Fun in Venice

I haven't been able to surf in three weeks due to my work schedule and my vacation to Arkansas. Having today off, I went down to the South Jetty in Venice,Fl for a session. The North Jetty had the major crowds and was going off spectacularly, but the South was holding it's own with some head high sets, and only 4, yes 4 people out. There were some major sideshore currents to contend with, but once I made it out, it was heaven. The waves were extremely hollow with nice offshore winds holding things up. I even got tubed for a couple of seconds, which is a rarity for me on this side. Having only 4 guys out allowed me to catch as many waves as I wanted to, and I caught quite a few. My new INXTC 7'10' was awesome. I'm really getting to like that board. It rides like a shortboard, but with a small rocker, paddles really well. The rides I caught were very long (100 yds.), for Gulf Coast standards, and with an unusual amount of speed. Conditions were excellent. I got worked on one wave after the board skidded out from under me, I hit something on the bottom, then the board hit me. No real damage, except to my ego, with such a dorky looking wipeout.

There were some jetskiers blazing through the lineup, and after a near miss, they left to terrorize somewhere else. The sun was out, the water was warm, and the stoke level was high. This was the best 4 hour session in recent memory. With only 4 guys out, the vibe was real good, with each of us hooting each other on. After my trip in Arkansas with the massive exposure to country music, the song 'London City Blues,' was going through my head the entire session. It was a shame that my grom couldn't go out with me, but he cut up his foot the other day skateboarding barefoot, and can't get it wet.

An interesting sidenote....I was walking down the beach, and a US Divers mask (a nice one) washed up right in front of me. I've got the fins, now I need a regulator and tank to wash up, and I'm set. Who says Christmas doesn't happen in August.

Aloha,

Jeff Watson

With rides that long at Venice, were you catching a refraction off the jetty wall, all the way down the beach? I caught a big swell like that once a long time ago. That was one the longest rides I've gotten anywhere in Florida.

Yesterday I surfed on Treasure Island. It was nothing spectacular- waist to chest bumpy waves with occasional nice groundswell sets. All the jetty spots were super crowded, so I just had fun shooting the dumpy beachbreak.

Ferg, The bottom contour of the South jetty has changed significantly in the past year or so, and there is not too much refraction off the jetty. The swell was coming from the SE so the jetty shouldn't have been going off at all, but it was. The sandbar has moved that enabled it to break from the jetty to the hole which is the next peak down the line, hence there was no refraction. I still like the North Jetty better as it holds size better, but you do get longer rides at the south, and it's more spread out.

Some friends told me that Venice pier was epic also, but we rarely surf there anymore. My buddies up in Holmes beach said that it wasn't too great there with the piers being the only spot working.

Aloha,

Snip

Good report Jeff, I take it you didn't score on that big low pressure we had last week (I think) off of Tampa/ St. Pete? Ferghole, you? It looked like the size was there, but shape?

,

It was about the same as with this last storm, waist-chest and choppy. I played on it one day, didn't get too exicted over it.

Sorry to hear that, I thought from the swell model (s) you would get some serious surf, oh well next system.