Photo by Sandro Giorgi

We know. Texas never has been considered a surfing Mecca in the way California and Hawaii are. The waves aren’t big; but Texans, being Texans, aren’t easily discouraged. The state still has a strong surfing culture dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, when Gulf Coast residents took up the sport in earnest. Many of those pioneers, as you’ll read in these pages, are still at it. And some of them have even begun organizing reunions to celebrate the laid-back camaraderie surfing seems to inspire.

Laura Elder

Although Texas might not be known for monster waves, its surfers are known for patience and persistence. In 2010, Texas Monthly blogger Paul Hagey wrote: “ … die-hard surfers in Texas, and there are some, swear on a respectable, if inconsistent, Gulf surf. Everything’s bigger in Texas, if not in size in the surf’s case, then in spirit.”

In this issue, you’ll also meet some talented locals who carry on the tradition of making surfboards.

This issue celebrates surfing and the Texas spirit. But we won’t stop here. Coast Monthly plans to make surfing articles a recurring feature throughout the year.

On the cover: Galveston resident Tasha Rivard sits on her surfboard in the water on the island’s West End. Photo by Stuart Villanueva

In this issue, you’ll also find features about a beautiful League City home thought to be renowned Houston architect Edmund Furley’s only surviving coastal structure. We also meet Galvestonian Tom McDonald, whose custom-made lamps have graced the homes of former President George W. Bush and rocker Rod Stewart, to name a few high-profile clients.

We hope you enjoy this issue. And may you find beautiful waves.