September 5th, 2010 Danielle and Earl..
The Surf Count of Waist High Or Better is 27 out of 29 weeks...


The "Wave of the Day." You've all heard that expression. "Dude that was The Wave of the day. The Biggest and best wave of the session." If you're a surfer who's been surfing for more than a couple of years, you should be familiar with that line. If you are not, then you are clearly a beginner. And for the record, that claim is not used without merit. Or put it this way, it better not be. Especially if you were surfing in a crowd. You know what I mean, where you are backed up by credible witnesses. And that my friends, is precisely where I'm coming from.

I was clearly in a crowd. And I was surrounded by surfers of all skills and talent.

And the surf that I was out in, was from EARL. Perhaps you heard something about that storm? And the spot that I was out in, is called the Wall. Perhaps you've heard mention of that spot as well? And that wave...? The Wave Of The Day Wave? It was backed up by several surfers. Young and old. And all of them knowing what a great wave it was. So what am I getting at here? Why all this bragging BS about the Wave of the Day? I know what you are all thinking. You're thinking I'm going to tell you about some glorious Barrel, or some other equal magnificent moment.

And truth be told, I would be... had the "incident" not have happened.

I know I know...not another incident? Yep, I'm afraid so. Only this time, I have witnesses. The very same witnesses who saw and made claim of the "Wave Of The Day". Oh yes, it's all painfully true. And I do mean painfully. I know you all want to know what happened. You want to hear this story, because we all like a story that involves big waves, and something bad happening. I don't know why that is, but it's true. I'm the same way. I get that same giddy feeling when I hear of an incident happening to one of my friends. Though, I am a little tired of these things happening to me, on what now seems to be, a weekly basis.

Maybe, it's because I am surfing everyday that I run into these unfortunate situations. I have no other logical reason for this stuff happening to me, every single week. I mean Good Lord people, this stuff is happening to me all the time. Am I being tested? I don't know. But here, let me tell you what happened and you can all be the judge.

Was I overreacting or did I have a legitimate bitch? You decide.

It's Saturday morning late, and I had just shot some video footage of some of the locals surfing some of the big waves produced by TS EARL. The storm itself did not live up to all the hype, but none the less, it did produce some serious surf. And by serious, I'm talking 6-8' faces with bigger sets. You know, clearly not the biggest, but clearly significant. I was in a great mood. I had shot some decent video and I was awaiting the arrival of my son Max, who was home for the day to surf this swell.

I can't tell you how truly happy I was, that he was going to surf this swell.

So we decided on surfing the Wall. Of course why would we surf anywhere else? My son loves the Wall when it's big. It was almost dead low tide when we paddled out. And let me tell you, it was reeling off the sandbars. In fact, the shorebreak was treacherous getting out. At one point, we looked at each other as we got slammed into the shore pound, and came up with sand in our trunks and ears. We laughed and made our run for the outside.

By the time we reached the line-up, it was evident that the peak of the swell was with us. The sets were pushing all of 8 feet and the waves were standing up against that straight offshore wind and just winding down the line. Mackey wasted no time in getting into one. I saw him spin for a huge left and watched from the back as he disappeared. I heard some hoots and knew he was firing down the line. I saw him kick out some 150 yards down the line with a big grin on his face. He's such a better surfer than I was at his age. Hell he's a better surfer than me at any age.

He caught a few more as did some of the others we were sitting with. Mikey Evans was getting some big bombs and so was Adam Coates. Bill Stecchi was out there and he was getting into some bombs as well. Everyone was getting their share except me. I had yet to get my first wave. Not to mention that my first wave would also be my "Catch A Wave For Molly" wave. I was sitting way outside next to an Australian in a Kayak when I saw it. It was huge. A right. I said out loud "this is mine. " I paddled hard straight out to meet it. It was all of 8' and maybe bigger. And it was perfect. I could see the tapered end and the bowl. I paddled harder to put myself into position.

The wave jacked as I swung my 6'8" Merrick around. According to Bill Stecchi who was paddling behind me, my take-off was super late, and I was under the lip as I drove straight down. I hit my bottom turn just right, and came off the bottom and shot into the open slot. I was perfectly slotted. And I could see the bowl wrapping in towards me. I was about to get one of the best barrels of my life. Behind Bill Stecchi was my son Max. Bill and Max had front row seats to this beast and me.

And that's when I saw it. I say "it" because that's what it looked like. It looked like debris laying across the railroad tracks. But you all know what "it" was. "It" was a beginner laying on his board with the nose sticking way up out of the water and he was hanging on for dear life. I screamed...and screamed and then realized he had no idea I was on the wave. In fact he had no idea about anything. And I made that quick assessment in a matter of seconds. I yelled "Come ON!" and I swear, he looked in the opposite direction.

Now had I stayed on my original line, I would of run him and his soft top over.

Instead I straightened out and watched in horror as the wave unloaded on me and my new friend. The last thing I saw before the lip drilled me, was the perfect EMPTY bowl spit out a huge gust of spray. Oh the horror...the horror. When I surfaced, I'm not sure what the first words out of my mouth were, but I do know they were not pretty words. No, I'm afraid they were hurtful words. And...I was using my very big and loud voice. Even with all those big waves unloading all around us, people could hear me screaming. And when my new friend finally surfaced gasping for air, I knew that all my screaming would be for not. Because I heard him plead in his broken english..."What is eet I should do...? Tell me what I need to do? This is only my fourth time out in the water...what is it I should do? Please tell me...I do not understand what I am to do?"

I looked on in disbelief. And said..."You need to go to the beach. You need to go directly to the beach. That was my first wave of the day. My first wave! I was going to get so barreled on that wave. " He paddled closer to me. Half on and half off his board. "I do not understand. What is it I need to do??" Again I yelled. "You need to go to the beach. You are too dangerous. You are a hazard. How did you even get out here? I mean did you paddle here from France?. How on earth did you get out?" Then he said the words, that will haunt me for weeks, if not months..."But I want to surf. I want to surf with you, and everyone else."

I looked at him and just shook my head.

"But you are not surfing. You are creating a very dangerous situation." And then I shut up. I knew it was a waste of time talking and or yelling at this guy. He was 100% clueless. He was without any logical sense of surfing. He had no idea what crime he had just committed, and he had no idea why I was so upset. It was horrifying to realize that someone of his caliber would be out in waves of that caliber ,and not have a clue. It made me ill. If you stop and think about it. This same guy could paddle out at Pipeline on Hawaii's North Shore and sit next to Kelly Slater, and basically do the same thing to Kelly, as he did to me. It's true.

The only difference is, someone out there would of beaten his ass.

I had friends say to me," you should of run him over." Really? I should of run over a clueless human being? I know they were joking. Or at least I hope they were. And before anyone thinks I am mad, because of where this guy comes from, think again. I would of been just as upset if he were from New Hampshire. Where a person lives has nothing to do with this. Zero. It's the lack of knowledge and safety that bothers me.
As I paddled away from him, I know that Bill Stecchi actually spoke with him in a calmer voice than I did. But it was useless.

Case in point. About 20 minutes later, that same guy dropped in on Bill.

So I got to thinking. And I have made these analogies before. The parallels between Surfing and Skiing. You all know how on the Mountains, there are color coded graphic symbols, that dictate what skill level each trail requires. Because our trails change with every swell, we need to implement a color coded symbol program, where the individual surfer has a color code. Either on their wetsuits, or on their foreheads.

I'm serious. Here's what I'm thinking.

We have three colors: Red, Yellow and Green. Much like our traffic lights. And we use these color coded symbols only when the surf gets head high or bigger. If you are a beginner, we put a Red X on your forehead. The Red X tells us, that you are NOT allowed out into the bigger surf. Next is the Yellow Triangle. The Yellow Triangle tells others, that you are allowed to surf on the way inside, or on the outside when accompanied by a Green dot surfer.

The Green Dot surfer, has access to all big waves. Now I know you are chuckling at this, and a part of me is as well, but I would be willing, once my "Catch a Wave For Molly" Fundraiser is over, to apply these color coded graphic symbols on all those entering the water. I would sacrifice my water time, to go over their papers and certification, and stamp these RED X's on the foreheads, of all those individuals who have no business paddling out into large dangerous surf. I'd gladly do it. I have always volunteered. It's something I enjoy doing. Stepping up to help out.

My only request is, please stock up on the Red paint. Something tells me, I'm going to be going through a lot of Red Paint. Oh, and I could use a water proof Tazer gun.

"The wave of The Day... the BIGGEST and BEST Wave of the day...."


Now for some of my Weekly Global Observances:
So Paris Hilton got busted for Cocaine possession. My question is...who the hell does coke these days? I thought that shit went out with the 80's? What's wrong with some of these people? Maybe they need the color coded symbols too. Red X for coke heads and junkies. Yellow Triangle for pot smoking, and green dots for social alcohol, and a white star for being sober. Nahhh maybe not.

President Obama announced last week that Combat Operations in Iraq are over. He did not say anything about the "Surge" that General Petraus implemented in 2007 to bring this current situation to where we are today. He did not say anything about the Sunni awakening which in part helped create the stability in Iraq. He was pretty neutral. Look, I don't think for a moment that OB doesn't appreciate the sacrifices of our troops. Especially now that he's been in the driver's seat for a couple of years, and has had troops die under his command. That has to weigh heavily on any sitting president.

And as far as the 50,000 American troops STILL in Iraq...well, try telling those guys, that combat operations are over. Granted the military offensive operations might be over. But there are still bad guys out there, who hate ALL Americans. And IED's make no distinction between a Combat laden American service person, and a basic truck driver or cook. I won't rest easy until all the troops are home.

But that my friends will not be coming anytime in our lifetime.

The NFL starts this coming Sunday September 12th. Good luck to all the teams. Especially our boys the New England Patriots. And may the ghost of 2007 be lifted once and for all...(please).

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY to Hoku Nichols September 6th!
HAPPY 19th BIRTHDAY Mackey V September 14th!
Happy Birthday to Mike Colby Jr !
September 11th, 2010 the adding of 6 NEW names to the GWOT Monument at the Hampton POST 35 in Hampton, NH.
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Ralph

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Saturday September 11th, 2010 at 6PM on High Street (Rte 27) in Hampton, NH...you guys all drive right past this on the way to the surf.