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SEPTEMBER
2009
September 29, 2009
Hey Ralph,
I'm a North Hampton native, born and raised for the past 18 years.
Just this month, I moved to Rhode Island for my Freshman year of
college. I'm really enjoying myself down here, and am absolutely
having the time of my life. Still though, I miss the wall. This past
summer I surfed more than I have any other; partly because the
excellent conditions allowed me to, but also because I knew I was
going to have to take a leave of absence. RPOTW has kept me in touch
with the local happenings, and I so appreciate the weekly updates.
Every once in a while, a picture will come up on your blog that will
really take me back to my favorite spots; such a thing occurred with
this week. One of your pictures from the 18th of September really hit
home for me. I was wondering if it would be possible to get a full
resolution copy of it for my computer's desktop.
Sincerely,
Brennan
I'm
happy to hear you're enjoying college. Be smart and don't mess up. There's
good surf down there. You just gotta go look for it. Don't tell em I
sent you.
Anyone can get a High Res copy of one of my photos and any of the other
photographers too. But you gotta pay for em. I sell mine for $20pr print
or $15 each for more than one. Send me a check and a return address
and you can have that photo on your desktop for as long as you like.
Study hard and surf harder.
Ralph
September 15, 2009
Hey Ralph,
I’m
a Jersey surfer born and raised- I love Bruce, Bon Jovi, winter surfing
and greasy food. I graduated from school in Mass. this past May and
just moved up here to start working a new job. I surfed NH with my buddies
for the last four years of school and we all loved it. The waves are
so different from NJ and the surf scene is a lot more relaxed and accepting
as opposed to agro and tense. The kindness of people in the water kind
of scared me to be honest.
Coming
up, I’m living in a small apartment and could only bring a 6’2
twinny, and a 6’4 thruster; however, I’m a longboarder, all
the way. No doubt, I’ll be up your way in NH every weekend I can
to get my ass in the water. I was wondering where I could find a 9’6
longboard to borrow/rent/possibly buy? Single fins, 50/50, and heavy
is what I like to ride. Let me know!
Great
sight by the way, sick shots, good community, I’m stoked to get
up there and really meet some other surfers in the community.
Best
Regards,
Zach
Our
friendliness scared you? Wow, so Jersey really is the Dirty dirt huh?
My guess is you haven't met everyone. Please don't tell anymore of your
Jersey boys how friendly you think we are. If I hear of anyone with
a Longboard per your request I'll let you know. I'm glad you like it
here.
Ralph
September
15, 2009
stumbled upon your website And
saw a beautiful wave at a spot where I’ve never seen as much as
a shorepound. June 26th, 2005. It has to be a shot taken from Blacklock
Point, looking south towards Cape Blanco, Oregon. Unbelievable! Can
you tell me more about the photo? I’ve hiked into that place dozens
of times and have never seen anything like that.
I’m
wondering if that shot of you sitting in a surf camp Northwest Canada
style is at Port Renfrew?
I’m
hoping to hear from you about that photo. I’ll be hiking there
more often; unless, perhaps that too, is a mysto spot.
Jeff
That's
Nova Scotia. Not Northwest Canada.
Ralph
September
15, 2009
Billy Ritchie is an animal.
Caught
that guy shredding last week, holy S how old is that dude, amazing.
Josh
Billy
works out pretty hard when the surf is flat. So when the swells arrive,
Billy is ready. He is ageless.
Ralph
September
14, 2009
Ralph,
It was a real pleasure to meet you on the beach yesterday. My young
grom, Thomas, was thrilled to finally see the real live talking Ralph
in person. You are on his list of favorite websites.
How cool was that to have been chatting with you right at the moment
you clicked that awesome photo of your son Mackey V ripping a backside
lip basher? Very cool. And then today, finding out that he was guilty
of the " blatant drop" and you publishing it for the world,
further solidifies your strong backbone, character and values. I am
sure your lawn looked neat and trim by late Sunday afternoon.
I was surprised and thrilled to see me amongst the photos. Thanks for
the shot. As you can imagine, I am always the one taking the photos
and rarely do I get my image in lights.
Thanks again and see you at the beach soon,
Aloha,
Tom
Thanks
Tom . Glad your son was so stoked. As far as my son mowing the lawn
and getting called out on the DROPPING IN section...well, I have to
stay true to my word both here on this weekly blog and at home.
As Far as The BLATANT DROP IN... If you do it, and I see it -I will
shoot it and I will post it.
Ralph
September
14, 2009
I tore my meniscus during Bill haven't surfed in a while your newsletter/pics
keep me stoked...peace...Sean
Ouch.
Hope you feel better soon. I'm glad this weekly blog helps.
Ralph
September
14, 2009
Dear Mr. Fatello,
This was shot with my waterproof point & shoot yesterday at the
Wall. This young lady (whoever she is) had a great style and poise in
the crowded lineup.
I'd
be mighty proud if this got included in your fine site.
Thanks
for your site and all your good work for the surf community at large.
Sincerely,
John
H
That's
Hoku. I'd be mighty happy to post it. Thanks for the kind words.
Ralph
September
9, 2009
Ralph,
Yakkers dropping in on surfers. Funny, but I coined and use this name
for them too; however, I’m a boater, worse yet a powerboater. I
frequently have close encounters with these people, who think they have
just as much right to the water as I. They do, but they don’t know
boating rules and apparently are clueless to surfer’s rules too
– and that’s my issue with them. They are on a motor-less
craft, so they don’t need certification like I do and ignorance
is bliss.
But I must detail my closest encounter for you and your readers. My
boat was moored on a tidal river in front of a friend’s house a
few years ago. This friend called me to tell me that an upset, soaking
wet Yakker came to her door to tell her that the boat out in front of
her house had swung wildly on its mooring, hitting his yak, capsizing
him and causing some $1500 to $2000 dollars damage. I was shocked by
this story was an understatement, and could visualize a nasty lawsuit
starting. “But how does a moored boat hit a moving yak?”,
and “Was I at fault?”, were questions I was asking myself.
My friend had given him my name and number and sure enough he called
later that day – same story. I said I was sorry, but I was under
the impression that it was the boater that had to avoid the moored craft
and not the other way around. He didn’t see it this way and didn’t
like the fact that my boat was now on this mooring – apparently
he thinks this is his river. And to his damage claim, one can buy a
top of the line yak for this kind of money, but he was not backing away
from the stated amount, yet he wouldn’t provide me any of the detail
either.
I went to check on my boat the next day to see if the Yakker’s
yak had damaged my powerboat. I could see where he hit it, just a scratch.
No big deal. A few minutes later, back on shore, I noticed a white paddle
craft coming around the river bend about a half mile downstream.
This section of the river is a long straight away and this boat was
a single man scull, or perhaps an $8000 to $1000 single man racing scull.
I noticed that the rower looked down the straight to pick a safe course
and then got back to the task of exercise. You don’t suppose my
Yakker was actually a Sculler and reluctant to admit it? Do you see
where I’m going with this? Scullers don’t look where they
are going! They are sitting backwards to the direction of travel.
I watched this Sculler come up the straights without ever once looking
back around again to check his course – over a good half mile.
He kept on going past my boat and when he came to the river’s bend
he got tangled up in a down oak tree in the water.
I think I understand the incident now. Sure enough, I get on the phone
to re-question my new friend. Yes, he admits to being a Sculler. No
wonder he hit my boat, he doesn’t look where he is going! I say
this to him and he retorts “Yes I do”. “But you’re
sitting backwards I say.” Anyway, I recommend he buy a bicyclist’s
review mirror and mount them on a helmet, which is advice he doesn’t
appreciate hearing. And why didn’t he tell me this during the first
phonecall – I guess he knew that he was really at fault but didn’t
want to admit this to himself, wanted someone to blame, and maybe he’d
get lucky and connect with a dupe who would pay for the damage (if there
really was any…).
Yes, boats do swing in the wind and the current while on a mooring,
as much as 180 degrees as I was now paying attention to this. LOOK WHERE
YOU ARE GOING. Surfers, these Scullers are bound to show up on the ocean
soon. Beware.
Rich
Damn...that
was long, but informative. SCULLERS? They're coming? Oh no Lions
and Tigers and Bears Oh My! Yakkers, Suppers, and Scullers oh
shit...
" Can't we all jest git along...?"
Ralph
September 8, 2009
Do me a favor, stop telling the kayakers to come out to my spot. Especially
the ones who already have shown that they have no ettiquette.
I've been out there by myself for 20 plus years. Now I gotta deal with
the f'in SUPS. Last thing I need is more kayakers who drop in out there.
Let the guys at the rocks take care of these clowns.
They'll learn soon enough.
But please don't pawn em off on me.
Stand
your ground on those kayak blogs. They are dead wrong and you are 100
percent right.
Jim
Gee
Jim, you looked so lonely out there with just you and a few 10' long
Blue Sharks! Actually I was hoping you could use some of those Sea Clowns
as Shark Bait. All kidding aside, it seems that most of the Yakkers
are getting a good education out of these last few weeks.
" Let's jest hope dey git skooled reeel good like..."
Ralph
September
6, 2009
Just checked out your blog and photos of wounded warriors,great photos
(mackie) nice rant on "Yakkers". You guys have a serious problem
with those knuckleheads huh? Is it legal to shoot them or is the season
over? I'll talk to ya later, going out on the boat
The Skipper and Maryanne
Very
funny. I'm not sure what the season is for Yak Hunting. My guess is,
it's an Open Season.
Ralph
September
5, 2009
Hi Ralph, since dropping in is a fairly prominent section of your site/blog,
I'm asking for your opinion on an incident that occurred at The Wall
today (9-5-09, 10:30); and will be as evenhanded as I can in its retelling.
I was paddling into a wave and started riding down the curl when I noticed
another surfer paddling for the same wave toward me who was about 15
feet away. He didn't pull off, so we had to bail to avoid each other.
Now in the few instances where I've had a close encounter like this,
my first statement is usually, "Are you OK?"; considering
injury is way more important than a breach of etiquette at that point.
This guy (short, stocky, 40ish, shaved head, rashguard) starts screaming
that the wave was breaking the other way and that I was going the wrong
way. I then fire back that he's wrong but that shouldn't even matter
because I was already on the wave and he was still paddling. Thus, his
opinion over the wave's break direction doesn't even matter. He then
starts saying, "Are you saying I don't know how to surf?!"
and is being a jerk in general. I simply reply that I'm sure he knows
how to surf but needs to be reminded of the rules. I paddle back to
the lineup and mind my own business. On his way back out, he paddles
over the back of my submerged board about 2 feet from me just to reinforce
his new title as "jerk of the day". His buddy (40ish with
a straw hat) was also dropping in on me and many others throughout the
day, despite good communication efforts by the surrounding surfers and
narrowly missed a guy's head who was trying to get his board after a
wipeout. Sorry for the long story and I guess I shouldn't bother going
out on a Saturday at 10:00 anyway. But who was at fault in this particular
instance? Thanks and keep posting the pics and rants!
Hanlon
Hey
Hanlon: This is a really good question. And it's really difficult for
me to say who was right or wrong here, without actually witnessing the
action. But it sounds like, this is one of those sticky gray areas.
Let me explain. You were right by thinking the wave was yours, due to
the basic rule of, you being up first and riding. However, it also sounds
like the other guy was right-if you were in fact going right, on a left.
Do you follow me? I know the waves at the wall on Saturday were small,
and it was really crowded and a lot of times it's hard to tell if the
waves are rights or lefts. My guess is you were both right, but the
other guy may have been in a better position to go in the opposite direction.
Therefore you would be in the wrong. But again, this is just guessing
on my part. If I had seen it all go down, I could make the call.
But I will say that you had the right attitude to see if he was OK.
And I hate to say it but...this is one of those cases where a simple
"I'm sorry" would go a long way. And I mean from both parties.
Thanks for writing and keep surfing.
Ralph
September
1, 2009
There is much truth your analysis, but there is also truth that some
of the best surf spots for kayaks are also where the surfers are. Double
overhead beach break in a kayak gets scary. Shoulders with a predictable
outside is better. Paddlers also do need more gear, since they are not
as well prepared for swimming as a wetsuited person and a paddle to
the head can hurt with a helmet on. But yeah, sometimes even the most
well behave kayaks need to realize the crowd is too big /risky and move
on. And there are too many kayak kooks and kayaks launching for the
first time when a hurricane is on TV. The question is how best to reach
them.
Peter
I still think (know) that Kayakers can get into waves easier, and therefore
should either learn to share, or go to another less crowded spot. If
I were a Yakker I'd avoid crowds and Kayak somewhere else. As far as
the current influx of Kook Kayakers launching into Hurricanes and Big
storms without knowing better, That's really not our problem. That's
for you guys to communicate. As far as trying to reach them, use the
Internet, or talk with them directly. Otherwise there will be more problems.
And Surfers won't have a problem trying to reach Kayakers. Just look
at that DROP IN Sequence again.
Lenny was able to reach that Yakker no problem.
Ralph
September 1, 2009
Ralph,
If
you ever catch footage of a kayaker doing the right things… backing
off from a claimed wave, claiming a wave properly at the peak, etc.
please let me know. Some boaters may learn better by seeing positive
examples. Especially the capable river boaters who may not be up the
surf learning curve themselves but don’t easily draw parallels
between themselves and some fairly obvious beginner. They may relate
better to seeing an expert surf kayaker showing proper attitude.
Experienced
kayak surfers are interested in helping to educate the kook kayakers.
Thanks.
Peter
Peter
if I find myself shooting Kayakers doing the right thing, I'll let you
know. But for the record, I only shoot Surfers . Unless there's something
askew. Then I pull the trigger. Otherwise, I'm trying to avoid all others
and concentrate on the issue at hand. Surfing.
Ralph
September
1, 2009
evidence that i did surf this swell!
Thanks
for the shot
http://www.ralphspic.com/END-R-BILL%202-Aug%2023-09/pages/RALPH%20Bill%20KILL%20August%2023-2009%2037.htm
keep
up the blog ralph!
jon'
It's hard to tell who's who, if they are not identified when I get the
many pics. Glad you picked yourself out of the line-up.
(Pun intended).
Ralph
September
1, 2009
Hey Ralph,
I've
read your blog for a few years now and enjoyed it a bunch. I was born
and raised in NH, but recently moved out to Oregon to serve as an Americorps
volunteers, anyways, I have been back on vacation, and took a few pictures
during the Danny swell that I thought I'd send to you. This is just
point and shoot stuff... but I had a fun time shooting in between being
in the water. Hopefully I'll get an SLR someday! Anyways, feel free
to use if you'd like, and if I see you around, I'll introduce myself!
Let
me know about the image size, and I'll send them along.
Keep up the good work!
Best,
Gregg
Thank
you for the kind words. You are one of many thousands of
New England transplants who read my weekly blog.
Please send your Danny pics at 800 pixels wide.
Looking forward to what you have.
Thanks.
Ralph
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