[dropcap]P[/dropcap]ray for surf. It’s an oft-used expression among the surfing crowd. Now’s the time to take it quite literally. June and July signal the start of the summer doldrums and surfers up and down the east coast and into the Caribbean region either travel or start praying. BUT, and yes, that’s a capital B-U-T, don’t expect it to be totally flat in the Bahamas during these two early summer months. No. 1, there’s ‘trade swell’ that can push in anywhere from 2-4 feet some days and then… drum roll please, you might have already guessed it, yes, tropical storm swells. Probably bank on at least one or two named storms popping up during these months and probably at least one pushing some swell our way. We’re already on the letter ‘B’ for storms, with Ana taking place in early May and some of my Florida friends claiming some glassy longboard days up the coast. We’ll need a storm a little further south, or at least not moving north (away from us); or barring that, a storm packing some punch. Water temps have cooled with torrential rain pounding much of the archipelago in May. Cloudy days and the cool water from the sky have kept the water around many islands just creeping into the 80s, and some areas cooler than that. That should change, they don’t call it summer for nothing. The Petroleum Bill was set to be debated in May. Our country is interested in drilling in Bahamian waters near Cuba. If keeping our waters pristine and the fishing, diving and surfing here unspoiled, speak up. Members of Parliament and Ministers are a Google search away. Groups like reEarth, Save the Bays and Friends of the Environment are fighting the good fight. Visitors, expatriates and Bahamians, join up and be heard.
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