Galveston Bay is home to one of the largest ports in the United States. Giant container ships and tankers go through the Galveston ship channel every day. The line up in the Gulf to be inspected. I am told when things get real busy they can wait weeks offshore for entrance into the port. The ship channel is basically a 50 foot deep trench hollowed out of the bay that goes from the inlet of the gulf almost to downtown Houston with exit ramps to the various terminals where things are loaded and unloaded.
Surprisingly enough, most of the bay is around 6 ft deep, sometimes right next to the 50ft ship channel it will be 3 feet deep. The ships push a lot of water when they move, they can suck all the water off of a reef or out of a cove then the wake brings it back with a vengeance. This can easily capsize a boat if you are in the wrong place or not paying attention. Kayaks? I would rather not think about that.
Well holding true to the American way someone found a way to make this potential source of death and destruction a good thing and a way to make money. WWW.tankersurfcharters.com will take you out into the ship channel when the tides are right and the tankers are plowing and let you ride the wake of one of these behemoths as it endlessly breaks over the shallower areas next to the ship channel. These rides can go for miles at a time. The wind, choppy water and cold keep this from being a wintertime sport but if you are making your spring break or summer vacation plays, remember, you too can ride the big one in Galveston Bay.