From Surfing to skimming to exploring the deep, water sports make a splash with South Texans A few of the draws of Port Aransas beaches are nature tours, a variety of restaurants and Horace Caldwell pier. - Credit: Michelle Christenson/CT

On the water Windsurfing Wind plus water equals fun. And the Coastal Bend has lots of both. The Coastal Bend boasts a variety of watery terrain for windsurfers, who can jump waves on beaches on Padre and Mustang islands and skim across the often-smooth waters of Bird Island Basin in the Laguna Madre at Padre Island National Seashore. Windsurfing is popular also in Corpus Christi Bay off Cole Park. You can windsurf year-round, but you'll need a wetsuit to stay warm from October or November to April or May. Several water sports stores in the Corpus Christi area rent and sell sailboards and give lessons. New sailboards cost anywhere from $850 to more than $3,000. Used ones cost $200 to $1,500. Sailboards also can be rented for about $45 to $75 a day. Caution: You should get lessons before trying to windsurf. Without instruction, a beginner could drift too far offshore and have a hard time getting back. For information about windsurfing, call Chester Hulme, commodore of the Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association, at 985-8385. Body board and finsPaul Iverson/Caller-Times Skimboarding Skimboards just skim the surface, but they're a lot of fun. Made of wood or foam, a skimboard looks similar to a surfboard, but it is only about 3 feet long. Here's how it's done. First, you run down the beach to the water's edge, carrying the skimboard. While still running, you toss the skim board ahead of you so it skims across the shallow water. Then you hop onto the board and zip across the surface of the water like a skipping stone. Skimboarding can be done on almost any beach on Padre and Mustang islands. One of the best places might be in the area of Big Shell, on Padre Island National Seashore. Waves tend to stand up a little higher near shore at Big Shell, enabling the skimboarder to do a little wave carving. New skimboards sell for about $50 to $200 at area surf shops. Caution: This sport is not advisable for people who bruise or break bones easily. Rides can end in hard falls in shallow water. Body Boarding Body boarding is one of the most popular watersports in the Coastal Bend. Nearly anyone can do it. Lying prone on these 3-foot foam boards, you can catch so many waves, you'll think you died and went to Beach Boy heaven. Another advantage of body boards: They're usually made of soft material, so you won't be hurt if the board accidentally bops you in the head after a particularly gnarly wave. Body boarding can be done on dozens of miles of beaches on Padre and Mustang islands. Body boards are available at surf shops and other water sports shops. You can even buy them in convenience stores. They cost $30 to $180. It's easier to get around on a body board if you wear swim fins, which cost about $20 to $40. Caution: If you go very far out in the surf, wear a leash - a cord that tethers the board to your wrist. The leash will keep waves from washing your body board to shore, stranding you in deep water with no flotation. Leashes cost $10 to $25. Scuba diving Beyond the sometimes-murky coastal waters of the Corpus Christi area lie clear blue Gulf of Mexico waters - a delight for scuba divers. Oil and gas production platforms five to 50 miles offshore have created artificial reefs that attract brightly colored marine life like queen angel fish and damsel fish. The rigs also attract big fish like barracuda and amberjack. The best time for scuba diving is July to September, when the water tends to be clearer and warmer. Scuba gear can be bought or rented at several area dive shops, which also offer lessons and charter boat trips. All beginning divers should take lessons to receive certification - proof you have training as a diver. Dive-shop classes can be a weekend of long, intensive lessons. You also can be certified by taking classes twice a week for a month. If you want to be a scuba diver, you'll need to buy swim fins, a mask, snorkel, boots, gloves, a textbook and a logbook to keep records on your dives. You can get all this plus a certification class including a weekend of lake diving for about $600 and up. You can rent air tanks, a regulator, a buoyancy control belt and hand gauges for about $65 a day. You can buy the same equipment for about $1,000 to $2,000. Caution: Beginners should always dive with buddies. (That's not a bad idea for experts either.) Kayaking A kayak can really get you places in Coastal Bend waters. Depending on what kind of kayak you're paddling, you can ride the surf on Padre or Mustang islands; skim through 6-inch deep water in area bays; or travel miles down the Laguna Madre. Some kayaks are made especially for fishing. This versatile vessel can be purchased at area water sports stores for $400 to $2,000. A new Corpus Christi club, Third Coast Paddlers, provides support for beginners and advanced kayakers alike. Call 882-5374 or e-mail the organization at jjwinc@swbell.net Caution: Watch out for swimmers and surfers when you kayak. Personal watercraft users rip the water of the city marina opposite the People's Street T-Head. The watercraft can reach speeds up to 65 mph.-Credit: GeorgeTuley/Caller-Times Personal watercraft Combine the adrenalin rush of water skiing with the joys of driving a motorcycle, and you'll know the exhilaration of jet skiing. Operators of personal watercraft (the term Jet Ski refers to just one personal watercraft brand) have a lot of water to choose from in the Coastal Bend. Personal watercraft jump waves on Mustang and Padre islands, crisscross Packery Channel on Padre Island, rip across Lake Mathis, cruise the Laguna Madre and shoot through local bays. Some people even fish from them. Several dealers in Corpus Christi offer new personal watercraft at costs ranging from about $5,000 to $8,000. Used watercraft go for about $900 to $6,000. You can rent a personal watercraft for about $35 per half hour. Caution: Don't ride close to other personal watercraft or near swimmers. It's best to have a buddy with you on another watercraft in case you have mechanical problems far from land. It's also good to carry a cell phone. Personal watercraft can reach speeds of 65 mph, but inexperienced riders shouldn't go that fast. Operators of personal watercraft must obey the same laws as operators of larger boats but also must follow additional regulations. For information, call George Funderburk, public education officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 71, 937-4943. Snorkeling Strap on a diving mask, pull on a pair of fins and jump on in. Waters near the Coastal Bend shores can be murky but, when seas are calm, snorkelers can find relatively clear water and colorful tropical fish at the jetties in Port Aransas or at the Fish Pass farther south on Mustang Island. Underwater visibility at both jetties usually is no more than 5 feet, but it can increase to 10 to 15 feet and even to 40 feet on rare days. Visibility at Bird Island Basin, in the Laguna Madre at Padre Island National Seashore, can be as much as 10 feet. Snorkelers can see crabs, stingrays, flounder and mullet there. To go snorkeling, you'll need a diving mask, snorkel, fins, neoprene boots, gloves and possibly an inflatable vest. The equipment can be purchased at area dive shops. Cost: about $150 to $350. Caution: Beware of boat traffic, and watch out for fishing lines at the jetties. A surfer rides a wave at Mustang Island State Park. -David Adame/Caller-Times Surfing Check it out, dude. It ain't Hawaii, but Texas waves can pack enough punch to stoke surfers. Surf on Mustang and Padre islands ranges from dribbly one-foot ankle thrashers to the occasional - VERY occasional - walls of water 8 feet and higher. Waves of any real size are generated by offshore storms and hurricanes. On average, the waves around here are two to three feet. Surf is abundant on dozens of miles of local beaches on Mustang and Padre islands. You can buy used surfboards at area surf shops for anywhere from $40 to $400 and new surfboards for between $280 and $850. Surf shops also rent surfboards. You can surf year-round in Coastal Bend waters, but you'll need a wetsuit to stay warm from October or November to April or May. Wetsuits are available at area surf shops and water sports stores. Full wetsuits, which cover all of the body except for the hands, feet and head, cost about $140 to $300. Spring suits, which extend only to the elbows and knees, can be bought for about $90 to $120. Caution: Don't try to surf if you can't swim. Even if you can swim, you still should be careful, because undertows can pull you under water, and riptides can drag you out to sea. Don't go out in big waves if you're a beginner. Unless you're an expert, you should surf with a buddy. And always wear a surf leash - a cord that tethers you to your surfboard. For information about surfing local shores, call Flour Bluff resident Cliff Schlabach, president of the Texas Gulf Surfing Association and vice president of the United States Surfing Federation, at 937-2115. - Dan Parker

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