This is a photo of the third swell of 2019. That's not bad considering how things can go. That's three swells in 9 days. Pretty good. And it looks like we're gonna get another one midweek. That's of course according to Magic seaweed the premiere surf forecaster. This particular photo above is a head high wave at the wall. It was not only head high (and sometimes a little bigger) but it was also super clean. In other words, there was hardly a drop of water out of place. The only semi bummer was that it was overcast.

But honestly? There's something about a slightly overcast day that creates these marine green and cobalt blues that you don't get on the real dark days or the really sunny days. I guess it's a photographer's thing. I'm sure most folks could care less. As long as there's waves surfers will be happy.



Like DJ here. He's clearly happy. He's got his morning ciggie butt in his mouth and the surf looks really fun. What's there not to be happy about?



There were waves up and down the beach. Depending on which way you looked, one could make a quick assessment of the conditions and sandbars along with the tide, and make your own statement out there.



My future son-in-law paddled straight out in front of where I was standing. Which is (9 out of 10 times) the infamous 10th Street opening. This is Pete slicing thru the inside section and having himself some fun. He later went north to sample a popular reef break. But at this time he was happy with surfing the spot that generations of surfers have honed their skills at.

What's the song? "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere!"



I was on the phone (texting) to my longtime friend Lenny talking about getting back out in the water to shoot some more water footage. I was in the process of going through folders of all the footage I've shot with my HD camera when I came across this clip. This was the last day of summer back in 2016. Lenny was paddling by me when I stopped him for a quick "Selfie By Ralphie" I sent this to him after we got off the phone. The digital world is pretty fricking cool. And those GoPro HERO's take some good pics and vids.



I lost another good friend this past week. On January 9th, 2019 while skiing up at Sunday River in Maine my longtime friend Kurt Cochran of Gloucester MA was killed while skiing. It's hard to believe that a skier of his ability (he was an expert) could die on any mountain. Kurt pictured here (middle) was a great guy. And I'm not just saying that. He was. I've known him since 1983. We worked together at the Gloucester Times on Cape Ann.

He was the ad director and I was the artist/graphic designer. We worked on many ad campaigns together most notably the ART JEWELERS Annual Ad campaigns. That's where we introduced the world to GULVIS. We had so many great times back then. God I could write a book about our time together. Suffice it to say, we shared a lot of laughs together.

He and his wife Bette attended our wedding in 1987.



He even beat cancer about 15 years ago. He had a great attitude about that difficult time. Cory and I went to visit him at Mass General while he was recovering. We made it a point to stay in touch. And we did. Year after year we would exchange Christmas cards and we spoke on the phone a few times each year. We even hooked up on the mountains every now and then. I have a a photo somewhere of us together. He on his skis and me on my snowboard.

We had great nicknames for each other as well. he would call me RALPHALPHA and I would call him The IRISH FREIGHTER. he made the claim that he could surf. So we had a board shaped and designed for him.
He even agreed to having the IRISH FREIGHTER painted on the bottom of his board. Complete with a big green shamrock. He really couldn't surf that well. But he gave it a shot whenever we did surf together.

He and Bette were married forever. They had no kids. But they always had pets. And I mean big pets. They were both into large dogs. I'm talking borderline dinosaurs. He recently picked up a new puppy they named Thor.

I'm gonna miss him. I'll miss those phone calls. I'll miss the exchanging of Christmas cards. And I'll miss his laughter. Because, all we ever really did was make each other laugh. Boy did we ever laugh.

Rest easy my friend, I'll meet you on the other side. I'll be sure to keep in touch with Bette, and I want to meet your 125lb puppy Thor.

"Surfing, Skiing, and LOVE Heals All Wounds."

I posted this empty wave of Ed's this week because over half of the pics I shot myself this week were of empty waves. I always loved Ed's empty wave pics! Photo by Ed O'Connell
*Click the photo above to see a larger version of Ed's Pic.

Now for Some Local, National and International News
This is a great weekend if you're into the NFL Play-Offs. Last week it was the Wildcat teams and this week it the divisional rounds. So just a quick update here. The Colts Play the Chiefs. The Saints Play the Cowboys. The Patriots play the Chargers. The Rams play the Eagles. And the winners of those games will play in the AFC Championship and the NFC Championship.
And you know where the winners of those two game go.
That's right Bunky the SUPER BOWL.



Here's my fantasy. THE REDEMPTION BOWL(S)
*I wrote this on Saturday aftenoon.

Let's just say the Colts beat KC. And the Patriots beat the Chargers. The Patriots would then play the Colts in the AFC championship game. It will be the first time they will have played the Colts in the Playoffs since the now infamous "Deflate Gate."

Patriots win! REDEMPTION BOWL#1

Now let's say that the Eagles beat the Saints and they play the winner of the Rams/Cowboys in the NFC championship game. And then the Eagles go on to win that game and claim the NFC title! Are you still with me here? Because this next part is very important. Patriots will then face the Eagles in the Super Bowl.  And ...(wait for it) The Patriots win! Their 6th Title! REDEMPTION BOWL#2!!! No longer are we thinking about last year's debacle of the benching of Malcolm Butler, nor are we thinking about the terrible away games the Pats have lost this year. No my friends, Life is once again Glorious!

The DVD's ARE IN! We are taking orders via email. The much awaited All Women Surf Movie of the ladies and girls of the Northeast will be available at all the local surf shops this week and Online. To order yours just send me an email. ralph@adlantic.com or send a check for $20.00
made out to ADLANTIC and send it here:

ADLANTIC
c/o OC Studio Suites
703 Ocean Blvd Suite C-4
Hampton, NH 03842

THIS JUST ADDED! RENT or BUY it Online. You have spoken and I have listened. You don't have a DVD player so I made it available Online. Watch it on your Smart TV, your computer, or your cellphone! I can't make this any easier my friends.


GRANITE GIRLS and The RIVER WOMEN from Ralph's Pic Of The Week on Vimeo. NOW AVAILABLE on VIMEO ON DEMAND.

*Click on the photo above to see a larger version

(Above) These guys are gonna be pissed at me. I asked them their names before they paddled out and...well I forgot them. Hey at least I got pics of you guys. Check the gallery out. Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) This graffiti? Yeah I'm guessing he wished he could do a do-over. Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) The waves were borderline perfect. Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Head high, super clean, and super hollow.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Surf dog Oliver. Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) This look Head High? Steve O'Hara. Wednesday January 9th, 2019.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Then Jake snagged this nice right hander.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) This is shot number two. Jake Davidson.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Did Jake make it? I'm not telling you here. Click on the gallery
and see for yourself. Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) Then he turned around and grabbed this one. Jake Davidson.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Then my future son-in-law Pete Rizzo showed up and got a handful.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) This is Pete whipping down the line at 10th Street.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Jake Davidson laying it out on a backside carve.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Barrel number 5 for Mr O'Hara. Wednesday January 9th, 2019.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) This is DJ. He's a good surfer. Always surprising me.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Pete Rizzo on a nice looking left. Wednesday January 9th, 2019.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery





(Above) The waves were clean and green. Steve O'Hara.
Wednesday January 9th, 2019. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery