Timing, timing, timing ...

 (https://youtu.be/5bhmDaYfj5I)

Now that I'm retired, I should have more time on my hands. And, I guess I do, but it sure gets away from me. I forget the day and I definitely forget the time. Just the other day I made the mistake of going to the grocery store at 5:30 p.m. I was surprised at how packed it was until I realized that everyone was off of work and doing their on-the-way-home shopping. My timing was definitely off that day.

This week, Galvestonians and Houstonians focused on the weather. Hurricane Delta had crossed into the Gulf and was scheduled to strengthen. Forecasters promised that the trajectory of the storm would change and, thankfully for us, it did. Louisiana folks weren't quite as lucky, and they braced for their second storm in a month. These storms are definitely causing stress for everyone, but they are also providing some waves to all of us Gtown/Surfside/Corpus Christi surfers. During this particular storm, I made it to Gtown on Thursday evening with a friend from my former job and paddled into waves that were knee-to-waist-high and borderline clean. While they got quite big on Friday, they didn't clean up again until late Friday. I think a couple of very skilled, local surfers were waiting on the shore for these momentary clean waves. I watched on the cam. Much to my surprise, I noticed on a couple of the wave forecasts that the forecast for Saturday called for clean knee- to thigh-high waves. Those are my kind of waves ... perfect in size. I couldn't believe it, nor could most who thought it would either be flat or too rough still, but I knew I wanted to be ready for early Saturday morning just in case. And, I was sure glad that I was. The waves were beautiful, California-esque sets that could be read and rode. The only unfortunate thing about this outing was my inability to paddle into the waves -- timing -- something I've struggled with for a long time.

On Saturday, I was determined not to be pushed out of the line by more aggressive surfers. I shouldn't have worried about it because the sets and the waves were long and generous. There was room for everyone and defined sets and waves long enough and spaced out enough for many to ride. I can say that I caught two solid waves, but I should have been able to catch more of them because they were so perfect. I almost caught a couple of them, but probably stopped paddling too soon. My friend Brian says I need to paddle sooner. What's odd is that I didn't have as much trouble last year, but suddenly this year, I'm struggling. My timing is off. My surf friend Dave was having the same trouble on Saturday, not able to catch a wave. Some in the lineup were catching everything heading their way. A couple of others were catching every other wave. I don't have any trouble riding the line once I catch the waves, but I don't want to have to wait for the wave to break before I catch it. I've watched videos, but I think the only way to really learn the timing is to surf .... surf .... surf, which I hope to do this fall.

To practice my footwork ON the board, I have taken up skateboarding. I bought my first longboard earlier this summer. It is a 6'6" Hamboards Classic. I love it and it is perfect for land paddling. Since then, I've bought a shorter 4'2" Braap Big Wheel Fiberglass Camber Longboard that is a low profile longboard with large narrow wheels, which provide a softer ride. I also bought a 19" Bamboo Egg Longboard, which is actually a mini longboard. It's much easier to carry than my Classic longboard, but it is also harder to maneuver on the cracks in the parking lot in which I practice. Ninety percent of the time I use my Classic, and I really believe it helps me find my balance and maneuver my surfboard. I love it! 

For the past few years, I also have been considering buying a GoPro. I searched Amazon and couldn't convince myself to buy a $350 camera. I bought a $70 no-name action camera instead. It came with a small bag of accessories, which I love. The clip attached is from the camera and shows me practicing my turns on the Classic. I still struggle with the right-hand turn, which is not that unusual for a goofy-footer like me.

Revitalized: Retirement, surfing and so much more

During the past few years, I didn't have any extra time or, perhaps I should say, extra writing energy to contribute to this blog. I definitely didn't have much time to surf. At the end of August, I retired from a job I had been blessed to have for 21 years. It had been a job I loved for many years, but earlier this year I realized that it had been sucking the life energy from me. I am not saying I did not still enjoy a large portion of what I did for my living, but I had reached a point in my career where I felt like there was more I wanted to do. And, I decided early this year that it was time for me to find my passion again. While I look for it, I am planning to have some fun.

Because of pure mental exhaustion, I did not surf much early this year. In fact, I do not think I even paddled out once this year in my wetsuit. It was well into spring before I made it out. Since retiring in August, I have probably surfed more than I had up until this point in 2020. Last week, I made it out three days in pretty waves formed by an early fall cold front that changed the wind direction. Because they were a little weak, I had the opportunity to practice my paddling and timing, which is practice I always need. Quite a few wonderful waves came through, but I caught about four waves for every 60, but the ones I caught made it all worthwhile. I rode some pretty little lines and established that I need to paddle earlier when the wave isn't quite defined. I noticed that some of the other surfers were catching quite a few and that the shortboarders were actually paddling a little later. Basically, I've been studying the waves for over 10 years now and Galveston waves are difficult to read AND understand. I plan to keep practicing so that I can catch even more when another northeast wind blows through. 

On another note, I bought a new surfboard. It is a sweet little 7'11" Rockin' Fig fun board I am calling Adele. I am still pretty much a longboarder, and will likely always be a longboarder, but the lure for a shorter board was too much. I found it in a Facebook group and couldn't resist the price. I have had two other funboards in the past that I have ultimately sold to others hoping to transition to a shorter board. Now that I have a little more time on my hand maybe I can make the leap this time. A surfing friend of mine suggested I make it wall art. It is certainly pretty enough, but I think I'll keep Adele with the rest of the quiver for a little while longer in case some more strong waves present themselves.

Where has the time gone?

What a busy few months! It's not that I haven't been surfing since May, but I haven't had time to post about it. In June, I had some fabulous surfing days early in the month. A couple of last-minute "cold" fronts (actually, they were just some fronts from the north) cleaned up the waves for some fantastic after-work and Sunday morning surfing. I surfed a few times throughout July too. But, as usual, by the end of June the summer flats took over and forced me to bring out my SUP. A little over a month ago, a friend and I went out on a Friday morning to find a quiet beach waiting for us.

A crazy summer! One of
my surf sessions was
 early August.
8/7/16

We met early at the 43rd Street Jetty and appeared to have the beach to ourselves. It was completely flat, and the water had that clear blue look that only happens after a north wind cleans it up. Although it wasn't as blue as a true winter norther makes it, the water was clearer than it had been since later April or early May. We paddled for a couple of hours and had a blast. The only unfortunate part of the morning was an incident with my shoes and a handle. I wear some old blue flip-flops to the beach. I bought them shortly after I started surfing. They weren't expensive shoes, but they were my standbys. I had left them on the beach before while I surfed and never had a problem. I also had a plastic SUP handle that also should have been safe on the beach. But, all it took was a a paddle a few jetties away and, by the time I made it back to 43rd, the shoes and the handle was gone. I walked down the beach looking for them and found a couple of thugs acting suspicious. I asked if they had seen my shoes, and they denied it. Oh well, trying hard not to sweat the small stuff...and it's really all small stuff.

A family illness has kept me busy for most of July and the early part of August. I'm not ready to really write about it just yet. And, because the story is not mine to share, I need to ask permission before I do so. But, I will say that it has been a an emotionally draining experience. And, the outcome to the most recent test has been good. Add to the mix that in early July, I was injured in a car accident. I was lucky. I had a fractured pelvic ring in the front and back, which was painful, but not sidelining. After a couple of appointments, I found out that the fracture was a stable one, which meant I didn't really have to give up any activities long term, but I would probably have to ease back into my running, cycling and surfing slowly. With that said, I only really missed a couple of weeks of surfing and even then, I don't think that the waves were great for both weeks.

I was excited to get out this weekend. I had a full schedule of activities planned. Friday afternoon is one of my usual surf days, so I loaded up and headed down around 3. The tide was out, but I could see some fun waist-high waves coming through. I paddled out in the rip and quickly found out what the struggle would be -- the current. I was pushed down the beach. I had noticed that a couple of short boarders were out, but they were staying on the inside because of the current. I caught a wave and took it left, which meant that I had quite a walk back to the rip on the inside of the jetty. From then on, I worked at staying closer to the jetty. I still had a couple of short walks, but I managed to stay relatively close. All in all, I had a wonderful time. I thought I might be able to make it back out again on Sunday (today), but mixed reviews on the wave report and other plans kept me from making it down. However, I'm looking forward to next weekend!