On Wednesday morning we woke up to find out that Hackers had gotten into our bank accounts and wiped us out! This was one of those " this can't happen to me" moments. We've all read about them, and seen the news reports, but how many of us really do anything about it? Well, if you're like me, you basically do nothing, thinking this won't happen to me. Wrong. It did. And it was scary to find out how they did it.

TD initiated a fraud investigation on Wednesday and assures us that funds will be returned.  To date we have not been given a time frame for when this will happen. As of today our bank accounts have a zero balance. We have nothing. You can imagine our frustration. TD basically gave the keys to our bank accounts to a Fraudster while shutting us out!

Not today's bank robbers. These new criminals hide behind their laptops and create havoc on your unsuspecting lives. We want answers. And we want our money back. And until we do, we will keep the pressure on the Fraud Team working on our case. I'm sure there are ways to protect yourselves and there are other banking institutions who are more reliable and safer to put your hard earned dollars into.

Hard lessons were learned in our home this week.



Speaking of hard lessons. This is Jake Davidson bottom turning on a beast of a wave last Sunday night March 5th, 2018, with about 30 minutes of daylight left. The hard lessons were not learned by Jake, no sir, they were learned by someone else. James Campbell to be exact.

James and his two friends (the Gangley Brothers) paddled out into the same hairball conditions that Jake was out riding (Jake is a big wave surfer and can handle the size) to try and tackle the disorganized madness that was erupting at one of our point breaks. At first I didn't notice them, then I saw a massive outside set looming about 100 yards in front of Jake. That's when I spotted them. It was like watching a train hit a stalled vehicle at a railroad crossing.

I can only imagine what they were feeling. I knew it was bad when I spotted a loose board ping ponging across the reef and onto the rocks where I was standing. Oooh this cant be good. And it wasn't. James had lost his board and was now faced with the daunting task of making his way back to land.
He was a good 1/4 of a mile out to sea when he started his swim. The thing about Big surf is it creates big currents and rips. And James soon found out about these currents.

Typically one would paddle south and then west to get back in. Not this night. The rip was too strong. Instead, James swam north and then west. But not before having to dodge set waves after set waves. Thankfully, his two friends stayed with him the whole time. Thus allowing James to hang onto their boards when exhaustion was taking it's deadly grip on him.



The bobbing head in the middle is James. But as you can clearly see, there were waves out on the horizon. They were relentless to say the least. Now because I was wearing my knee high rubber boots, I was able to grab his board and carry it back several times to lay down on the soft kelp beds. I was there to shoot Jake, not rescue someone I didn't know who should not have been out there in the first place. OK so long story short. The three of them made it back. I have it all on video.

I'm not one for mincing words. So my conversation went like this:

Me: "What's your name?"

James: "James."

Me: "James what?"

James: "James Campbell"

Me: "Where are you from?"

James: "I'm from (Western NH)."

Me: "Let me ask you a question James Campbell from western NH. What the hell made you and your two friends here think it was a good idea to paddle out here?"

James: "We've surfed here before, and we saw Jake out there."

Me: "Jake is not the person to gauge big waves by. Jake can handle big surf. There's a reason why none of the usual players are out there. Do you know what that reason is?"

James: "Um it's too big and out of control?"

Me: "BAM! Let me tell you this James Campbell. You better buy your two friends dinner for a week. Those are true friends. They stayed with you. They deserve dinner for a freaking week!"

The Gangley Bros: "Tacos and burritos for a week!"

Me: "You're welcome by the way (moving his board off the rocks three times)!

James: "Yes thank you."

Me: "One more thing James Campbell, you do know that I'm going to have to write about this."

James: "Oh no....my brother is gonna give me so much crap if you write this on your Blog."

Me: Laughing "It's what I do James. I shoot pics and video, and write about the things I see every week. Besides, this could have turned out way worse than it did. I could be writing your eulogy. Now don't forget to take your boys out to dinner! Good night."



I'm glad James made it back to the beach. And I was impressed with his friends for staying with him the whole time. They're good kids who learned a valuable lesson albeit the hard way, but a lesson learned none the less.



This is Kai Nichols the very next morning. As you can see the size was still there. As was the wind. Big blustery peaks up and down the coast. And we got em all. We scored all week long.



This here my friends is "Vapeman" AKA Thom Hay. Yea he's vaping these sections like they were large broad tobacco leaves on the plantations!



And way down in Puerto Rico, the same swell reached the northwest corner
of the Island and Hellman Raymond King was charging Big Tres! What an incredible swell. Hell what incredible Back To Back swells! And guess what? There's more coming! Hello!

"Surfing and Saving Fellow Surfers Heals All Wounds"

This is I believe Mike Stanek. But then again, I can't be 100% sure due to the simple fact that all we can see is the nose of his board. If one of you actually knows the ID of this surfer drop me a line and I'll re-post it. Meanwhile enjoy one of Ed's great barrel pics from one of his favorite spots. Chowdah Heads.
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
*ATTENTION ALL SURFERS!
*THIS JUST IN! The SURFBOARD Is BACK! The Stolen Board is back! A local woman in Hampton reached out to me to tell me that she found SGT Mena's stolen surfboard near the bridge on Winnacunnett Road. The details are murky at best. The board has a few minor dings, nothing that Mikey Stanek couldn't fix.



However we have already reached our goal on the Go Fund Me page to buy a surfboard for Sgt Mena. Like I said, because the details are still coming in, I'm going to wait to see how it all plays out. But as we stand now, it's a WIN WIN situation.

I had the woman meet me at my house. She and a male driver showed up with the board and the board bag. They pointed out the dings to me. They said they found it four days ago. That puts it at Wednesday. She told me that someone told her about the BLOG post and the social media post.



I have the board in my home. There are three dings on the board. Two minor and one serious. They can all be fixed. I just emailed SGT Mena the good news. And make no mistake about it, this is good news! And this is also a prime example of a community coming together via social media.

Say what you want about Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, but that is exactly how we got it back. My guess is the thieves were waking up to the reality that the surf community had blanketed the entire East Coast. There was NO WAY they could unlo0ad this board anywhere. And the second reality was SGT Mena is a US Marine. That's a brotherhood, that you do NOT want to mess with.
Trust me on that one .

Will we pursue them further? I like to think about all the parents of kidnapped kids who say "We just want our baby back." I think we'll take that same stance. Jose got his baby back.

NOW THIS...
This may be something very big. Or it may be nothing at all. For some reason Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump are going to meet Face to Face. That's significant news. If somehow, Kim states that he is going to halt his nuclear war campaign and the world will rest in this knowledge, does this mean, that Trump's policies actually worked on Un? Maybe. But I like to think that Kim's sister and the other reports on the Olympics may have wakened him up once and for all.



Whatever the reason, it's a step in the right direction.

But this story? Oh brother. This story has more to do with his personal affairs than it does the nation's. Or let me put it this way. How would you feel if you were Melania?



Let's face it. The man is a horn toad. He's a horny horny toad.
Though the religious right has this to say.



This post may have sealed the "Purgatory deal for me."
I'm cool with that. That's where most of my friends and family are going anyway.

KSM Photoshop of the Week
Now we know the truth. This whole Stormy Daniels incident may have very well been set up by our boy KSM. Are any of you surprised by this? Here he is in drag lurking in the background. You can take the Terrorist out of Middle East, but you can't take the terrorist out of GITMO. Did that make sense? Who cares, this is all about my photoshopping KSM. The rest is fodder.



So my friends, please take advantage of this weekly photo shop of the mastermind who planned 9-11 and resulted in the deaths
of 3,000 innocent civilians by KSM (Khalid Sheik Mohammed).

*Note to self -must pick up a case of "Silicon" at Home Depot this week.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY Kai Zola 15 yrs old March 10th, 2018!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lars Hamilton 19 yrs old March 10th, 2018
GET WELL SOON Jon Gozzo!
GET WELL JoEllen Bunton Sending positive thoughts
and prayers to you!!

FYI Lenny Nichols is looking for someone or someones to take
over the ESA-NNE District. Please contact Lenny Nichols by calling his cell (603) 944-2418


THE NEW GRANITE GIRLS poster!




Please Support ALL The photographers who contribute to
Ralph's Pic Of The Week every week for the last 13 years.
** BUY a HIGH RES Photo from any of the weeks on RPOTW.

Remember my friends... Surfing Heals All Wounds.
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.

Ralph

*Click on the photo above to see a larger version

Today- The NASTY NOR'EASTER Thursday Morning.
March 8th, 2018. Photos by RALPH




(Above) This place at low tide is NOT for beginners. If you question your ability in these kinds of conditions, do everyone a favor and don't paddle out. Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) The waves across the bay hold the same criteria.
Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery





(Above) After catching some serious bombs out there, Johnny cracks a smile.
Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) This view never gets tired for me. Spanning across six decades
now, I still stare in wonder. Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




Today- The NASTY NOR'EASTER Thursday Afternoon.
March 8th, 2018. Photos by RALPH



(Above) Then it started snowing again. That didn't stop Jon Kiskinis from taking off behind the peak. Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) It's amazing to see what the ocean can do. Ripping up the asphalt
in the parking lots is just one of many areas hit by the surf.
Thursday March 8th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

Today- The NEXT NOR'EASTER Friday March 9th, 2018.
Photos by RALPH



(Above) There are times when this spot could easily be called this.
Friday March 9th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Kyle Linseman from a six shot sequence. Friday March 9th, 2018. Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery