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September
25, 2006
OK
I'm late. Truth be told, I just got back from Cape Hatteras. That's
right, I was not here for Hurricane Helene. I was however, in the
tropics surfing and shooting warm water heaving Cape Hatteras Barrels.
Tropics? Cape Hatteras is the tropics? Hell yes it is. If you've
never been to the Outer Banks in late September you are
truly missing out on one of the East Coast's biggest Surf attractions.
Hatteras Rocks. No question about it. Them boys and girls have
got themselves some beefy beach breaks, that's not for the feint of heart.
So how did the crew from New England fair in the contest? Good
and not so good. Just qualifying is a feather in anyone's cap. Advancing
into the Finals is something else again. For starters, them Florida,
Hatteras and Jersey Surfers are used to that kind of surf. I mean
think about it. All they ever surf is that dumping thumping beach break.
Us New Englanders are all spoiled. We actually have waves that
you can paddle around. Not down there. Hell no. It's only a matter of
time before one of them beasts picks you off. And don't think for a moment
that getting picked off by a well overhead thick Hatteras lip is
easy to get through. It is not.
Just ask my son Max. Ouch. We all watched in horror as he got sucked
over the falls on a massive, heaving, sucking out 10' beast. Only to lose
his Jersey and his trunks after the severe beating he took. This was during
his Longboard heat. Now anyone who knows Mackey will tell you,
he's not a Longboarder. He does compete in the Longboard heats though.
Mostly for fun. This particular heat was scary from the get go. Hatteras
is not exactly a Longboard friendly wave. Hardly. In fact, you'd be hard
pressed to get me to paddle out there in those conditions on a Longboard.
No thank you.
Poor Mackey got the beating of his life. The good news is he surfed
really good. Two of his waves he rode with his Jersey on. The last 3 waves
he rode however, he did not have a Jersey on. The judges refused to judge
him without his Jersey on. Lenny Nichols filed a formal protest
all to no avail. The good news is. Max earned some well deserved
respect from everyone present. And, they will now write a NEW rule. It
will be know as Mackey's rule.
If a competitor loses a Jersey during a heat, he must come in and get
a new one. Too little too late for Mackey V, but it might save
some other kid in the future of NOW knowing what to do if he gets his
Jersey and trunks BLOWN OFF by a rogue wave.
The whole NNE team did well. We even had some notable Finalists.
Including Mike "Zap" Paugh and Lenny Nichols himself.
Some of the highlights was watching little Kai Nichols paddle out
and catch 10 waves.
And watching the other Hot surfers from all over the East Coast.
Did I get any footage? What do you think? Don't forget where freak boy
Kelly Slater came from. The ESA. It is the largest most
successful longest running Surfing association in the world. That's got
to mean something.
There's two thing's for sure when traveling to the ESA Championships.
One, you're going to get surf. And secondly, you are going to see some
very good surfing up close and personal. And what Grom wouldn't want to
see the potential next Kelly Slater?
I think we saw him. His name is Zach Humphries. The kid is an animal
and he seems to be non-human in his radical techniques. I mean, he does
not fall. He goes vert and beyond vert on every wave. It's impressive,
and our kids got an eyeful of super talent all over the place.
They
used to call Hatteras the North Shore of the East Coast.
There's a good reason why.
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I did get my share of email and cell calls from my peeps back home.
So I know you all got some surf from ole Helene. It was fun hearing
about the conditions back home and visa versa. As good as it sounded
back here, it was hard to turn away from 80 degree water temps and and
even warmer air temps. I mean my friends, we were trunking it. You know,
No wetties. No Rash guards. Just trunks and wax. The way surfing is
supposed to be. Or rather, the way the majority of the surfing world
sees surfing. No rubber. Especially on the hands and feet. No we opted
to squeeze every hour out of the trip and take in the bath like conditions.
It was worth every pounding.
Speaking of pounding...what the hell happened to the Patriots
last night? That was ugly and then some. If I can add my two cents here.
I've said this since day one. Losing Wille McGinnest, Adam Vinateri
and Deion Branch will hurt this team. And clearly, it's been hurting
them since week one. We barely beat the Bills, and were lucky
to squeak by with a victory against the JETS. Last night's debacle
however was the final straw. Clearly having Wille back there
chasing around QB's is truly missed. And doubly clear is not
having Mr "Surefoot" himself Adam V kicking Field Goals
at ease. But the worse offense of all? Was not having Deion Branch
haul in some of Tom Brady's passes and making some positive yards.
This team is in trouble. Will they win more games? Of course. Will they
go deep in the play-offs. I'd have to say no. I don't see it happening
this year.
Too bad. But that's the name of the game. Money.
Last week's column generated a whole bunch of email. Mostly from our
friends up North. The good news is, they ALL agreed with me. I mean,
I guess we call all agree, that telling Local Surfers to F_ _ K OFF!
Is Not a good idea. It's a bad idea. Very bad.
Hopefully, this last swell was more manageable. I hope it was for everyone's
sake. There's no need for getting uptight out there. None.
I shot some great footage in Hatteras this last week. It will
be featured in my new flick along with all the local flavor from last
winter and summer. Meanwhile...SUMMER
05 is still in the Shops and available at my other site
www.surffreeordie.com
I'm so bummed. I missed JEFF BECK at the Casino last week.
Yes THE Jeff Beck. How I managed that I'll never know.
Jeff Beck is one of the all time best Guitarists in the world
today. He makes sounds out of his guitar that I've never heard anyone
else make, ever. He is truly unique and a monster in his own right.
I have not seen the weather today. In fact, I have not seen the news
in a week. Are there any new storms? Any potential Tropical storms or
depressions? I guess in hindsight, Summer 06 went out with a bang.
I did hear that Chief Scumbag Osama Bin Laden may be dead. That
would be a shame. Like to see the footage of OBL in hell getting
violated by devil beasts. That would be entertaining to watch. The look
of horror on his face as he expects to be serviced by 42 virgins and
is instead abused by monsters in a burning hell. Ahhhh poetic justice.
Remember
my friends...Surfing heals all wounds....
Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace.
Surf For Fun.
Ralph
P.S. My friends, would you all be so kind
and say a prayer for my Mother this week. Thank you.
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