Tropical Storm Barry brought strong hopes for surfers all along the Texas Gulf coast. As he sat in the Gulf of Mexico, just kinda wallowing around, surfers in Texas stopped praying and started waxing. The local surf forums lit up with anticipation and predictions of how good it was going to be and where to go to receive the best of the swell. Everyone who owned a stick in Texas seemed amped for the oncoming swell that Barry promised.
Unfortunately for Texas, the brunt of the swell ended up going to the lucky and surf starved panhandle of Florida. Barry did, however, for one glorious Saturday, bring a halt to the flatness that plagued Texas. In Texas, Port Isabel got the best of the rippling effect that
Barry left in his wake. All day Saturday, August 4, 2001, Barryıs churning energy brought clean lined up swells to Port Isabel on the southern tip of Texas that produced waves that were two feet overhead. The lucky ones who made the trip down south reveled in the glory that Barry produced. Sundayıs leftovers in Port I still brought waist to chest high peelers for the lucky surf hungry travelers.
I surfed the northern part of Barryıs swell window, Surfside, Texas. Dawn patrol on Saturday saw waves that were head high to slightly overhead with light offshore winds. The offshores lasted until about 10 a.m., when the wind shifted to the NE and conditions got choppier but still remained quite fun for the entire day. Not wanting to spoil my first session by lugging a camera around in the impact zone, I unfortunately missed some great photo ops. We could tell it was starting to drop by late afternoon and by Sunday the swell was all but gone.
And once the day progressed on Saturday, so did the crowd. It seemed that every Barney who owned a stick (or rented one just for the occasion) crowded into the line-up. A take off from the outside meant a dangerous drop into an obstacle course made out of a literal sea of people. Several people got hurt and many explicative words were exchanged in the usually mellow line-up. One friend was giving way to an oncoming novice while paddling back out when the neophyte loss control and ran him over, causing scrapes and bruises that covered his entire left shoulder and part of his back. The guy never said he was sorry and simply disappeared.
I donıt really mind crowds that much. Usually in Texas, if it gets too crowded at one spot, all you have to do is move down to another spot that isnıt so crowded. Itıs all beach break anyway, but the waves do seem to break better over certain sandbars. The problem arises when everyone comes out of the woodwork for a swell, especially if it falls on the weekend, and crowds the preferred line-ups. This unfortunately includes many beginners and surfers who donıt have the expertise yet to fully control their sticks. This is when it can get dangerous and people get hurt. Every surfer had to learn at some point, but it makes it difficult and dangerous for others when novice surfers crowd in with the more experienced and cause reckless situations.
Other than the crowded line-ups (I simply moved down a hundred yards where it wasnıt so crowded and had a blast) and the patches of sea lice that appeared out of nowhere in the late afternoon, Barryıs swell was a well-needed respite to the flat spell that had plagued our state for almost two months. I now wish I had made the trip to Port I, but hindsight is always 20/20. We still had a blast and were all stoked about getting wet once again. One of my friends hadnıt surfed in four years, but "it was just like riding a bike." He had an outstanding time as we all did, so thank you Barry. Texas has been lucky on the first two storms of the tropical season. So what will the rest of the hurricane season bring for Texas and the East Coast? We can only hope and pray, but you know we will soon get our fill. Pray for surf!
