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Got
good surf pics? Send em off to me directly. (See link below) Just make sure they're 650 pixels wide. NO bigger NO smaller. In fact if you have any questions about the size, email me first and I'll write back. Start shooting crackie!! Ralph Pic Of The Week |
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If you want to access the Pic of the week from past weeks click here. Archives |
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April
20th, 2008 Am I alone here? I think being a surfer requires 100% of the Lifestyle to spill over into our daily routines. You know, when we are not out in the water. Surfing in the home, or on the road. I do it when I'm snowboarding all the time. I'm surfing through life. OK
back to my original thought. I was not paying full attention to anything
the weatherman was saying on TV. In fact, I had already reserved the time
away from the ocean in my mind this week. I was actually looking forward
to not surfing and just cleaning up my office and finally settling in
with my new system of New computers and new scanner. The weatherman was doing his routine and this is basically what I heard..."Blah blah blah blah...Ocean Storm blah blah blah..."...."What the? I ran back in to the living room and his report was just ending. I frantically looked for the remote and tried a couple of other stations. "Hey!"
I yelled out to no one in particular. "I think this guy just said
something about an Ocean Storm" I got no response from anyone. I
went looking for Max and found him downstairs engaged in combat
on his PS3 game, I told him what I thought I heard. He seemed only somewhat
interested. "Dad I'm in the middle of this online battle.I can't
really talk now." I looked at him and said. "I think we're gonna
get some serious surf." Look I've been around long enough to know, that when a local weatherman brings up an Ocean Storm it's time to take note. These guys may be corny 90% of the time but when they actually mention a storm that's sitting out at sea. Well, I'll put up with the cornball antics.. So I did. I paid attention. By Tuesday I had an idea that we were all gonna be into something good. Again. I figured by Friday or maybe even before. I was really surprised at how many of my friends did not know about this pending swell, or simply didn't care. Have we gotten that jaded with this incredible run of surf, that it was now just a given that we'd get surf? Or were they like me, figuring that it was finally over? I'm telling you all...I thought we were done, at least for a while. But I was wrong. Thursday late morning showed the first signs. At first it was small...about knee to occasionally waist high. But it was glassy and there were long intervals in between the small but consistent sets. I watched it all morning from my office. I'm lucky that I have two machines on my desk. One always has the wave cam on. I
guess it was around noon when I saw something that really caught my eye.
It was a glassy set, with what appeared to have, two birds in the wave
face. On closer inspection, I realized that those birds, were in fact
people. I called my buddy Jacko "Hey I think it's here." He told me he was gonna check it in person. There's nothing like actually getting down to the ocean and seeing and smelling it for real. The wave cams are great (hell we'd be lost without em) but getting down to the ocean's edge is the ultimate surf check. An
hour later he called back. "I'm heading out. Are you gonna join me?"
..."Yes. I'm on it." I replied. And within the next half hour,
I was down at that stretch of cement that we all love and respect. I made
a few calls before heading down. A few of them were actual wake up calls.
"You're kidding." Was their answer. "No I'm not. There's surf, and it's only going to get better." It really blows my mind that some of my friends who live about 1 -2 minutes by car from the ocean had no idea about this swell. No excuses. Not in this day and age. When I pulled up at 10th street it was pretty evident that it was in fact here and getting better. I was struggling to get into my 5/4/3 when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. A "dude" was coming out of the water with NO suit on. I mean no wetsuit. He had a pair of trunks on but that was it. I
had to walk up to him and ask. And so it begins. |
So
the surf on Thursday late day was sooooo good. I mean, it was Fun
Good. We were all out there getting really long rides and just soaking up
our good fortune in the waning light. Jacko, Billy, Adam, Mike Moran
and everyone else I paddled by. It was a field day of waves. The paddles
were a bit of a struggle that night out there. But nothing could of prepared
us for the next day..
I
awoke at 5AM and went and got the lad out of bed. The sun was peeking
through the clouds and when I let the dog out I could hear the surf. It
sounded solid. Like a ground swell. "Oh this is going to be a good
day" I thought to myself. I could just feel it. In either case, I knew I was in for a paddle. The
night before I rode my Long board. My 9' 0" (Semper Fi). And
let me tell you, it was a struggle paddling that thing in a rising swell.
Today I was riding my 7' 5". At least I could duck dive this
board. And make no mistake about it. I'd be duck diving today. The sets
looked big. Clearly overhead. Maybe even double overhead on the sets.
It was hard to tell. Punishment
was the order of the day out there. The dam paddle...why did I write that last week? There is some good news to come out of this 3 day swell. What's that? Well, surprisingly, the 5/4's can be put away. Yep. I wore my 4/3 yesterday and I was fine. Take those 6mil and 5 mil suits and hang em up till next December. You don't need em. I just wished I had my 4/3 on Friday. Although I was really getting worked out there. I'm sure the 5/4 kept me warm and afloat. Still, wearing that 5/4 on Friday felt like I was wearing a soaking wet Afghan Rug with a hole cut in it for my head. The water is warm enough for a 4/3. But not warm enough for my visiting buddy from Hawaii. Jason "Rat" Hammer was in town on official business this week. Jason is a longtime surfer from Hampton who is now a Lt.Col in the USARMY. He's stationed in Hawaii and it's always a pleasure to see him when he comes home. Jason served in IRAQ in 2006 and we are all very proud of him and his service. But man was he cold surfing this weekend. How soon we forget en Jason? OK so the Bruins came back from a 3-1 deficit to now tie up the series 3-3 against the dreaded but talented Canadians. Marco Strum's late 3rd period goal got the place rocking! I have to say. I watched the game last night and didn't once think about that other New England team. You know the one who's name is synonymous with this holiday we are honoring. Patriots Day. And
the Sox are kicking butt again too! David Big Papi" Ortiz
has finally found his swing again and has been connecting with the ball
as of late. Manny is slaying them as well. And all you Celtics
fans have to be excited as they start their run for a Championship
ring tonight against Atlanta. Pretty exciting stuff. Happy
Passover. And God Bless the Pope. He prayed today at Ground
Zero. Pretty moving scene. Remember
my friends...Surfing heals all wounds.... |
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Yesterday
1978 Kevin Grondin Inside Speed Line on a single fin
(Above)
Early Friday Morning.
(Above)
I think this is Mike Stanek. Friday April 18th, 2008.
(Above)
Mike can fix any ding anywhere. Something tells me he's put a few dings
on his own boards.
(Above)
Mike Stanek slaying the white stuff. Friday April 18th, 2008.
2008 Photos of Nicaragua by Brian Nevins
2008
A few More Hawaii Pics from Bernie Baker and his
Today
2008 Parting Shot... Aloha Nosah!
 Click On Wave to Go Back to The Top.
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