South Padre Island

[SUP Leave]

No pictures but a quick session/ recon report on South Padre Island - Isla Blanca State Park.

This beach is at the very southern tip of SPI, just north of the N. Jetty protecting the inlet. It is set up a lot like my home break at Westport WA. It is the beach that Surfline directs you to, definitely no secret here.

The day I surfed the buoy said 6f @ 8s. I would say that there was a shoulder high face in every set. Water was easily trunkable - guessing 75 degrees. Vibe - mellow.

I did not get to SUP but there were a couple out. Surfing was an after thought on this day for me, we were at the beach and I saw a couple of longboarders catch a 10 second right, so I got inspired. I talked to the people giving lessons, and asked if I could rent a board after the lessons just to get wet.

So I got a 9 or maybe 10 foot foam board, about 23" wide and paddled out. There is a very vague - but very real rip to utilize to get out at this beach. I highly recommend watching the locals before paddling out. I could not see the rip from the shore after 20 mins of looking, but trying to paddle out on my own took 25 minutes of battle with the barge I was on.  6f @ 8 seconds in the wrong spot is a bitch! I haven't rode a "foamie" before and it was surprisingly fun. Easy to slide the fins out and walk around on. Hard to paddle out.

Anyway, the waves were not powerful, but they were easy to catch and almost all of them gave you a decent shoulder. Since it is a windswell spot, I think you can pretty much expect a period of about what we had. The locals there told me it was "pretty clean, and a decent day" so I am guessing that is what you get there. It is no California, but since the conditions aren't great, it is not like anyone was especially serious and so I had a great time. I talked with a bunch of other folks out there and I would say southern hospitality was the norm.

The SUPs fit in pretty well with the group, because of the short period, even if you caught a shoulder getting back out dry was probably a less than 50:50 proposition. The peaks are probably more shifty than other beach breaks I have been to, just due to the nature of them. So I would say any SUPhoggery was pretty limited by the go-back-out time. Most of it was done prone. So it is a good enough SUP spot, but just as good a regular surf spot.

If I was in the area I would definitely surf again, just for the warm water and good vibe. I think a WindSUP would be a great toy at this beach. Some kite foilers came out and for some reason tried to launch upwind of the lineup. Turned into a bit of a debacle, when the first one couldn't get going and crashed his kite just inside the lineup.

Overall, I liked the South Texas coast - and the people there. We also visited Corpus Christi, but I didn't get any beach time there.

[Night Wing]

If you ever get the chance to go back to South Padre Island, the webcam below is just on the beach side from the causeway which connects SPI to the mainland of Texas at Port Isabel. The webcam gives a nice panoramic view of the beach.

http://www.sopadre.com/about-us/live-webcams/south-beach/

[SupPadre]

Glad you enjoyed the Island SUP Leave If you make it down again and the seas are 6ft at 8sec, try launching as close to the jetties as possible. Once you get outside you can usually catch waves on the 3rd sandbar and have a lot easier time getting back out.

The local kiters usually launch from the second or more northerly pavilion. If the seas are over 4 to 5 ft and the wind is normal (18 gusting to 25) the current gets pretty tough that far north of the jetty and the kiters have that area to themselves.

This winter there has been an influx of kiters launching from the south pavilion. They aren't local and I'm surprised they haven't been "politely" asked to launch from the north pavilion.They definitely create a hazard in the line up.

If you make it back down I'll be glad to loan you a SUP. I'm there most weekends.

[Night Wing]

BTW, if you decide to do SPI again, here is the water temperature for Port Mansfield. Basically the water temperature will be close in range all the way down to Brownsville, Texas at the US/Mexico border.

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/physocean.html?id=8778490

[surfcowboy]

I love that Texas is getting some representation on the zone. Travel is getting pretty good for folks in the zone network. Thx guys for posting these and thx for the cams links.

[Biggreen]

"6' @ 8 seconds in the wrong spot is a bitch" It's obvious Texas doesn't have the power surf that the rest of you Zoners have, but the inside break can be absolutely relentless and brutal. And it's definitely a good skills workout to be able to fight your way through it with....yeah, that's it, style, grace, and aplomb. And an 8 second spread, god that's days for us and has us salivating!

There are very few regular SUP surfers on the Texas coast. And your observation Supleave was correct. Since we don't have a specific point break or some such, but spread out beach breaks with waves for everyone, the vibe is pretty easy. Where I surf the proners may not like me, but they know me because I'm there always and have earned my spot, so everyone is friendly.

One of the many downsides is that we, unlike the rest of you guys and gals, don't get to see any of these cool SUS boards that are all around y'all's areas. Since they don't sell, no one carries them. One of the reasons I experiment and build my own. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy doing it, but it is also a matter of necessity if I wanna ride something new and different.

[SUP Leave]

It's funny, when I rented the  board I asked the lady "Isn't there a rip by the jetty?" and she said "Yes and it will suck you out to sea, so we recommend staying away from it." I thought that was the point, but I didn't say anything.  I would have tried it, but she stayed and surfed so I followed her out on my first go-out.

I had no style getting out through the inside section - my wife even commented on my kookiness. She told me she was sending snapchats to our daughter #kookoftheday of my tribulations.

I can tell you that warm water was great though. I paddled out 6 f @ 8 seconds here in WA yesterday. Ambient 38 degrees, ocean 50 ish degrees. It was chilly to say the least. I didn't warm up until I took a shower an hour after getting out of the water.  But, I was surfing in a bay with nice lefts that sometimes sectioned into long rights and I can't wait to get back in!

[SupPadre]

She must have thought you were a beginner. There's a rip by the jetty but it is not going to carry you out to sea with a Southeast wind. There is usually a pretty good left working over by the jetty also.

I'm guessing the water wasn't quite this blue the day you were here.