Understanding Your Break

Understanding your Break is an important part of surfing Texas. It can make the difference between enjoying what bit of surf Texas has to offer and hanging up your board until your next surf trip.

Texas has many things that can ruin what normally would be a good swell.

Wind Direction is the most common. While wind can ruin almost any swell if it's strong enough, the wrong direction will turn a good day of surf in to a bumpy mess even if it isn't strong. It is very important to figure out which way your break faces so you can see what direction is best.

The Ideal situation is a directly onshore wind(or storm) that builds the surf over a couple days followed by a front that blows directly offshore. The offshore winds will make the surf drop fast but light offshore winds will clean up the surf and make the waves that are rideable more defined. The best time to go is right before the front hits the coastline, that way you can make it out to the lineup while the wind is still onshore and by the time the wind drops for that short time you're warmed up and ready for the best of the swell.

If a storm is in the Gulf then your almost guaranteed some sort of surf, but where it's headed makes a huge difference. The best case is if the storm is making landfall it does so to the east of your break, or rather that you are on the "Clean Side of The Storm". Often this will result in solid ground swell with very little wind or even offshore winds.  This is the ultimate or "epic" Texas surf.

Finding the easy paddle-out spots is a great thing to know. Some breaks have a jetty or a pier that creates a small rip current that will help tow you out, at the same time a break can also have places that are more difficult to paddle out from. It's best to either watch others, or look for areas where less waves are breaking especially when the sets come in.

So that's it! You Should be ready to surf Texas! Check out our Links Page for other helpful sites including surf cams, swell forecasts, and more!