Back at it

With a weather forecast promising  a sunny afternoon after several rainy weeks, I couldn't resist loading up my board and heading to the 43rd Street Jetty. Early morning reports were that waves were about knee high and nice. But, just as I crossed the Causeway and entered Galveston, I got a call from a surfing friend saying it wasn't worth the drive down. The wind had started to blow and was causing the surf to be a mess. I mentioned that it was too late...that I was already on the island and, since I had my board, I was going surfing anyway. I was glad I did. Yes, in fact, the waves were kind of a mess and the current was rough. After taking the rip out, it didn't take long for me or anyone else to be pushed down the beach away from where the stronger waves were breaking. I definitely did a lot of paddling today. I caught my first wave within the first 15 minutes and, from then on, had a blast despite the current and the constant paddling.

From the seawall, waves look
smaller than they actually were.

Although there were only two of us out for the first 30 minutes or so that I got in the water, a steady stream of surfers paddled out for the next two hours while I was surfing. Because the wind was blowing out of the east and pushing us west, the waves were breaking to the left and right, which was good for me as a goofy-footer who is usually surfing the wrong direction on the wave no matter how hard I try to go the other way. For the most part, it seems Galveston is perfect for regular footers, but, on occasion, the messy waves break both directions and goofy-footers get to go right. Stayed out for a little over two hours, and, all in all, had a great time. I'm tired tonight, though. I guess I'm just not used to the paddling since.

I'm back to working a 9-40 schedule,which should give me a few free Friday afternoons to get out. And, with the longer days, I should make it down for a couple of after-work evening sessions as well. I'm determined to make the most of my surfing experiences this summer. I still need to work on looking out instead of down. However, even if I don't, I'm sure I'll still have fun and that's what surfing is all about -- having FUN!

April Already?!?

I can't believe that it's April already. I haven't published a post since February. I started one in March, but for some unknown reason, I never finished it. My March post began with a description of my February marathon. I ran my sixth marathon at the end of February in New Orleans; my third in five months. I didn't have a record-breaking finish time, but anytime you can finish a marathon, you should feel good about yourself. I've signed up for the Houston Marathon in January 2017, but other than that, I don't have any other full marathons taking place. I'm still running, but it feels good not to have to run a 12-, 15- or 18-mile training run. Last week, my run group opted for bridge repeats on the Kemah Bridge. I'm proud to say I completed 4 1/2 complete up-and-overs for a total of 8 miles. With an upcoming half marathon later this month, I probably need at least a 10-miler this weekend. Alas, I digress. This is a blog about surfing.

Once again, waves have been sporadic with the best ones coming during the middle of the week in the middle of the day while I'm at work. The weekends have been flat. The good thing about mid-week waves this time of year is that the sun is out long enough to allow for an after-work surf session. Last Thursday (3/31), everyone with a surfboard went surfing. The wind shifted from the north/northeast and the waves were nice. The problem was that the winds were incredibly strong as was the current. I made it down to Gtown before 6. Because of crowds, I ended up at Flagship, which wasn't nearly as crowded because of the current. I paddled out near the pier, which had a strong rip current to pull me along. However, the current was rough -- very rough -- and I got pulled out. I could see the surfable waves midway between the Pleasure Pier and the jetty. However, trying to swim to the waves was nearly impossible. I kept getting pushed back to the pier, which was tiring and disturbing. Finally, I decided I needed to be a little bit more on the inside. Once I paddled in a little, I caught a few waves. I paddled out once or twice more, but used the rip near the jetty rather than the pier. I always ended up back on the inside. However, I caught a few waves there, so it was the better place for me. All in all, I had a great time. I can't wait to get back out.

The forecast for waves has been dismal, although I noticed that sloppy knee- to waist-high waves are forecasted for tomorrow (Sunday, 4/10), which may be good enough to get me back out in the water. I completed a brick workout today (Saturday, 4/9), so I got in a good weekend cardio workout. And the paddling will help me too. A good little surf session will help round out the weekend.

Catching a Few On a Tuesday Evening

A little over a week ago, a front passed the coast at just the right time with just the right energy. Those who had the day off or took a little time off, had some of the best waves of the season so far. Waves were rumored to be 6-8 ft., although I always find that hard to believe when I'm looking at the webcam. Because of the angle of the camera at 43rd and the placement above the coast the waves always look small. The waves looked a little bigger on the 37th camera, and although I couldn't tell if they were 6 or 8 feet, I could tell that they were beautiful. Tons of surfers were out, and I was jealous of them. I've been on deadline with a big project so taking time off was not an option for me. Later that night, many of my surfing Facebook friends talked about their afternoon and it sounded glorious. Although there were  few lingering waves on Friday, I still couldn't make it down to 43rd and, by Saturday, it was flat.

Tuesday night surf session was fun

Monday afternoon started to show promise. And the forecast for Tuesday was even better. It was correct. Since the SwellInfo forecast had predicted such good waves on Tuesday, I loaded my board on the off chance that we would have a repeat of the previous Thursday. Tuesday morning, Galveston once again had 6-8 ft waves. By that afternoon, the waves had gotten quite a bit smaller, but were still well-formed and 3-5 ft. When I made it to 43rd, at a little after 4 o'clock, I found about eight surfers still out. I paddled out and immediately caught a wave. I struggled a little after that because the waves were more intermittent and less easy to read than they had been earlier in the day. I played for another hour or so and had a ball, despite the trouble I had reading the waves. I caught about four or five before it got a little too dark. As I got out of the water at dusk, five or so surfers were still out. But they only had about 15 minutes before it was too dark.

By Wednesday morning, it was flat, and it has been flat for the rest of the week. The forecast doesn't look good either. A couple of fronts have crossed the coast since Tuesday, but the waves haven't built enough for the fronts to clean them up. We need a strong South or SWS wind to build mushy disorganized waves so that the next front can clean it up and build the waves. Maybe next weekend? Keeping my fingers crossed.