Really Cold, Really Fast

Sunday selfie

Cold weather is here…already. It seems like we went from warm to cold in no time this year. The only good thing is that the leaves are changing and the beauty of fall surrounds me. I witnessed a pretty scene last Friday during my usual bicycling commute to work and my weekly visit to a wetland area near my work. Pretty orange and gold leaves surrounded the damp wooden walkway, and it made me feel at peace. I'm particularly glad that I've been able to bicycle to work and for recreation. I've also been able to run. But, when it comes to surfing, I've not gotten to surf as much as I'd like. As I've mentioned before, timing is everything for surfing in the fall. The cold fronts move in and if the swell has already been built, then the north wind cleans up the waves. And, as I've also mentioned, I have to be near the water when the waves clean up because they are not going to last long. I rarely get there fast enough, which means I don't get the clean waves very often.

The past couple of weeks, cold front after cold front has crossed the coast. I've missed them all so far this year. Work is unusually busy and full this year, and the fronts always come through on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. And, with the days growing shorter, I can't make it down after work because it gets dark too early. But I still have the weekends. I had some bad news concerning my usual Friday afternoon surf sessions. Beginning in 2015, I won't be able to get off early on Fridays anymore. My 9-40 schedule has been replaced with five 8s. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. Until then, I hope to get some Friday afternoon surfing in. This past Friday, though, the wind and the rain made it impossible to surf.

By Sunday, the wind had kicked up some surf. It was a messy, windy, cold day, but I knew I had to go surfing. My surfing pals gave me mixed reviews about the waves. A couple of surfers said it wasn't worth going out, while others said that if you have a board and time, to always, always go surfing. That's what I did Sunday. When I made it to the 43rd Street jetty, no one else was out. A couple of people were out at the Pleasure Pier, but I decided to just stay where I was. I paddled through the windy chop and made it past the end of the jetty. Missed the first few waves, even got pummeled by one, but by the fourth one, I was able to pop up and have some fun. The rest of my surf time was hit or miss. I missed more than I caught, but the ones I caught made it all worthwhile. All of the waves I caught were whitewater, probably because being on the outside Sunday meant paddling way out, which was nearly impossible in all the windy chop. By the time I left, several other surfers were catching waves…all on the inside. I also had to wear my 5-4 wetsuit. I haven't had to wear my 5-4 this early since I started surfing. Most of the time, I don't usually wear the thick suit until January. I'm usually just barely getting in my 3-2 about now. Unfortunately, I think I'll be in the 5-4 until spring. But, at least I can surf. And, that's all that matters.

Here and There and 3-2 Wetsuits

We're in the season…not just the holiday season…the season that includes cold fronts blowing through, beautiful, "California"-like waves pushing to shore and wetsuits. I've surfed three or four times since my last post, but not on my usual surf days. When the cold fronts come through, the SSE wind-generated waves get cleaned up by the north wind. If I'm lucky and I've planned everything correctly, I'm surfing when it happens.

The first Thursday surf session (a couple of weeks ago) took place after work, right before we set the clocks back for the return of fall. I made it to G-town around 5:30 and surfed until after 7, well after dark. I was the last one out of the water, but I was having so much fun that I didn't want the sun to go down. I originally went out on the east side of the jetty with most of the other surfers, but, because of the crowd, I decided to join the one other surfer located on the west side. He seemed to be catching quite a few and once I located the sweet spot, I started catching a couple too. I stayed on the west side of the jetty for the rest of the night. The guy surfing also gave me tips. The waves were a little hard to read, but he offered advice about which ones would make it all the way to me.

Although it rarely happens,
I love when the cold
fronts come through
on the weekend.

I surfed on the wests side of the 43rd street jetty on Friday also. By then, everyone was out -- east side and west side. The waves were definitely clean and fun. One of the most fascinating things about that afternoon, was the family that was out surfing near me. Three little blond children, probably under the age of 10, on boards that were possibly 4 ft or shorter were surfing the waves next to me. And, they were doing quite well. Their father was out on a stand-up paddleboard and was also doing quite well catching waves. I had a ball watching them surf. What fun to see their entire family surfing one waver after another. The waves were definitely smaller than the night before, but they were also fun. I surfed for about three hours and loved every minute of it.

A front moved through again this past Thursday. A local weather forecaster had predicted it would come in early Thursday. I woke up with a severe headache, went back to sleep for about a half an hour,  woke up and was fine. I looked at the webcam to see the surf cleaning up nicely. I loaded a board and headed to G-town, and I'm so glad I did. I got a couple of hours of surfing in before I had to paddle in and drive back to the mainland for work. I surfed at 43rd, although when I first arrived, the best waves were at the Pleasure Pier. However, it was so crowded there, I knew I needed to surf elsewhere. By the time I was loading up to leave, approximately 6-8 surfers were out at 43rd with me. Caught a couple of marvelous waves, and felt wonderful about taking a couple of vacation hours to get in some surf time. The only unhappy part of this morning surf session was that I had to wear my 3-2 wetsuit for the first time since last spring. It seems early for me to have to wear a wetsuit because for the past couple of years, I haven't needed a full suit until December. But, I guess this year, I'll be wearing one from now until spring. Oh well, it's a small price to pay for having so much fun!

Surf Here and There

I've surfed three times in two weeks. I missed last week because of an out-of-town conference in D.C. that I had to attend, but I was able to go during the week when a rare norther moved through, and I went down after work. The waves were awesome. I had gone down a few days earlier and had a marvelous session because of well-formed waves and sets. So, when I thought I could do it again on a Tuesday, I loaded up the board and made it down about 5:30. I had about an hour-and-a-half of good surfing before the sun went down, and I surfed until the very last minute. What a blast! Many were out because of the waves, and I was glad I was one of them. I didn't see any other women, but they could have just been at another jetty. I caught multiple waves that night and had such fun!

I didn't get to surf
during my conference, but
I did get to pose with
a wax JFK.

The D.C. conference put a wrench in surfing and/or SUPing until I returned this week. Of course, by Thursday, it was FLAT. I kept my fingers crossed and the tide changed. By today, it was rough and choppy. However, I knew I wanted … no, I needed… to go out. Today (Sunday) after my 12-mile marathon-training run, I drove to the 43rd street jetty, got out and watched the waves to see if they could be surfed. Occasionally a set would come in that looked promising, but I decided to drive further down the beach just to see if there were more waves. I made it to 37th and sat on the seawall for a little watching the waves. I noticed that the waves on the west side of the jetty were actually cleaning up very nicely. I went out and after the first two or three waves, I knew that I had done the right thing. While no one was out before I went in, I was joined by a young guy approximately 30 minutes after arriving. By the time I was leaving an hour or so later, four surfers were out. I'm so glad I went out. The waves were fun. I look forward to going out again.