Rough winds and seas

Finally, the waves return with a vengeance only the wind is blowing so hard that they are a mess! Even taking the rip out was tough. Because of the horrendous road construction taking place on Seawall Blvd., I decided to surf at 36th street. A handful of other surfers had found their way to 36th also. I had some great rides though; enough for me to think the trip was very worthwhile on Friday (10/22). Friday afternoons are the times I really look forward to for surfing. I can often get to the beach before many people are off of work and get in a couple of good hours of surfing. I took my 9'6", which was good for me in the rough stuff, but not so good for hauling the surfboard in and out of the water. When the wind is blowing so strong, I'm forced to carry my board parallel to the ground, which really stretches out my arm and eventually makes it seem much heavier. If I carry it perpendicular to the ground, which is much more manageable to control, the wind will catch it and blow me around on the seawall. It's almost like having a sail except that I can't use the wind to propel me forward. All in all, Friday was a good surf day -- good rides and, finally, some waves.

By Sunday, the winds had calmed a little and the waves were big enough for me to use my 7'2". However, although the winds had calmed, it was still rough and what was left of the prevailing winds sent us east. This meant that I had to surf on the east side of the 37th street pier, my new surfing hangout since the road resurfacing project is still taking place near 43rd. (I hate parking near 43rd when the lines have been eliminated. I feel vulnerable parking without the lines.) I only had a couple of rides on Sunday, but I got a lot of practice paddling thourgh strong currents on my shorter board, which is a good thing. I still need a lot of practice though!

Whirlwind, but no wind really

What a whirlwind the last three weeks have been. Things have just been crazy! I tried to blame it on a full moon a few weeks ago, but I can't do that really. Sometimes, life is like the waves I try to surf...just so unpredictable. I know that often the waves look perfect from shore, but once I paddle out, I just can't seem to find them. I mean I'll sit on my board, look back, think I know when it's coming only to get into position and, somehow, miss the wave. And, such is life. All the planning in the world can't prepare a person for what's just beyond the next corner.

I started surfing at 37th street pier a couple of weeks ago for a change. Of course, I should say that I've only surfed there once because during the past couple of weeks, the waves have disappeared. I enjoyed surfing there though, and met some of the surfers who routinely surf at that pier. Not sure why the waves are so bad this fall. Last year, I surfed just about every weekend. When looking back at posts, I noticed that I also started to wear a springsuit by this time. When I surfed at the 37th street pier, I wore my 2m short-sleeved rash guard with just a bathing suit. I was fine in the water, but was quite chilly sitting outside of the water. I noticed on g-townsurf.com that the water temperature is in the 70s, which means fall is definitely upon us.

I'm bummed that I didn't have any waves to surf this weekend, but I think that, maybe, the lack of waves offers me an opportunity to re-assess life and to realize that I don't really know what's happening next even if I do plan.

Evening surf and why it's so great!

I almost named this The Way It Makes Me Feel (part 2). During this past summer, I would drive occasionally to Galveston after work to surf in the evening. Well, now that it's September, I thought I should do it a few more times before it gets dark too early. The waves had been pretty good during the past week, even a little rough early in the week, but they were calming a little; possibly calming a little too fast. I kept studying my swellinfo app on the phone, and the forecasters were suggesting completely flat water (zero surf) for the weekend. Thursday was going to be my last hope. Since I was going to be attending an Egret magazine photo shoot in Pearland, there was a good chance that I would be on the road by 5 p.m. or shortly thereafter. I would actually make it there faster than if I was going from work. It was a straight shot. So I loaded my Softop, did the work and headed to Galveston. It was a gorgeous evening to be on the island. I made it by 6 p.m. and noticed several surfers already out at the 43rd street pier. Now, here's the downside to all of this: Brian, my surfing guru/dude, called me earlier in the day to tell me that, yes, surfable waves did exist, but that the sea lice were awful. I had experienced them a little a few weeks earlier, but Brian said that Thursday was the worst he had seen them in a long while. One of his instructors, Travis, had also told him that they were bad for him on Thursday. So, here I was on a Thursday night ready to surf, actually needing to surf, and almost a little hesitant to get in the water because of the sea lice. The thing about the sea lice is that they wash off easily, but they can leave little rash-like bites. I decided to throw caution to the wind because, after all, we had waves.

The waves were much smaller by the time I had made it, but I still had some great rides. Two other females were out surfing, which is something I don't see often. They were good and fun to watch. One of the guys surfing chose to stay close to the gals, and he, too, was magic to watch. Amazing! I aspire to surf like they did. Catching the waves and popping up looked effortless to them, while I had trouble catching waves and even pearled a couple of times when I did. But, I just need to keep practicing. I had several great rides that gave me that fabulous feeling that is indescribable. I need to work on looking out instead of down, and to start paddling a little sooner. Practice makes perfect. Now, all I need are some good consistent waves!

(Friday, Saturday and Sunday look as though they will be FLAT.)