Last year Surfer Magazine named their choices for the top 10 US surf towns. Here they are, and as you can see, South Padre, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, and Galveston are still US surfing’s best kept secrets. I saw the founder of Quicksilver by Bob Hall one time; even the insiders are keeping their lips sealed about the 8-12 foot waves, beach privacy, and warm water on the Texas gulf.
TOP 10 US SURF TOWNS:
1. Santa Cruz, CA
2. Haleiwa, HI
3. Encinitas, CA
4. Paia, HI
5. San Clemente, CA
6. Kill Devil Hills, NC
7. Malibu, CA
8. Montauk, NY
9. New Smyrna Beach, FL
10. Ocean City, NJ
This is really a tribute to a website that was called Surf Texas 365. It was one of my favorites and I linked to it from Texas Surfers until it disappeared. I was able to grab some of the photos and info off of the website, though, and I’m posting those here.
Dave Lilliott- Jetty at Surfside, TX, 10/24/00. Photo Leon Bryse
Dan Biddington- the OctaGONE at Surfside, TX 11/24/00. Photo Dave Lilliott
I got tired of hearing how there was no surf in Texas. So in 1999, I got myself a waterproof camera and set out to dispell the fallacy that there was no surf in Texas. Following you will find photos of my ventures up and down the Texas coast, capturing totally ridable surf ridden by surfers with as much stoke as you will find anywhere in the world. We may not get huge surf in Texas, but we get surf just the same. The surf we get simply makes us hungrier for more. Enjoy these photos and keep on surfing! Mahalo! -Dave Lilliott
Most of the pictures on the website weren’t able to be saved. I got everything I could.
Here's a Jansky wahine going right. Surfside, TX, 1/16/00. Photo D. Lilliott
A close-up of Larry gliding by. Surfside, TX, 1/16/00. Photo D. Lilliott
A Texas unknown making a bottom turn. Surfside, TX, 1/23//00. Photo D. Lilliott
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This one hits close to home, since it happened right over in Surfside, a favorite surf spot among Galveston locals. John Baker III drove to Surfside from his home in The Woodlands expecting to catch some fun waves on Thursday. The 61-year-young surfer, however, quickly found himself pulled out past the end of the jetties and unable to get back inside, closer to shore. Baker said the waves kept pushing him away from shore, regardless of how hard he paddled. "I paddled for about an hour and it was very obvious I wasn't making any headway," he said.
As you know, the water’s getting cold right now, and Baker was wearing a wetsuit. He said once he was about 10 miles from shore, he started counting his strokes. He would paddle 30 times, rest a minute, then paddle again, all in an effort to keep his core temperature up. Every hour he increased the number of his strokes, from 30 to 40, even 50.
Incredibly, at 2am, 14 miles out to sea and 14 hours since stepping into the water, John Baker got close enough to an oil rig to grab a rope attached to it. He pulled himself to the rig, climbed up the stairs on its side, and found a door at the top. Opening the door brought two men to his aide, who provided him with food, water, and a phone to call his wife of 30 years.
Now, Baker says he misses the surfboard he was using during the event. He said, “I sure miss that board. If someone finds it, I wouldn’t mind having it back.” It’s bound to show up on a local beach in a few days. If you see it, email us and we’ll help you get in touch with Baker.
Source.
