Category Archives: How to Surf

Surf Wax: You’re using too much, one bar per summer.

Surf wax is sort of a necessity. You need surf wax for almost all surfboards. What many people fail to recognize is, surf wax doesn’t need to be “bumpy.” It doesn’t need to be coated on so thick that there are big clumps on your board. In an effort to try to understand what’s actually an effective amount of surf wax, I’m challenging myself to surf the entire summer using just one bar of surf wax. One bar of surf wax should be more than enough for the entire summer, even with an active summer, surfing every single tropical swell.

I recently spoke to Reily at Honeymoon Island before going out into the lineup. I noticed that he’s one of those surfers who ritualistically coats his surfboard with surf wax, ensuring there are mounds of surf wax on it. I told him, “You’re using too much!” He said, “Oh, I just feel like I’m slipping off, and I need more wax.” The surfboard in question is very long and very thick, and coated with layers of heavy fiberglass. It will be a real challenge to swing around. Your hip movements will want to move faster than the board will let you turn. These quick movement will cause him to slip off his board no matter how much surf wax he’s got on his board, which leads him to believe there isn’t enough on there.

This summer, in an attempt to limit my surf wax usage, I’m taking one bar of surf wax, and only using it as much as is absolutely necessary. The goal is to use only one bar of surf wax or less over the entire summer. The link to this page will be put on the homepage of www.SurfingtheGulf.com, and will be updated throughout the summer with the progress. Follow along as the summer progresses. The link will have the date of most recent update on it.


May 30th, 2018:
As a starting point, the water is just about 80 degrees nearing mid to late Spring. Tropical Storm Alberto just passed us by leaving fun surf in its wake. Before Alberto, I cleared two surfboards of old surf wax, and put a starting coat on top, which left me with a large amount of surf wax for the rest of the summer.


June 23, 2018:
There’s been two swells between the last video and this video.  There’s been a tropical storm and a cold front between that first waxing and the one today. In total there were six days worth of surf, three for Alberto and three for the June cold front. Today there was just enough  wind to put a small wave on the beach. Before making the trip down to the beach I took a moment to re-wax my longboard surfboard in the areas where the wax had rubbed off.  The main area on the  board that needed waxing was just behind the center of the board where I lay on the board, and the places where I put my feet while riding the surfboard.  I didn’t need to put wax anywhere else. It took about two minutes to put a solid layer of surf wax over the bare spots. After today there should still be a solid amount of wax that should last into the next swell, and of the bar of wax, there’s still more than half left.

Alberto
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Cold Front
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

For best resolution view on desktop/laptop.


July 30, 2018:

This update covers a little more than the month of July. There were two major surf events on the gulf from the last update. There was a quick blast of swell in late June for just a day. It was really a surprise considering no-one was anticipating the surf coming up.  In July a cold front low that sucked up a bunch of tropical moisture generated surf for days. In addition to the 5 or more days of surf, the low had two really solid sized days of unusually larger surf. Surf in the summer isn’t usually big unless there’s a big hurricane spinning around. That unusual couple days got me to pull out the short-board and rip a few gnarly turns. In order for me to use this smaller thinner board that’s really more of a winter board, I needed to remove the cold water wax and put some warm water wax on it. This waxing has brought my wax supply to dangerously low levels (see image below). While I didn’t really need to use this board, and while I could have surfed the red board with the convex bottom, it’s a significant challenge to surf the red board well in bigger surf.  Now that I’ve surfed the real short-board I’m reminded of how much better it feels to be able to carve through the water with complete precision. During this event I pulled double sessions, surfing for somewhere close to 6 hours each day.  In total this update includes wax usage from a total of 6 days with two extra long days.

June Front
A surprise swell at the end of June.

Cold Front Low
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4 Part 1, Part 2
Day 5


 

Surf Specific Tropical Storm Alberto Forecast

Here we’re just talking about surfing. This is going to be your all you need forecast. You’ll get all the nitty gritty details of what’s going to be happening when the surf comes up. From the start of the swell to the end of the swell. Here it comes.  If you don’t want to read all this, the summary is at the bottom.

At the present moment (2pm on Saturday) Alberto isn’t even in the gulf. So, the storm hasn’t even started to create surf down by Cuba yet. Down there, there just isn’t anything happening. Right now, the wind in front of the storm is going from east to west. So that absolutely ridiculous hint from other surf forecasters that surf might “almost” be here is just them screwing with you. Don’t you just hate that, I sure do.  “Don’t forget to check it.” So, we’ve still got a while to wait. But, be patient, something is bound to happen.

It really just frustrates the heak out of me when people who know what’s going on just screw with you, because they know you don’t want to hear what they have to say. What’s that telling me? Well it’s just a suggestion that this swell might not be what you think it’s going to be. The odds are that this will just be a little swell at most beaches. That big afternoon outgoing tide is certainly going to play a factor.

This afternoon this super slow moving storm might begin to push its little eye wall out into the gulf where it can start the “wave machine”. But, again, it’s really slow moving right now, and actually odds are it’s a little weak. And odds are it’s not really going to be a “wave machine” at all.  The eye looked like it broke apart a little bit overnight. It may have lost some steam.

Again, the 24 hour wait for swell from waaaaay down there is going to take some time. So first, the storm is going to need to reorganize, which it’s probably trying to do right now. Then, it’s going to need to head out into the gulf a little further, because the storm shifted to the east pretty far overnight.

As time goes on you’ll begin to see swell. There’s a chance that this swell could get over waist high at some point. There may be a point when you can pull out the shortboard and actually use it. You might actually be able to stand up, feel that rocker pop under your feet, the rails dig under the water as you try to find that energized section. You might at some point get enough wave energy moving underneath you to drag your hand across the bottom of the trough in front of the wave as you carve out your bottom turn and head for that steaming section your eyeballing. Sunday evening/Monday should be one of the times when you can put the shortboard under your feet.

It’s going to be one of those nights on Sunday night when you think, if only I was nocturnal. If only the moon were so bright that it was like daytime. I mean, people do surf at night, but it’s usually just too damn dark. All that tasty swell will be flushed down the toilet like the money we spent on sand and sand dunes at Honeymoon Island State Park. Washing onto the beach without a single surfer to ride them, solid swell will go unridden overnight on Sunday night. But don’t fret, it probably won’t be that good.

Monday morning the swell will continue. It’s time to get on the board when Monday morning rolls around. Your work, school, and other obligations will seem obsolete when you see the fun groundswell (with sideshore wind) pumping into your beaches. The boardshorts on, board in hand, fresh coat of warm water wax, and cool water waiting for you to jump right in, all your thoughts and worries should just melt away. That long period when you’re waiting for sets to roll through should be a prime opportunity to set your brain to chatty fun mode and recognize the surfers around you. Don’t jockey too hard, share, because if you don’t you might not be welcome next time. That Monday morning should be fun right up until the 11:30 high tide, and probably beyond.  Tides from the 27-29 below for Honeymoon Island State Park.

Tropical Storm Alberto Honeymoon Tides

So you’ve got your stoke on.  It’s coming up on the heat of the afternoon.  Your dealing with gnarly, windy, raining conditions, as you might expect from any average tropical storm that usually occurs during this time of year. Your thinking, will the gnarlyness end? Will this fun swell just go on forever.  It might.

Shifting around to different breaks at Honeymoon Island will help you stay on the fun waves as the tides and swell directions change.  Often the beach by the Cafe can be fun.  It’s really the go to spot for big hurricanes at Honeymoon Island because it’s such a long wave.  It really is like the longest wave I’ve ever ridden, longer than Venice, longer than Bradenton, longer than St. Pete, longer than Clearwater. You’d be hard pressed to find a better wave on the west coast of Florida when the surf’s up. If you want a real wave to ride, that’s the one.  No scrapping around with a bunch of other idiots thinking, Oh this is going to be good, and I’m going to be the badass who gets it, only to get the good one and realize it actually is a shitty wave. Honeymoon is really long, really empty, really challenging because you actually have to ride it (stay in the sweet spot) or get bogged down, and can even get hollow. Watch out, because last summer, after that dredge, a deep trough and the wonky tide absolutely killed it. But it looks like all that shitty sand is gone, so it should turn on again when the swell comes up.  And of course, you can always surf the usual winter groins at north beach and oasis, but again, shifting around as the tide changes is the key to staying on the waves.  And don’t forget to share. I know I fall victim to my own selfishness all too often. If you need to go find a different wave, there’s likely to be a few others.

The storm will have gained momentum by Monday afternoon, and should be hitting a wall in the atmosphere, slowing it down. Lucky for the northern gulf because no storm is a good storm when the eye is making landfall right on top of you.

It’s going to remain a solid storm on Tuesday. The funky short period south swell will be rolling through the beaches, 25 knot sustained south winds. Those little swells where it’s super windy and wonky.  It’ll be like that, I would think.  The eye may still have some swell spinning from the center, so that’ll be good.  It could be fun. Small traces of longer period eye swell. It could keep us bigger guys on the shortboard.

Wednesday overnight it goes over land.  Wednesday by 6am, it’ll be all but gone, maybe some lingering swell through the day, but I woudn’t count on it being shortboardable. The storm will be over land, and you’ll be all but worn out, I’m sure of it.  Rashed up, sunned out, dehydrated, and hungry. It’ll be time for rest. Go home, get back to your regularly scheduled programming.  Sleep, eat, work, go to school, and do what stupid bullshit you have to do to to make the man happy. Then, maybe check the surf, and if you see fun groundswell forget about all that and get back out there.

SUMMARY

The storm will blow through pretty quick as they usually do.

The surf from Alberto will begin sometime Sunday afternoon.  When the winds get here, the surf won’t be far behind.

Monday should be good all day, a mix of long period swell and short period swell. GUSTY! Let’s try shortboarding at Honeymoon Island on Monday.  No longboarders allowed.

Tuesday we’ll have west swell from the storm pulling away, with more onshore wind. Probably pretty small.

Note: Rick Scott just declared a state of emergency.  Only Rick Scott. Oh man, 25 mph wind, everyone panic!

 

Surf’s Up Surf Report: A Perfect Day, 10:30am, 1:30pm, & 7pm 04/28/18

The surf is really on the small size. The tide has been incoming all morning, and will peak around noon. The swell may stick around all day. The buoys just started to rise this morning. Swell usually lasts at least 12 hours. It’s super nice out today. The air temp is great, but the water is still a little on the cool side. If your looking at this and haven’t surfed yet today, you might want to check it out this evening.

Well, it’s afternoon and the surf is still up. The waves take a little while to get to the beach. This is a longer period swell meaning there is a decent wait between the waves that break on the outside, the set waves. The rides are working good, lining up just right on the good ones. If you haven’t already made a trip to the beach it might be worth heading over now.

There are so many people on the beach today, it’s just chaotic. People of all walks of life. Beach umbrellas are everywhere. Families and old people are truly abundant on this short stretch of sandy beach. Finding a place to put your stuff won’t be easy, but when you do find your piece of sand it will be hard not to enjoy it.

On the way in this morning traffic was minimal, but by afternoon the flow could be slowing down. Days like today cause major delays along the Dunedin Causeway. The water and air might still be slightly cold for some people. That could explain the almost regular unimpeded flow of traffic. On the other hand people may have been waiting for the air to warm at 9 or 10am. Usually the flow is pretty dense by that time, but with winter temps still lingering the afternoon is probably a better time for a casual beach day. Whatever the case, you can still get down here before the sun goes down.

Coming up on 7:30 this evening the tide is super low. The rocks on the bottom of the trough between the sandbar and the beach are visible. When the tide gets this low there doesn’t seem to be enough water to really get the waves to their maximum heights. These tides usually work well for the smaller swells. Without looking at the forecast one would suspect the swell to be gone by tomorrow with the apparent dropping trend in waveheight.

The Gnarly Charley Surf Series July Contest

The Gnarly Charley Surf Series is a series of surf events for kids.  It’s held on the beaches of the east coast, primarily Florida.  It’s a mentorship and grooming contest series for kids who want to learn to surf in competitions, and it’s an opportunity for kids to be around good role models and other kids.  The contests run from summer through mid-fall. The full schedule of events can be found on the surf series website.