waves on the gulf

[Brian]

never been to a beach on the gulf. are the waves lame? non-existent?
ft. walton beach FL in particular, in the destin area. anyone been there?

[Indy Coug]

I doubt the surf is usually that great.

http://magicseaweed.com/Gulf-Coast-Surf-Forecast/9/

[TripletDaddy]

Has anyone ever heard of a surfing scene on the gulf?

There is a cool phenomenon called tanker surfing wherein people surf behind slow moving tankers that create decent sized wakes. They can surf for quite a long time on the wake.

The only challenge: if you miss the wake, you probably have to wait a long time before another tanker is positioned appropriately.

It seems very cool to try.

[SeattleUte]

Originally Posted by TripletDaddy

Has anyone ever heard of a surfing scene on the gulf?

There is a cool phenomenon called tanker surfing wherein people surf behind slow moving tankers that create decent sized wakes. They can surf for quite a long time on the wake.

The only challenge: if you miss the wake, you probably have to wait a long time before another tanker is positioned appropriately.

It seems very cool to try.

The only problem I can see is being run over by another boat, since they call them "shipping lanes" for a reason, and it might be hard to get out of the way.

Also, aren't you a little old to be saying stuff like "a surfing scene."

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by SeattleUte

The only problem I can see is being run over by another boat, since they call them "shipping lanes" for a reason, and it might be hard to get out of the way.

Also, aren't you a little old to be saying stuff like "a surfing scene."

I love surfing and try to get out as often as I can, esp in the summer when it is warm and the sun is up before 6AM. I took my daughter out paddling a few weekends ago and she had a great time. we would ride the whitewater in (laying down on the board) and then paddle back out and do it again.

Some folks ride bikes, some ride boards.

My understanding is that tanker surfing is always done with a boat to transport the surfers. So you basically are in the boat the whole time, except for a few minutes before the tanker passes you. As you can see in the clip, the wake is extremely wide, so you can be waiting in a lineup and still be 100 yards away from the actual tanker.

If you were riding and there was another tanker coming in the opposite direction, you should be able to see the tanker WAY off in the horizon and simply get in your boat. Or better yet......ride straight towards the incoming tanker's wake, drop off your board, wait a minute or two, and paddle the other direction to catch the new wave. That may be impossible because you would be exhausted.

[MikeWaters]

is just standing on a board that exhausting?

[MikeWaters]

I saw a documentary on this longest wave in the world:

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

is just standing on a board that exhausting?

It is kind of weird. It can be, actually.

Most of the wear and tear comes from the paddle and the drop, but riding longer waves, cutting back and forth, staying crouched for a while....all that can wear you out a bit.

Not sure if you have done much snow skiing, but sometimes when you are simply bombing it downhill on a groomed run, your quads start to burn from being in that crouched position. Same with surfing, but maybe not as bad.

I would think that paddling to catch the first wake, riding that wake for about 15 minutes (I think that is what they said), then turning right around and catching the next wake and riding another 15 minutes....yeah, that would be a workout. But really fun.

[TripletDaddy]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I saw a documentary on this longest wave in the world:

Wow, that is amazing. Did you see how many sets kept rolling in? It looked like an endless set.

I dont know a thing about the mechanics of cycling, so not sure what to compare it to, but the pursuit of a long ride of basically the holy grail of surf.

The Beach Boys said "catch a wave and you're sitting on top of the world." It is hard to describe the euphoria, but the sentiment is accurate....there is some strange rush every time you stand up on your board and ride a wave. It never seems to get old. When you are done, you are somewhat out of breath, you are worn out (maybe from adrenaline?) and you want to do it again. Most waves last about 20 seconds, max. If you go out to breaks like Waikiki, you can paddle out for 30 minutes and catch an amazing 2 minute wave. The concept of riding a wave for 15-20 minutes just blows my mind.

If you notice, on your clip, the one surfer mentioned doing several turns then having to take a rest, then doing more turns. It can be tiring.

I noticed that all those guys were riding twins and tris, no long boards.....so that wave is actually much bigger in person that what it seems on video.....based on some of the POV shots, the wave looked to be well overhead.