On Thursday, May 20th, 2021, I checked the surf cams as I frequently do. There was a low pressure system moving into the Gulf from Mexico. I thought there might be a chance for some longer period swell. To my surprise, the winds were slightly offshore. They were mostly from the west and light. On the cams, there was definitely a better quality wave rolling in than there was the previous day. I watched several surfers catch some good waves on the cams and decided to make the trip to test the waters.
When I arrived, the parking lot at the jetty park was full. Fisherman were lined up on the jetty, and surfers were partaking of the fun waves rolling in. I found a spot close to the front granite wall to park and changed into my board shorts and rash guard. I grabbed my board and made my barefoot journey across the gravel parking lot. On the way, I saw a gentleman named Tom who was shooting video of the surfers for his YouTube channel Tex Dirtsurfer. I introduced myself, and he invited me to shoot some video later from the top of his truck top camper. He has a tarp cover made with pvc that provides shade and a great vantage point for shooting video. Check out his videos if you get a chance. He puts a lot of clips of many different surfers of all levels on his channel. When I got to the grassy hill which lead to the beach, I heard someone holler “coach”. I turned and looked wondering who would be calling me coach. I have been retired a few years and was two hours away from the town where I retired. I turned and saw Ron, a real estate acquaintance I have surfed with many times over the years. It was good to catch up and see some familiar faces from the Meacom’s Pier crew from Bolivar Peninsula.
The water was a warm 75 degrees and the wind was a steady 15 mph from the southwest. There was plenty of white water to paddle through as the waves were waist plus on sets. The nice thing about a longer period swell is the fact that there are usually lulls between the sets. That makes for an easier paddle when going out. Once I made my way out into the line up, I saw a lot of familiar faces. I thought to myself, does anyone work anymore? There were probably around 50 plus people tucked into the best spot next to the jetty. After an hour or so, the wind seemed to back down a bit in the early afternoon. That made for some longer, clean rides on some workable waves. After another hour of full on fun, the wind started to turn straight on shore and strengthen. This caused the waves to lose some of their form. I caught one more wave and rode it to the beach. After changing clothes and securing my board, I decided to shoot some video of the action in the water. I set up on the granite rocks at the base of the jetty park and got some straight on shots. I then moved to the jetty to shoot some video from an angle. I shot 150 short video clips of various surfers. When I got home, I deleted all but 33 to make a video. Out of those 33 clips, I narrowed it down to an 8 minute video including scenic footage.
I am truly blessed to have a wife that allows me to pursue the sport of surfing and is patient with me as I spend time writing about my outdoor experiences. By the way, she is my editor-in-chief who reads and corrects my thousands of spelling and grammatical errors. As a follower of Christ, I have a story, as many of you do, to the saving power of God. My intention when I started this blog was to share God’s wonderful creations around us. I will share my story some day of how I was one step away from death and how he saved me.
I hope you have a chance to get outdoors soon and enjoy God’s creations.
God bless you, and thanks for reading and subscribing to my blog. Enjoy the video!
Tim Lumpkin
Instagram: @tlump10
Facebook: Tim Lumpkin
Blog: Legacy-Outdoors.net
Legacy Outdoors 