Surfing Bob Hall Pier and Packery Channel

Yesterday I headed back out to Bob Hall Pier.  Met a couple of surfers out there short boarding.  I really didn't catch any good waves, the waves I caught I wound up falling off my board.  I finally broke down an scraped off the old crusty, disgusting wax off my board.  I've had that wax on there way too long, any wax I lay down on top of it just rubs off.  After having a frustrating day of trying to surf, I left and swung by Wind, Wave and Surf shop to pick up some more wax.  I grabbed a couple blocks of Mr. Zoggs Sex Wax Bumps, but it was a new formula for cold water that was advertised as twice as sticky.  I talked to the guys at the shop - really awesome, friendly dudes, by the way - and they gave me advice for surfing down at Packery channel. They also said you didn't want too much wax on your board either. 

I headed out around 4 pm today and finally broke down an purchased a beach pass from the Stripes / Valero gas station for $12 to keep things legal and headed out to the south jetty at the Packery Channel. The advice I was given was to get pretty close to the jetty where the waves were smaller and then cut out away from the jetty to catch the larger waves.  Conditions weren't all that clean, but there were big waves coming in and I managed to catch and ride a couple decent waves.  From there I would catch a wave close to shore and ride to the beach, where I would repeat the process and get back out to the break.  All in all not a bad strategy, I wish I would've timed the sets out better to get out further, waves break all over the place out here in Corpus.  Anyway, there's supposed to be decent waves tomorrow and this weekend, so I'll see how things are and report back.  Also, I'll be adding more pictures once I get another USB cable for my camera.

Until next time.

Foggy Wednesday at Bob Hall Pier

I drove down Padre Island in an attempt to find Bob Hall Pier.  After driving through a large puddle with my window open, I finally located Bob Hall Pier.  Fog covered the water, I could barely see the pier past the building at its entrance.  Waves were coming in, winds out of the SE.  I surfed the north side of the pier, there was a good amount of drift, I was able to get out if I stayed close to the pier, but if I got pushed north, I had a hell of a time trying to get past the break.  Waves were really breaking all over the place, for as far as I can tell, there beach is pretty evenly sloped, unlike in Pensacola, and to some extent in San Diego, which causes waves to break at different points due to the size of each wave.  Pensacola's break could be so steep and intense, waves would break violently at that point.  I didn't see any surfers when I first went out, but as I emerged through the fog near the middle of the pier, I found myself surrounded by a good number of fellow surfers.  There was a good number of short boarders out as well.  I miss my fish board, it would've been perfect for today.  My NSP 8'7" is a good board on smaller waves, but when they get bigger, it makes things tough, the board really would start to roll lean and tried to turn too sharp.  Also, I kept running into the problem of getting my feet out of position when I would stand up.  This isn't a big deal on small waves, but the waves were big enough today end the ride pretty quickly.

Surfing Padre Island, near the Packery Channel

I got in to Corpus last week, finally got things pulled together so I decided to take the NSP 8'7" board out for a spin.  I parked by the Public Parking lot / Sign 216 near the southern side of the Packery Channel.  The beach isn't as pleasant as in Pensacola, but it is on a much smoother slope, that allowed for more lined up waves.  Wind is a major factor of pushing waves up out here.  I had a good number of rides, the water was in the low 50's but after getting warmed up in my wetsuit, I really didn't feel it.  Hands and feet did get pretty cold at first though.  I had a problem of catching non breaking swells.  It'd look like it was gonna break, and then wouldn't.  I was able to ride some of these waves for a little bit.  The best ride of the day was when I caught a wave and rode it laterally, it started to die and I was able to pump my board and was able to catch the wave again when it broke on the shallower bottom closer to shore.  Pumping did make a pretty good difference, but I need to clean and rewax my board, the wax is getting pretty worn out.

Surfing 02Jan10

Went surfing with the family today.  We went about 2/3 down towards the pier, it would've been better to stick at Tourmaline.  There was a Pensacolaesque outer break that was pretty powerful and hard to get through.  I stuck to the inner breaks, which were still pretty good.  It was pretty good for instructing as well, even though the waves were already breaking.

Surfing in the New Year

Surfed with my sister again today at Tourmaline. The waves were somewhat choppy, but still rideable; small waves in the 1-3 foot range. A longboard would've been ideal, but I was able to ride a wave laterally with the 7'4" fish. Patience is required to set yourself up to ride a wave laterally. You gotta catch it before it starts to break but not too prematurely where you'll stall out. I also had the oppurtunity to further instruct my sister on surfing. It really helped being able to work one on one with her. She had some luck catching waves, and was sorta able to stand up. She had a good time, hopefully the waves will be bigger tomorrow. It'll be my last full day in Cali for who knows how long, so I gotta make the best of it. The sunset on the water was beautiful to watch too.

Tourmaline Surf Park, 29&31 Dec 09

The waves off San Diego blow away Pensacola Beach waves. I've been using my 7'4" fish board with great success out here. I've been surfing at Tourmaline surf park off Pacific Beach. The weather has been really nice, but a full wetsuit is essential. I'm glad I picked one up at Innerlight before heading out west. The beach consists of steep cliffs and black and brownish sand on a shallow incline. There are portions of beach that are fairly rocky underwater, but they can be avoided by going closer towards the pier to the south. The shallow incline of the beach allows the tide to come in almost all the way up, so if you bring anything to the beach, make sure its far enough towards the cliff so as not to be swept away. To the northern end of the beach, there is a cliff the protrudes out, sorta making half a point break. I avoided that area because of the large numbers of boulders in the water out there. As for the waves, they were decent size and, while not glassy, are much better lined up and better spaced than Pensacola waves. I've also discovered that the shallow incline of the slope causes waves to build smoother at a shallower angle before breaking. The waves peel instead of barreling as well as take longer to break. This makes it easier to catch a wave and stand up. Unlike days of large surf in Pensacola, I caught and stood up on more waves than I wiped out on. Additionally, the sets are better spaced out, and duck diving is pretty easy, so it's not too hard to get to the line up. However, not all is perfect. The majority of surfers at Tourmaline are on longboards (10+ ft) and have a significant advantage over shorter boards. Longboards are easier to paddle and because they float so well, they are able to catch a wave further out than with my board. It was incredible how the board could catch as waves that didn't have much slope. With my fish, I had to catch the same wave a little closer to shore, when the face was steeper. There are also many SUP boarders out there, and most annoyingly, was a damn kite boarder who kept cutting in front of me on every good wave. They don't need waves to propel themselves, so they should stay off waves that real surfers are trying to catch. John Kerry kite boards, he doesn't surf. There is a big difference. The big thing here is to have proper surfing etiquette, if your not sure what that is, try searching it on the web or getting it out of a book. You shouldn't be in the water without it. You'll not only be impolite, but also a safety hazard. For example, I gave right of way to the kite boarder dude and the longboarders when they were already established on the wave, but if your on a board with a wave catching advantage, you shouldn't hog the waves. I did find that by setting up a little closer to shore, I could catch waves that the longboarders misjudged and were unable to catch.
On the 29th, I took my younger brother and sister out. They had decent luck, it was their first time surfing, but they did alright. They rented 8'3" foamy longboards, a decent choice for a beginner, especially with the rocks around, but my sister could've used a little shorter of a board for easier handling in the water. I had a pretty good time yesterday, I was out by myself for 4+ hours and was pretty wiped afterward. I caught a wave and rode it laterally in front of the break which was pretty cool. Hopefully work on that a little more when I get out later today. Also, I found it was beneficial to catch a wave before it broke to set up a good angle to ride, as opposed to getting caught up in the white wash when the section closes out. Also, like in snowboarding when you bounce up to gain speed, I found it advantageous to pump my board to get extra speed. I haven't mastered it by any means. I also found that by only combing lines into surf wax horizontally, I was able to get much better grip on the board than with cross hatching; just make sure you have deep enough was on the board that you can carve down into.
I know I sorta bashed Pensacola surfing, but the crazy breaks and powerfully breaking waves have made me much better at reading waves, dealing with wipe outs, and surfing in general. Training under sub-ideal conditions is beneficial, just not the best for mastering wave riding techniques. I have some pics I'll post, I may be heading to a place called "Garbage", I'll let you know how it goes. By the way, it was cool watching the really awesome guys riding the longboards, it looked like something straight from Endless Summer. Happy New Year!