The YEAR in Review, and what a year it was...

I know I'm not alone when I say that this past year 2014 is one that I'd just as soon forget. With a series of untimely passings in our surf community, that literally sent shock waves throughout the ranks, I think we can all agree, that 2014 is one left for the ages.

Just the saddest damn year ever.

And it didn't start out that way. At least not for me. Sure a few of us got sick and we were all dealing with it on our level but no one thought it would take the turn it did. I was stoked in January of 2014. I was full on into my movie THE COLD COAST. Documenting each and every powerful winter storm that churned up the coast and dumped all that snow on us while giving us some memorable surf.

I was stoked. The storms had great names, and I was having a blast shooting the surf in and out of the water. And the interviews were cracking me up as well. It was your typical New England winter.

Then the Spring hit, and the bad news came with it.



First my nephew Michael Colby. A super talented multi media artist who was truly gifted lost his battle with addiction. His incredible work in computer animation still blows minds. He was never really a surfer per se, but he loved to skateboard. But Michael was a great person. A loving human being. He was my nephew, and I knew him since the day he was born. He was 31 years old when he left this earth.
June 9th, 2014. A gifted, talented, loving man, who fell into the darkness of heroin.

We are still not over his passing.

Then on July 1st, 2014 Ed O'Connell passed away. A bacterial infection in his leg too him. He had been battling brain cancer and he was beating it. I was not ready for this. I was not ready for my nephew passing away, but I have to say Ed's passing really caught me off guard. Ed was my right hand man when it came to this blog. For 10 years no other photographer on the seacoast submitted more photos to this blog than Ed. I loved Ed. He was like a brother to me.

Not since Joe Somogyi had I found another individual who shared the same background as I did. A Vietnam Veteran who loved surfing and Rock and Roll. Plus he was a photographer. We shared many a laugh in the times we were together. He was a special man and he touched a lot of souls here on the seacoast. He was the "Unknown Surfer's" best friend. Why? Because he would take photos of anyone. You did not have to be a good surfer for Ed to pull the trigger on you. You just had to catch a good wave.



I am still missing Ed. It has been been 6 months, and it still seems
like yesterday. I know time heals all wounds. But this void will be hard to fill. And I don't know if I really want to fill that void. Ed's Memorial Paddle was something special. Truly a wonderful tribute to a wonderful man. Kathy (his widow) is still a part of our lives here and we still share stories and memories of Ed when we get together.

Less than a week after Ed passed away, we lost another icon of
the NH surf scene. John "JT" Taylor lost his battle to cancer.



JT's passing was a red flag. How is this possible? How can three people that close to me suddenly pass from this earth? What was going on? I was really upset over this latest news. It just didn't seem possible. I had run into JT the month before as he was walking along the seacoast. Thank God. We talked about everything.

For the record, I've known JT since the early 70's. And when I say we talked about everything, I mean just that. Everything. Including our old friend Joe Somogyi. I only wish that JT had lived long enough to hear about the news from Joe's daughter Heather. But then again, maybe he already knows. Like Ed's paddle, JT's paddle was just as memorable. With is wife Abbey and daughter Brooke there on the beach and his brothers and sisters, it was a beautiful send off to a
big man with a big heart.

During JT's Memorial Paddle local photographer Martha Lardent was there taking photos photos. She thought to herself that someday her brother Alan would pass away and she thought she would like to have a paddle for him. Little did she know that a mere 3 days after JT's paddle her brother would pass. Alan MacGregor a local Rye Surfer passed away on July 21st, 2014.



That's three surfers in the month of July. All three lived in Rye.
Alan's Memorial paddle was yet another somber gathering of local surfers. How many more of these could one small surf community endure? At this point in time, my head was spinning. It was a scary time for all of us here on the seacoast.

I guess Alan's passing should of been more cause for alarm. And we all held our collective breaths with each passing week. And then August rolled in like a deep dark fog and the news was not good.

Rick Savastano who had been battling cancer for the past year was taking a turn for the worse. And just like that, we were once again thrust into a situation where the news would not be good. Rick Savastano was a local Surf icon. Hampton and the Wall and the older surf crew all knew the Savastanos. John, Rick, and Barbara.



This could not be happening again. But it was. And on August 7th, 2014 Rick Savastano passed from this earth. Four surfers in one summer. Once again we planned another Memorial Surfer's Paddle.
The turnout was beyond impressive. Friends and family gathered on the beach where Rick loved to hang out with his friends and siblings. There were surfboards, paddle boards, and canoes. And once again we paid our fondest and heartfelt farewell to one of our own.

It was a summer to end all summers. Only it was not over.

On September 10th, 2014 a young 17 year old surfer passed away in a terrible car accident. Emma Jacobs who helped out each year with the Wounded Warriors HIT THE BEACH along with other surfing schools and programs on the beach was gone. The youngest of the Five Surfers who passed away the Summer of 2014. Emma was surfer who loved surfing with her dad and younger sister.



I can't imagine the grief her family went through. Her dad had a private paddle for Emma, but suffice it to say, she will be missed by all who knew and loved her. The saddest Summer of all time is now behind us. If you read the blog last week you know of the good thing that has happened late in the year. Hopefully that is the sign of things to come.

One thing does remain the same throughout these sad but true stories. And that is...

"SURFING HEALS ALL WOUNDS"