Eeewwwww...SEAWEED

Yuck!!! The seaweed is taking over Galveston beaches. It seems like twice a year, the seaweed becomes a real problem. It's everywhere. When I take the rip out by the 43rd street pier, the seaweed gets in the way. When I finally make it to the end, the seaweed gets tangled in my leash. As a matter of fact, just making sure that the seaweed doesn't pull me off the board becomes a full-time job. Surfer king Brian told me to put the leash up underneath me, but that is much easier said than done. He also told me to make sure that my leash is cleaned off once I get ready to catch a wave. But, again, that is easier said than done. While I have done a fairly decent job of keeping off the leash, every once in awhile, I feel the tug of the seaweed. It fact, it has pulled me off the board on more than one occasion. One might ask, "How can seaweed pull you off the board." But, my answer would be that it is really much easier than you think. Any little thing tugging on the leash can cause me to fall. The attached photo gives some indication how much seaweed is around. I went surfing on Friday and Saturday this week, rather than Sunday. Because I had already planned to cycle in an organized ride -- the Tour de Braz -- on Sunday, I knew that my only time to surf other than Friday would be Saturday. So, after a 40-mile bike ride on Saturday, I loaded up the longboard and went down to Galveston. Like Friday, the waves were very rough. However, it was much better than nothing. I got quite a workout and several long rides. I'm still working on turning the board so that I don't ride all the way to shore. But, that's going to take a lot of practice. I need to turn it and then plop back down to ride back to the outside. ummmm...Who would have ever thought that would be so difficult? But, it is for me. I'm finally turning a bit, but not quick enough. Brian told me to pop up, count to three and then turn. We'll see. I hope I can do that. I'll just have to keep practicing until it does.

P.S. The ride was okay on Sunday. I rode well despite the horrendous winds. I was hydrated well, but still felt drained by the time it was done. Although we had a little bit of a tailwind coming home, the wind didn't seem to be nearly as strong as when we were riding the first half of the ride.

Exciting weekend!

Surf's up...well kind of. That's the report I received on Friday. It was music to my ears since Memorial Day weekend had been a bust. Rob and I, as well as several of our friends including my surfing buddy Robin, stayed at the Tremont House, which put us much closer to the beach. I shouldn't say it was all bad. We had some surf early on Sunday, and a little on Monday early, but the waves were very small. So, when I heard things were better on Friday, I couldn't wait to head down. I finished work and stopped by the house for Petal. It was definitely the right conditions for Petal, rather than Lil' Sis. Since I can't leave Petal in the car all morning because of the heat, I had to leave her at home. I loaded her up as I usually do, packed my things and headed down. I took my usual course, which means I drove down FM1266 to 517 to Hwy 3 before turning on 2004 to make my way to I45. Just after I turned on to 2004 and built my speed back up to about 50 mph, I heard a loud bump. Just as I was thinking, "Wow, I wonder what that was," I noticed my surf board in the rearview mirror bouncing down the road. This was my custom-made Senator board. I pulled over. A truck was behind me, but it was a little ways back and didn't seem to notice the board, which, thankfully, was lying in the other lane. I u-turned and made my way back to the board. I parked on the shoulder and ran to my board. I pulled it over to the shoulder before running to the lane I had been driving in to retrieve the strap. I felt the board through the bag, but decided I WOULD NOT look at it until I got to the beach. I put down the seats of my car, stuck the board inside, and I drove with a heavy heart the rest of the way.

However, imagine my surprise when I pulled the board out of the bag and I didn't see a scratch! The fin had been razored from dragging on the road, but even that is fixable. Psheww! That was a relief. I just knew it had broken in to three big fiberglass pieces. Brian thinks the board bag saved it. At the time, I almost didn't buy the bag, but I sure am glad that I did.

I had a great day surfing, especially once I realized the board was okay. The waves weren't big, but they were enough to play around on and to practice. And, gosh, do I need practice! Brian, Robin and I eventually moved to 25th/Flagship, but the waves were dying as the day progressed. I didn't make it down on Saturday, but I did on Sunday. I made it down early and got in a couple of good hours surfing before I stopped to help Brian with a lesson. Yep, that's right. Brian asked me to help. I mostly just listened and pushed one of the two men taking the lesson into waves, but I still had fun. I need to study up, though, 'cause there's still a lot more to learn. Brian said he would type up some notes for me. That would be good. I know I'm a long way from being able to give a lesson on my own, but acting as an assistant might just be possible. HOW ABOUT THAT??? A part-time surfing instructor assistant? Who would have ever thought?

Another great weekend surfing

Yippee! I got to surf twice this weekend (5/21 and 5/23). Although Friday started out rough down on the beach, by the time I got there in mid-afternoon, the waves were small but quite nice. Since my funboard was still in the shop, I got out the ol' Softop for some 9' fun. I didn't take my 9'6" Petal 'cause I still needed to strip my winter wax off and put on some good, warm water wax. It's definitely almost summer. The water is quite warm now. At any rate, before I surfed, I met with my surf guru Brian and representatives from a Houston radio station who will be broadcasting live from the 43rd Street Pier one day in June. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity for Brian and C-Sick Surfin' He wants me to help, and I definitely will. After the meeting, I went right across the street (we were meeting at the 41st street Underground Surf Depot) to the 43rd street pier. I had already heard how rough the waves had been that morning, but they were looking pretty good by that time. So I unloaded the board, walked it down to the beach and paddled out. I didn't go very far on the outside since they were breaking closer in, but was able to catch some nice little waves that allowed me to practice turning back in. I was able to walk a little on the board also by cross-stepping. All in all, it was a great afternoon.

Sunday turned out to be a more difficult day. I had to be in Santa Fe early for a family lunch, so I had to start surfing early. I was down at the beach before 7:30 a.m. and in the water by 8. It was quite rough, but I had the urge to surf! I was eventually able to catch a few waves, but they were not as easy to catch as Friday. The waves would closeout and cross, making it difficult for a beginner like me to stay up. I got some rides though and was definitely glad I made it out. My friend, Robin, joined me, and, later, our new surfing acquaintance Angie joined us. I got in a solid two hours of surfing before I had to leave to come home, but I'm sure glad I went out. Robin stayed later and got some good rides herself. She was also able to go surfing during the week since she is between semesters. Brian says she is surfing really good these days! I think we are both just having a really good time.