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June
25, 2006
OK...this rain thing, it's getting tired. Enough is enough. And this lack
of surf thing...well, that's getting a little tired too. I think we can
all agree that we'd gladly sacrifice some sun if the surf was consistent.
This knee high stuff is great for the Mini Groms and beginners but it's
wearing thin on the rest of us.
But fear not my fellow wave worshippers. Word has it that a swell is on
the horizon. And that by the end of the week, a decent size swell will
find it's way to our shores and then we can all rejoice again. All 5,000
of us, cursing and bumping rails as the overamped inmates hit the surf.
A word to the wise when the swell does hit, to quote the late Duke
Kahanamoku.."Relax, take your time, wave come".
Speaking of waves coming. Last weekend there was an incident at North
Beach (The Wall) involving a surfer and a lifeguard. Apparently the
Lifeguard was after this one Longboarder to put a leash on and the surfer
ignored his constant requests. Thus causing the lifeguard to call his
superiors and eventually the police. The surfer (who clearly should know
better) struck the lifeguard and was overly aggressive to the Director
of ALL the BEACHES in New Hampshire and was subsequently arrested. He's
facing serious charges. Not only that, his actions have caused some talk
about shutting down the surfing area.
PLEASE PAY ATTENTION HERE.
Lifeguards are NOT the enemy. Lifeguards have the jurisdiction to enforce
certain rules and minor laws that should have NO affect on how and where
you surf. If the rules state that you have to wear a leash during the
Summer months. PUT A LEASH ON! There's a seatbelt law. You have
to wear a seatbelt when you drive a car. It does NOT make a difference
on how good of a driver you are, the Law states that you have to wear
a seatbelt. Same with surfing. Lifeguards don't know if you've been surfing
for 20 years, or 20 minutes. They require that you use a leash.
WHEN THE LIFEGUARDS ARE ON DUTY. PUT A LEASH ON! Don't ruin this
great relationship we have with the parks and recreation Department. I
know Brian Warburton. He's a friend of mine. He likes most surfers.
But he does not like being yelled at by belligerent surfers and NON-SURFERS
(I'll get to that in a moment). We have a great relationship with both
the Lifeguards and with Brian. We worked hard developing that relationship
over many years. Don't ruin this for everyone else with your sour attitude
towards Lifeguards and other beach authority. I'm not alone in this either.
Dave Cropper, Mike Paugh, Steve O'Hara, and Lenny Nichols are backing
me up 100%.
The other NON-SURFERS are the High School aged kids who have taken on
the pseudo look of surfers and have taken up the sport of drinking Alcohol
on our beaches at night. They break bottles on our beaches and leave piles
of trash. This is UNACCEPTABLE. You clowns know who you are, be forewarned.
TAKE YOUR TRASH WITH YOU. There are others (LOCAL SURFERS) who at any
given moment will enforce these rules on anyone who does not get it.
Don't put us to the test.
If you enjoy surfing in the summer around here. And if you like hanging
around with the Surf Crowd, we love having you here. Just Follow the rules.
Otherwise go somewhere else and face the consequences..
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Tonight
legendary Surf Movie maker Jack McCoy brings his latest creation
the IOKA Movie theater in Exeter, NH. The movie "FREE
AS A DOG" starts at 8:00PM and tix are on sale at the
shop and at the IOKA. For those who don't know who Jack McCoy
is, well, I suggest you get a few of his movies like BLUE HORIZON
and my fave BUNYIP DREAMING. Jack is one of the all time
BEST Surf Filmmakers of our time. He's the real deal.
But what Jack has recently done is, brought back the cool vibe of seeing
movies on the big screen. No, not your own private Big Screen TV, but
back in the movie houses. You know, Old school. Some of you youngin's
probably never saw a dam surf movie outside of your own DVD player.
That's pretty dam sad. There was a time when a surf movie was released
and we waited months for it to come to our neck of the woods. Seriously.
It was an event. Everyone would go. Young and old alike. Men and women.
Seeing a Surf Movie was one of the highlights of the summer for us.
You'd see guys and girls that you haven't seen in months at a surf flick.
Sometimes it was years. Surf movies brought that kind of vibe with it.
It was great time to be a surfer. And it was a great time to be a Surf
Movie maker.
Since 2004 Jack McCoy has tried (and has been quite successful
I might add) to rekindle that flame. I can remember as a young Grom
(gremmie) talking about the movie with my friends for days after. And
if there was surf after a surf movie...well, I don't have to tell you
how crazy we all were out in the water after seeing a surf movie do
I? And remember this was all before there even VHS tapes, let alone
DVD's. The movie would come and go. And if you missed it. Well, you
really missed it. There was no "I'll wait for it to come out on
VHS or DVD. You had to travel to see it or wait years. Is today better
because of the DVD explosion? Hell yes it is. But, is seeing a Surf
Movie on the Big Screen better than watching it on your lap top or wide
screen TV. Hell yes. There's a Surf Movie in town tonight. Go see it.
Get a taste of what it was like to be a stoked Surfer of yesteryear.
Leave your sour know-it-all attitude at home and let out some wild hoots.
You'll feel good doing it. Get primal.
Speaking of Summer Surf Movies, I released my latest project SUMMER
05 last week and by all accounts it has been received quite favorably
(thank you). Most notably is the "Ask Crackie" skit, which
has created a buzz with some folks. And No Max was not hurt during the
filming of that skit. Click
here to see the promo poster.
It's in the Shops and available at my other site
www.surffreeordie.com
So the Sox have won 8 in a row as of yesterday. That's good.
And the Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. You'd
think that would be a positive sign for us surfers. HURRICANES
winning the Cup. And the MIAMI HEAT winning the NBA Championships.
Another should be positive sign. Heat. It's summer. Hurricanes and
Heat.
Am I the only one reading into this?
Remember what I said about the leashes and the trash on the beach. Let's
work together people. Let's think about the one thing we all have in
common. Surfing
Remember
my friends...Surfing heals all wounds....
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace.
Surf For Fun.
Ralph
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