I messed up this week. I saw and rode waist high waves on both Wednesday and Thursday, and I did not shoot the "proof" until it was too late. In other words, the
only documentation I have of waist high waves was of a beginner, on (of all things), a SUP. I know I know. I completely dropped the ball. I called Ed to see if he shot, but he never left the Northern I-Corps district. From his vantage point he did not
see anything worth driving south for. It was all up to me. And you.

Because if you don't believe me, it didn't happen. I'm asking you to trust me.

I saw waist high waves. I surfed on waist high waves. I just don't have any "real" proof. Unless one of you has the goods. If you do, shoot them over to me. Otherwise you'll have to cringe at the one photo I have of the Kook SUP dude.
Ugh. And please don't go reading into anything here. I don't mind the SUP. And let's face it, kooks are kooks. They are what they are.

My close friend Rich who sits in with me from time to time to play bass in my
power trio BHD has recently picked up a wetsuit and a new board. Keep in mind, he's about 7 to 10 years younger than me. In other words, he's no spring chicken. But he keeps asking me "Now that I'm a surfer when are we going to go surfing together my fellow surfer?"

I have to remind him. "You're not a surfer yet."

He comes back with the "I'm too old to be a Grom. So what am I?" That's when I hit him with the obvious. "Rich, you're a Kook. A bona fide kook." He laughs at me. "What are you talking about? I'm a surfer now." "Look, to be honest with you, you're not even a kook, you're actually giving kooks a bad name. You're like a sub-kook
or something." He laughs again, but I just give him the look. You know the look.
The look followed by the slight head shake.

Just yesterday he was looking at one of my wave paintings.

"Ralph is this called a left right?" He was staring at the painting I did of a perfect peak barreling over a tropical reef. "It's a peak. A perfect peak." I answer. "But it's got both a left and a right!" He states the obvious. I look around to make sure no one who surfs is actually listening in. "Yes it has both a left and a right. It's called
a peak. You can go either way. A perfect peak."

He looks at me and back at the painting. "A left right!"

Thank God he's a good bass player. I will eventually take him out for a quick
lesson. Ralph and the kook. Oh brother, give me the strength Lord.

OK so once a year, the flagship of all Surf related magazines "SURFER" puts out their BIG Issue. It's a clever way of marketing the mag. And look let's all be honest here. SURFER was the first magazine. SURFER has earned the reputation that it holds so highly to this day. Can't take anything away from them.

We have only two magazines here on RPOTW. The SURFER's JOURNAL and EASTERN SURF MAGAZINE. Two of the best. My admiration and respect for
both is well documented. But Surfer was the first. We can all acknowledge that.

The Big Issue this year has the BEST 100 Waves in the world.

Maybe you've seen it already. It's another great marketing angle to get you to look through it. Hey it worked on me. If you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. I was slightly disappointed though. Why? Well for starters, out of the so called 100 BEST waves in the world, I've only been to 13 of them. Thirteen.

I know some of you personally have been to at least half of these spots. Some of you have been to more. And I'm also sure that some of you have been to less than
I have. And honestly there's no shame in any of it. Trust me.

There was however, not a single wave from New England. Nor was there was anything from Nova Scotia. It was mostly breaks that I would never want to surf, even if I was twenty years younger, and had the money to get me there. I mean
they were just totally unrealistic. At least they were to me. But then again, surfing has changed so much in the last 10 years, that some of these crazy (and I do
mean crazy) breaks are high on the list of today's surfers.

And it's all about today's surfers. The youth. The older, over the hill surfers, like myself are like old golfers now. We putt around in our golf carts and talk about the old days. Wait that's not true. I hate golf. But you know what I'm talking about.

The 100 BEST Waves In the World are not for Surfers like the majority of us. It's
for those who can charge big mean dredging pits. It's for the Big Wave Riders. The Big Barrel Riders. And that's cool. That's what it should be about. I have to keep reminding myself that I am not the young surfer my old battered brain thinks I am. My mind says go these days but my body says "Oh Hell no!"

But I can still look at the photos. And wonder to myself. "If I could just be placed right there in that tube, I could probably surf that wave." You know, to have some giant hand of God pick me up, and place me and my board, right in the sweet
spot. I could do it. Or could I? Or would I really want to try?

Nah...I'm never gonna surf one of those insane waves.

But maybe you can. If you're young enough, and brave enough, and most importantly, you actually know how to surf, you could do it. Go for it.

But for me, and most of my friends of my age and skill level? We'll just look at the pretty photos and fantasize. Maybe I should run the 100 BEST Waves in the World for those of us who don't ride slabs, ledges, and other death defying spots. Or maybe not. Still, I bet most of you would dig that.

One of the BIG surprises in the New SURFER is the article and photo spread from our pals at GET IN THE VAN. Mr Brian Nevins and Nick LaVecchia shot some great, no scratch that. The BEST photos I've ever seen of the Great Lakes. It's true. Some of the waves looked insane. I had the pleasure of surfing with Brian the day he came home from the Great Lakes, and he was visibly stoked on what they scored. He sent me a couple of teasers to sit on until the Mag article came out.

The waves I saw were Legit. Overhead, reeling left point waves, against a frozen tundra back drop. I've never seen anything quite like it from the Lakes Region. I'm not surprised. Nevins scores 9 out of 10 times whenever he hits the trail. The Great Lakes Mission was incredible. Go and take a peak yourselves. Surfer called it the BEST Fresh Water Wave they have ever seen. I agree.

Hope you all had a Happy Fourth. Summer is in Full Swing. Be nice to each other out there. Give a wave-get a wave. And pay those meters...