PADRE ISLAND, TX — Bob Hall Pier was once a surfing destination before hurricanes devastated the South Texas landmark.
As the new Bob Hall Pier debuts on Tuesday, it could return more surfing to the South Texas coast.
Longtime locals like Frank and Nathan Floyd remember the old Bob Hall Pier as a surfing destination before Hurricane Hanna and Harvey destroyed it. The father-son duo runs Wind & Wave Watersports, a shop that's been serving Coastal Bend surfers for almost 40 years.
"We've had a lot of people come through here over the years because the pier when it was working good had some really good waves," Frank Floyd said.
Floyd has tested the waters by the pier and knows experienced surfers are excited to do the same.
"There's a lot of people who used to surf the pier almost exclusively who are chomping at the bit. You're definitely gonna see a lot of people gravitate that way," Floyd said.
Marco Parkins, with Third Earth Surf, says he surfed waves near the pier on Sunday and enjoyed it.
"It's starting to actually work and it's building the sandbars up," Parkins said.
There's a history of tension between fishermen and surfers at the old pier, but surfers say that conflict is now rare.
"98 percent of the time, 99 percent of the time we all get along pretty well. If we're paddling out over there the guy will wait a minute before he casts," Floyd said.
"We don't wanna get hooked as much as they don't want to hook us," Parkins said.
In a few months when the sandbars start to pile up, experienced surfers and maybe even some professionals will return to chase waves around Bob Hall Pier.
"The people that put on contests around here have already been putting out feelers for that. It's a great venue for that it brings out a lot more people to watch and compete," Floyd said.
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