With the changing of the seasons upon us, cool fronts with offshore winds are usually a welcomed event along the beachfront, as they groom our typically choppy windswells into clean lines. The bay is quite different. North winds will chop up the bay quickly and wreck havoc on a tanker surfing expedition. When the weatherman forecasted the offshore winds to diminish to 5-10 knots, our next charter was a go for both Orange County, Ca. resident Kevin Collins and longtime Gulf Coast surfer Elorian Landers.
We launched the boat in 12-15 kt. NW winds, hoping the weather reporter was right for a change and that was our first mistake. The bay showed no mercy, and the winds never let up, with short period 3-4 ft. wind swells coming from the northwest, and no tankers in sight. Once the first tanker did show up, it was evident that there was no way we could even see the tanker wave, much less catch up to it. So what do we do? We hang tough for nearly 4 hours, waiting for the weather man’s prediction to come true. That was our second mistake! The decision was then made to throw in the towel and cut our losses. Both surfers chose to reschedule and keep all the fillings in their teeth from falling out and their spines from going out of alignment. Kevin went back to So Cal, vowing to return in a week or two and Elorian decided to give it a go the very next day.
Day 2 produced the conditions that were forecasted for Day 1—fairly light offshores, sunny skies and mild air temps. Game on for Elorian, Capt. Hill and Capt. Fulbright!
Our first ship was a huge mother and delivered a solid wave directly over the shoal at Kiddy Pools. Elorian got his first taste of tanker surfing and wanted more.
That’s when things got interesting. All of the sudden, the huge mother just slowed down to a snails pace for no apparent reason. Adios wave. With no other ships on the horizon, we made an executive decision to follow the beast all the way to Houston. Normally we would net another wave from her further north once she picks up steam again, or so we thought. 30 miles and several gallons of fuel later we come upon another tanker with engine trouble, blocking the channel. Mystery solved. All ship channel traffic was on hold until tugs could tie up and haul her off and the traffic jam was cleared.
Time to go back south and wait. What’s this? The wind has dropped to nothing! Things get glassy. The temperature rises. The traffic jam clears. Here comes a big ‘ol container ship. Game on again!
Multiple waves and good times were had by all. So many obstacles were overcome on this day…vessels in distress, pipeline projects, dredging barges, slow bells, ridiculous amounts of fuel burned, against the grain rodeo rides and high water on a day that usually nets unusually low tides, but that is what tanker surfing is all about… adventure, unpredictable events, challenges and variables galore…and we still scored.At the end of the day, we go home content, nurse our sunburn and sore muscles and talk about the fun rides we caught and the miles we rode. A surf adventure that none of us will soon forget, I imagine.
Fall is in the air and winter is fast approaching. Time for a little more tanker love……
