Pretty Little Waves and a Day Off

A day off is much better than an off day! So goes the classic greeting card saying. But I'm getting ahead of myself. I've been dying to get back into the water since last Sunday. I have a couple of good "rides," and the next thing I know, it's time to get out of the water and wait until the next week. Of course, by the time this past Friday rolled around, it was flat. I think I've shared my theory already about why it is so flat this summer. In case I happen to come back and try to read this again, I'll go ahead and re-post my theory: I think that for the past four years, I've just been incredibly lucky with the waves. And, I think the reason I've been so lucky is because of El Nino. For the past few years, we've been an El Nino "dry" pattern. The waves have been strong out of the south all summer, which gave us choppy, crazy waves, but waves nonetheless. However, this year, we've had a little more rain, and it's not quite as hot. They say we are experiencing drought conditions, but I think the rain has come fairly regularly this year. I know it's not as bad as it has been for the last four or so years. (My theory may be hogwash. Haven't researched it much, just jumping to conclusions based on what I see.) And, this year, the waves have been very inconsistent...especially on the weekend. Also, this year, when we have had waves, they've been clean, consistent sets because of a strange north wind. This weekend was a fine example.

As I stated earlier, Friday was flat. However, by Saturday, the webcam showed waves building, and

Strange, north winds this summer
are good for the waves.
A pic from Sunday.

when I drove to G-town on Saturday night for a birthday dinner, the waves were nice. I wished I would have had my board with me for sure! I was hoping that they would hold out until Sunday. And they did...sort of. The nice sets were there, but they were fewer an farther between. I made my way to the island early, unloaded Roxanne and hopped in the water. I caught a wave right away and worked it down the beach. I felt proud. I caught a few more, but, for the most part, I just paddled and missed. The waves were not very strong, so only a few were surfable. Those that were "strong" enough, provided wonderful rides. But, figuring out which ones were strong enough was a chore for me. I paddled and paddled. One of the other surfers suggested that my paddling was too shallow and that more of my hand needed to go in the water. The interesting thing about that was that he wasn't catching any more than me. Of course, I believe that I was shallow with my paddling. I decided then and there that I would return on Monday if there were waves.

I had planned a day of vacation for Monday based on surf reports early last week that we would have waves because of a tropical system moving into the Gulf.  By late Sunday, the forecast wasn't nearly as hopeful. And, by this morning, I thought it looked quite flat. My surf report confirmed what I was seeing on the webcam. So, I decided to go on a bike ride. By the time it was over, I had a text message that it had improved quite a bit. I loaded up Roxanne and headed down. The waves were smaller than they had been on Sunday, but if patient, a nice little set would roll in. Like Sunday, I caught a wave right off the bat. However, I had to wait a little while for another set. I practiced my paddling. I dug deep, and it seemed to pay off a couple of times. I received some more advice from another surfer. He said that I needed to look behind me on days like today so that I could see how the wave was closing out. I think he told me that because, a couple of times, I couldn't quite propel myself to the next re-form to keep riding the waves. I felt like I was doing as well as some of the others who were out, but I think this particular surfer just thought I could have gotten a longer ride if I had "swung" the board a little to the left to catch the remainder of the wave. Like the paddling advice, I will definitely do as he suggested. I have a tendency to look down or straight in front of me; I need to practice looking elsewhere. I'm hoping to get to "practice" it some more next Friday!

On the Board Again at Last!

FINALLY! After three weeks of flatness, today I found waves at the 43rd Street jetty. The Surfline forecast has looked dismal, and it has actually been quite accurate. I don't remember having this many days during the summer unsurfable, not that I've been surfing for that long. However, for the past four years, I could always count on a few windblown peaks during July and August on my usual Friday afternoon and early Sunday morning outings that I could play around on with a long enough board. That has not been the case this summer. The only small, rideable waves have come during the week when I am at work. If I understand it all properly, a high pressure system has been sitting over part Texas and the Gulf, which has kept the wind from circulating the right direction and kicking up the waves.

I have a general workout plan each week. I usually run early on Saturdays before going to my bicycle rides; on Sundays I surf, while Monday is a rest day; on Tuesday, I cycle; on Wednesday, I run; on Thursday, I cycle; and Fridays I surf. My schedule has been strange lately, so my workout schedule has been a little skewed, but, most of all, Galveston hasn't had any waves during my regular surfing time. Because of rain yesterday, I didn't get to run and decided I would do it on Sunday. After all, Surfline was forecasting really small, slow surf, which means I probably wasn't going to need to hurry home and load up the board. 5:15 a.m. came early, but I knew my only chance for running would be if I got out of the house early before it became unbearably hot. By the time I returned from my 4.25-mile, I had a text from surfer "dude" letting me know that the surf was the best it had been for the past few days. (It wasn't great, but it was surfable!) So, I headed down to G-town.

I wish I knew psychic who
could tell me when
I would have waves.

Just as I was pulling up to the seawall, I received a text from an old friend I hadn't seen for a couple of years. He said he was in town and wanted to know how the surf was. I said that we had waves for the first time in weeks and noticed, to my surprise, that he had pulled in behind me to park. I was thrilled to see him. He moved to Dallas a couple of years ago and doesn't get to surf as often as he likes. I ran into several other friends, who had also just arrived. Everyone was excited to finally have waves on the weekend. Initially, I struggled because the waves lacked force. My timing was a little off also. However, after about 20 minutes, I caught my first wave and the rest of the morning was a blast! I, literally, dropped in on a few waves that allowed me to turn and guide my board. I received some good advice from a surfing friend who suggested I would probably catch more waves if I scooted my body up on the board. I did it and caught the next wave. It allowed the board to be "picked up" since the back was slightly up higher for the wave. I realized, though, that in that position I had to get up quickly or I would pearl. All in all it was a great morning.

Good friends AND waves! Who could ask for more?

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.