Disappointing Weekend and Weeknight Surf Reports

So tonight was going to be the night for me. After finding out there were no waves on Friday and that the Saturday and Sunday surf was a small mess, I was just sure that I would go surfing one night this week. I had hoped for tonight. I looked at the surf report early this morning and it mentioned that, perhaps, the wind would lighten up this evening and even change to be a little more from the north. If that happened, the mushy, small waves would clean up a bit for the afternoon. I looked at the webcam periodically throughout the day, but it didn't look like things were going as predicted unfortunately. At 4:30, I spoke with my Galveston contact who said the wind was howling, the tide was out, the current was strong and the waves were mush. I was sure sad to hear it and even contemplated heading down to the 43rd Street jetty anyway.  I thought, "It can't be any worse than it was last Sunday...or could it?" I looked at the webcam over and over, walked outside to look at the approaching weather and, ultimately, decided that it just wasn't in the cards for me to surf tonight. Too bad! The forecast for this weekend doesn't look all that good either. I'm antsy to get back out; not sure why.

When I can't go surfing I usually
can find something else to keep
me busy: either running or cycling!

Because I didn't go surf, I decided that I had to do something to fill the time. I was a little late for spin class and the wet roads from earlier rain as well as the dark clouds made cycling unsafe. I opted for a run. I'm still recovering from my marathon a couple of weeks ago, but need to keep on my two-days-a-week plan since I have been accepted to run in the Houston Marathon coming up in January. Also, with the cloud cover, I realized it would be a little cooler tonight. And, I was right. I decided I would run six miles. I made it three miles before the clouds that had been building shook loose. I got drenched, but the rain made it a much cooler run than I have had since May. I also only had a couple of steps of knee clicking, which is good since I've been worried about that. It went away early in the run and didn't return. Thank goodness. While I had a good evening, I still would have rather been surfing!

Holiday Weekends, Wind and Rough Waves

During the middle of last week, the winds shifted and G-town was flat. I was very disappointed since it was a holiday week, and I would have Thursday off to do some surfing. I opted for my other sports instead since the wind was light and it was flat. The flatness lingered into Friday, but an increase in the south wind caused the waves to get a little bigger by Saturday, and a strengthening of the winds on Saturday afternoon, made Sunday waves a mess. However, waves, at least, had formed! I struggled with whether I should head down on Saturday afternoon or take my chances and wait until Sunday morning. The weather forecast called for rain on Sunday, and I didn't want to be rained out of surfing. Of course, surfing in the rain is not a problem, though surfing in lightning is. After mentally leaping back and forth about whether to head down there or not, I opted to take my chances and wait until Sunday.

Rough and windy

I lucked out! The rain and, more importantly, the lightning stayed away. The wind had picked up and that, coupled with a strong current, made the waves a mess. However, I was itching to get back in the water, so I headed down. Just so happens I ran into a friend/coworker and his son out surfing. They warned me that it would be hard getting to the outside. They had opted to stay a little closer to shore in the whitewater. Of course, I had to give it a try. While the two of them stood on the end of the jetty, I took the rip current to the end of it. I immediately got pushed back by a wave. I tried over and over, but soon tired and decided that I, too, would stay closer to the shore and catch reforms. My friend/coworker said that he had also tried to make it to the outside and couldn't. Of the four or five surfers out, only two were on the outside. I watched a shortboarder manipulate his way past the waves and current by duck diving, which is impossible on my 9' board. I didn't give up completely. At least two other times during my session I attempted to make my way to the outside. Both times I collided with waves and disaster. I had fun on the inside whitewater, but even getting back out into some sort of reform line-up was difficult. All in all, it was great to be back out on the board since it had been two weeks, but I sure wish the wind had lightened up just enough to make it a little less difficult to get to the outside.

Hmmmm....maybe next week...

Top 20 Surf Destinations -- an Article to Make Me Dream

Blah! That's what the waves have been like lately when I'm off.  I was planning to go surfing Friday, but received a call saying that the waves were not worth it. In addition, since the Fourth of July is just around the corner, vacationers have invaded G-town for a few weeks. If I couldn't get there by 7 a.m., then it wouldn't be worth trying to squeeze my way in. The waves were wishy-washy and what ever surfable waves there were, they were loaded with surfers. I was bummed I didn't get to go on Friday afternoon, but it was probably for the best since I am also still fighting a cold I picked up in San Francisco. (I've since read that running a marathon can weaken a person's immune system.) Although ill on Saturday, I still managed to run three miles and cycle 45. I've had at least two people suggest that I'm not giving my body enough time to heal itself, but I think that if I feel like doing it, I should do it and that my body will recover on its own time.

On Sunday, I was looking forward to some pretty little waves. In a strange turn of events for June, the wind shifted out of the north. I wasn't sure that it would be strong enough to make a difference, but when I woke up that morning, I looked on the webcam and saw pretty little peelers with approximately five or six surfers already taking advantage of them. I had some early morning commitments, but hoped that the waves would hold until I could make it down around 10 a.m. However, a 9 a.m. phone call suggested that it was NOT worth a drive down. The waves, while still coming in pretty sets, had diminished significantly. Most of the surfers were gone. And, the beach was packed! I definitely could tell that it was the beginning of a holiday week. So, once again, I DIDN'T GET TO SURF. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this week. I might even try for an early surf session on the 4th as long as I can get down there really early and get out before the crowds get too big. (Surf reports don't look good for waves though.)

I really like Twitter for a number of reasons. One of the things I like about it is that I can follow many surf sites and receive information about surf equipment, trips and more. On Sunday I was looking at my Twitter feed and saw several of the surfing sites post a story from CNN about the Top 20 Surfing Destinations. I've posted about lists like this before...possibly even a list CNN put out last year. But, I never get tired of reading them and dreaming about some of the places I'd like to go. I've been to two of the destinations on the list this year (Freights Bay, Barbados and Tamarindo, Costa Rica). I hope to go to some of the others during my lifetime.

Happy reading!

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/30/travel/50-surf-spots/index.html?iref=allsearch