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beachwise
by Shaun Robbins

      The Wipeout. The hot summer sun was not out yet and there was a little chill in the air. Like a child on Christmas morning, I was up and waiting when my uncle pulled up in the driveway at 5 am. We quickly loaded my surfboard into his vehicle and headed off to the beach.

      As we walked up the boardwalk and out of the dark, we looked out at the gray ocean and the ever-changing sky toward the surf. It felt like something out of a movie, and I swear I could even hear the music. No, I really could hear music playing. Was I going crazy?

      We continued to walk up the boardwalk to the beach, and the music grew louder and louder. As we made it around the turn, we could see a shadowed figure standing up on the upper platform playing a bagpipe. It was one of the most surreal moments that I had ever experienced, and put a great start to the day of surf.

      We paddled out into solid 3-to-4-foot surf as the sun broke the horizon. My uncle made it out before I did, and I could see him keeping an eye on me as I continued to the outside break. The waves seemed to be so big to me, but I was going to do my best to drop in, no matter how scared I was. I watched as my uncle caught a wave and rode it for what seemed like forever.

      Finally a wave came my way, and I paddled hard for it. It started to wall up over me, but I was determined to make it. Before I knew what was happening, I was being dumped over the falls and shaken like a rag doll below the surface of the water. I quickly made my way up and pulled my board over to myself. A little shaken, I paddled back out, apparently showing my sudden fear, because my uncle quickly paddled over to me and gave me some words of encouragement and reassured me that it happens to everyone.

      I half-heartedly went after a few waves before finally catching one. That was it; I only needed that one wave, and I was over my fear that the wipeout before had created. With the biggest smile on my face, I paddled back, took my position in the lineup next to my uncle and enjoyed the waves and the wipeouts for the remainder of the day.


forecasted conditions

      This Friday, Saturday and Sunday we should see some smaller, weak waves that you can enjoy on your longboard. Going into the week we will see more of the same with smaller waves, and a slight possibility for some size to them. Either way, it looks like we are not going to have any decent surf this week. We are well into the hurricane season and we haven’t had a real storm. However, looking at the satellites, the tropics have a little activity showing, but nothing significant just yet. Keep an eye for this, because I am going to Hawaii for a little bit, which means we are due to get some waves while I am gone. It happens anytime I go surfing somewhere else, so keep your eye on it. But don’t take my weekly word for it, call or log onto your local report daily to find out what the present conditions are for your favorite break.

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