water and lose my sunglasses even though they were on a string around my neck. I am always caught off-guard when these things happen. Never even saw this happen. I caught a few little waves and had lots of fun. The beach was quite full because of summer vacations, but I was still able to get out past the crowds in the water. One young lady was out (Autumn) and she was making the waves look pretty and easy. I was in awe of her abilities. A couple of young boys were also out and, of course, they told me how the waves had been bigger in the morning. I chuckled. The only other eventful thing that happened was when the key I wear around my neck became detached from the ribbon it was on and, in slow motion, fell first to the top of the board just as a wave was coming in. Of course, I never saw it again. But, after a $115 visit from a locksmith, I was able to get back in my car. All in all, it was a wonderful afternoon.

By Sunday, it was even smaller than Friday. I loaded up my SUP and met a friend at 43rd for a quick morning session. We had a ball. I hadn't been out on my SUP in awhile, and I still have a lot of learning to do, but I still had fun. I fell off the board twice -- once when I was was wading through the white wash to get out past the break, and another time when my board was knocked awry by the beginning of a wave. If the waves had been a little bigger and stronger, I would have definitely been surfing, but the waves weren't really breaking until they got closer to shore. I started to question my decision of buying such a short SUP, but at the same time, I realize that if the board was bigger, I would definitely have trouble loading and unloading. I think my friend had fun too. As the summer flat spell hangs on as it usually does in July, I'm so glad I can least go out and SUP.

Questions

Where are the waves when I can surf? Why are the best waves early in the morning on days that I have to work? How can I become a better surfer if I don't get out into the waves at least once a week? Where should I go on my next surf trip? Should I stick with my 9' or should I experiment with different sized boards? Do I need another board?

Questions: I have so many questions about so many things. I would certainly like to surf more, but I don't want to give up anything else I do. I love to run and cycle, but I know the only way for me to get better at surfing is to do it more often. I usually get to surf twice a week, but this summer, it seems, has been different. No waves means no surfing. While I got to surf last week twice, this weekend has been a dud. I was hoping to surf tonight, a Tuesday night surprise, and although it looked good early today, it was a bust. A simple phone call resulted in the bad news: IT WAS FLAT! I opted to bicycle when my surfing session fell through. But, I sure wanted to surf.

Although Wednesdays are my run days followed by dinner with friends, Thursdays are wide open and I'm hoping some waves appear. And, I hope they hang on for Friday afternoon and return on Sunday morning. I want some surfing time to strengthen my skills and clear my mind. And, maybe I'll even find a few answers.

Reconnecting with Roxanne

Friday waves were a little
disorganized, but at least we
had enough wind for them.

What a spectacular weekend! I had the opportunity to participate in all of my sports. The Gulf is still pretty flat, but, on Friday, rumor had it there were a few waves. Actually, the "surf dude" called me early on Friday and said that the waves were not bad, verifying the rumor as fact. Of course, by the time I made it down at around 2:15 p.m., the wind had shifted and it was kind of mess. But, hey, I can't complain: WE STILL HAD SURFABLE WAVES! I loaded Roxanne as soon as I got home from work and headed to the island. I drove down the Seawall looking for the best spot, and the waves were better around 36th Street, but because of summer crowds, there was no place to park. So, I drove back to 45th.

I paddled out in the rip current and immediately caught a wave. My timing was good and the ride was spectacular. Of course, I struggled after that. The waves were small and weak AND a little jumbled, so reading which waves to go for was difficult. The "dude" came out to surf with me about 3 p.m., and he made it look easy. It had been a little over two weeks since I had been out, and although that doesn't seem like a long time, when a person is still figuring out the intricacies of a new sport and on a new board, practices means everything. The "dude" caught three waves to my every one. At one point, he said that I wasn't paddling for waves soon enough. I know he's right. I almost always wait a little too late. Part of the problem on Friday was that a few of the times I paddled for a wave, the wave would fizzle out before it made it to me, leaving me worn out and deflated. So, I would wait until I could tell that the wave would make it almost all the way to me, which is way too late. I saw B lose waves, but I could also tell that he had a sixth sense about which waves would stay together until they made it to him. I caught several more waves, but missed several too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I know I still need to practice; in particular, I'm still looking down rather than out when I surf. I HATE THAT! Also, about every third ride I have an awkward pop-up that leaves me feeling like a bird with peg legs struggling to find my balance. I'm able to salvage the ride, but I hate that it happens. I'm very successful turning my board to the left because I'm a goofy-foot, but I also need to practice going right. Oh, there's just so much for me to learn and practice! I hate it that this summer has been so flat.

I heard the waves returned briefly on Saturday, but Saturday is my run/ride day. And, since I have a half marathon coming up soon, I need the cardio. I was hoping to surf again today (Sunday), but it was too flat. In fact, B had to cancel his lessons. The forecast is dismal for the rest of the week, but I'm hoping that changes soon.

Books! I'm looking for a new surfing book to read. The hardest part about choosing surfing books is making sure that you choose one that actually shares valuable information and isn't just a lame story. One of the best I read so far was "The Wave" by Susan Casey, which I read about two years ago. I haven't found another really good one since. But, who knows... I'll just keep looking.  I'll have a little bit of time to do just that. I've been spending a lot of the evening hours watching the Tour de France. It finished today (a Brit won!), so I'll have some spare evening time once again.

Summer doldrums and passing afternoon thunderstorms

I believe I've talked about them before...the summer doldrums...that time during the summer where the waves flatten out. Brian, my surf coach, called me this morning before I headed to Galveston to tell me the waves were fading fast. He was in the middle of a private lesson and, although there had been some small surf for his lesson, the waves were flattening out. I told him I wanted to go anyway. I spoke with Andrea and she desperately wanted to be out on her board also. So we met at our 43rd street pier. Once I arrived I saw just how flat the surf could be. It was definitely going to be a day to practice swimming out and turning the board. And that's exactly what we did. We hauled everything down to the beach and paddled out. A couple of small waves came through for us to practice the pop-up and one or two decent rides. And then, the sky turned black. It started to rain, but there wasn't any thunder and lightening; at least not at first. The wind started to shift and Brian suggested we swim out and over to the other side of the jetty. Just as we made the swim over (I still need to work on arching my back more), we heard the first clap of thunder, which of course means that lightening wasn't far away. Brian thought we should swim in and that's what we did. When we made it to shore, the skies opened and the rain came down hard and fast. The native surfer, Brian, said we should go stand close to the wall for some protection, which we did, but we still got soaked as did our towels and coolers, etc. A beach rat came out to play during the storm and not being a fan of any kind of rodent, I got a little miffed at the creature who thought it might run over to play around our feet. A loud "shoo" kept him away. The rain was the result of a norther heading our way that wasn't going to quite make it all the way through. It would switch the winds a little, cause some rain and, basically, flatten out the seas. Too bad! I'm hoping that the wind shifts enough to give us better waves on Sunday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.