California 2 Puerto Rico

The good news is, we have surf. Hurricane Dean is passing just south of us right now, some of the cities on the South side of the island like Ponce are getting some wind and rain, but we haven’t had to deal with much here. We have had moderate gusts for the past two days but nothing I would associate with a hurricane.

Yesterday morning I surfed some waist high clean surf for about an hour and my arms were shot…I am out of surf shape big time. After a couple hours of work, I went back out just to get wet again and the sets started stacking. It was head high plus and lined up…not too crowded but the current was ripping down the beach. By the time I paddled in I had to paddle against the current on the inside to get to a safe, urchin free, in/out spot on the reef.

This morning, the surf has some morning sickness (that is why I am writing this post) with the low tide and the wind…but it is overhead on the sets.

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Jerry and I have been working hard the past couple of days working the electric company (trying to get our meter installed) and laying out the excavation work for the front yard. With all this going on, I didn’t realize that a tropical storm formed off of the Cape Verde Islands and is strengthening. Like most small towns, everyone is talking about Puerto Rico being “due” for a big storm…they haven’t had a big one since Hurricane George back in 1998. Everyone seems to be a weather expert, especially when they are talking to the “New Guy” in town (that’s me). None of these “dooms day’rs” know that I grew up with Hurricanes in New Jersey and dealt with them all through college in Wilmington North Carolina.

Things are a little different though, Summer and I now own a house and it isn’t as easy as moving to a new rental if it gets wrecked. However, our house survived Hurricane George (105 knot winds) with absolutely no damage. I am confident in our house and the good news is, at least we can’t loose power…we still don’t have it.

Check out Tropical Storm Dean gaining strength in the Atlantic. You can see the storm path has it heading towards Puerto Rico, but there is a lot of time for things to happen between now and Saturday (estimated landfall); Wind Shear, Northern Tracking, Barometric Pressure Rising….if all goes well, the hurricane will track a couple hundred miles north of us and give us some long overdue surf.

Hurricane Dean 120 Hour Forecast 8/14

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Conner…and everyone else

There just isn’t much surf down here this time of the year unless you drive north or even to the other coast (Gulf Side). We have been so busy with the house we can’t really dedicate a full day to track down waste to chest high surf. Once the tropical storms and Hurricanes start passing by (hopefully over the ocean and not Puerto Rico) we should start getting some swell that I will be able to post about. If by chance we do catch some surf, I’ll be sure to post some pictures and descriptions.

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The talk of the town for the past two days has been two fold;
1. This is the hottest summer in 5 years (it is still in the 90’s at night some nights)
2. The swell is on the way

As far as number 2 goes, Josh and I woke up early to surf but the swell hasn’t hit yet. It is knee high on the sets and there is some texture on the water. It wasn’t inviting enough for me to blow off work but Josh is down there splashing around to kick the cobwebs and cool off.

As far as number 1 goes…jeez, we sure need some fans/ac at the house ASAP!

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I spoke with Josh yesterday. He and Brian are at the house while I am home testifying at summers trial. They have been working hard to get the house up to electrical code (brian is a master electrician) so we can pass electrical inspection.

Unfortunately, there hasn’t been much surf since Brian got down there..but Josh tells me there is a big swell heading to town that they expect by Friday night. I’ll keep you updated and take some pictures for ya. I’ll be back down there Saturday night.

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