On Friday October 5th, 2018 my movie GRANITE GIRLS and The RIVER WOMEN was premiered in Cocoa Beach Florida by The WOMEN OF THE WAVES. This woman surfer (Melody) contacted me a few months ago to ask if she could show my movie to this all women Surf Club in Florida. I said sure but wasn't really sure if this movie would go over well in the southern states. They have some great women surfers down there who surf in warm water.

Turns out they all LOVED the movie! I was stoked to hear back from several of the people who saw the movie. Hard to believe that the women of the Northeast went over so well in Cocoa Beach! But make no mistake about it. I was really happy to hear they really liked it.

And I'm sure they all have a new found respect for the women and girls who surf up here in the Northern New England states. GRANITE GIRLS RULE!



My fascination with empty waves has no boundaries. From the warm tropical wave-less waters of the Amalfi Coast to the high impact thundering waves of the Northeast. My appetite for empty waves is endless. There's an old saying that applies here. And that is "a picture is worth a thousand words".
So allow me to let my photos do the talking from this past week.

Suffice it to say, this is a Slab that sits in the middle of our shoreline.



And she breaks in mere inches of water. There have only been a few hearty souls who have ridden this unridden realm. One of them has since passed away. It's surfable. But it is VERY dangerous. Slab surfing is not as popular here as it is in other places. But I know of a few hearty souls who want this.



And this particular spot is notorious for having large exposed boulders, just licking their barnacle encrusted chops waiting for some fool surfer to fall face first onto their palette. This break, unlike the one above, does have a following of sorts. From TC Christo to the new band of rippers. They all see beyond the rocks and focus only on the hollow barrel that is at their feet.



And this? This is one of our premier spots that has more than enough fans when she shows herself to the masses. I counted 25 people out there the other day. That's WAY TOO MANY surfers to surf this spot. Do not be fooled by this empty wave. For beyond this particular wave sat a dozen of so amphetamine piranhas circling around each other trying to snag the best peak. It's not a pretty sight.



Here we have a wave that I shot today. And she is a bit more open and manageable. Our wide open beaches are usually more than enough to hold
a hungry crowd. And the bigger the beach break, the smaller the crowd. Nature has always had a handle on crowd control. Big waves means small crowds. Of course if you throw in a couple of shark sightings, all the better.



Look at this wave. That's a hollow as it gets kind of barrel. What you don't see is a good friend of mine inside that barrel upside down and getting worked.
But a wave of this quality is more than worth a tumble in the rinse cycle.



I am a traditionalist. I have been going to the Topsfield Fair for as long as I can remember. My childhood was spent going to the Fair each year. This year marks the 200th Anniversary. Our country is less than 300 years old. So this makes the Topsfield Fair the OLDEST CONTINUOS Fair in all of America.



There must be at least 30 or more pics of me standing in front of this particular building. I have pics of just Cory and I. Then I have pics of me standing there with our three kids. And now it's the grandkids. So the tradition lives on in our family.



This pic is always a must. The LARGEST pumpkin pic. Though working with the girls is always difficult. The grandkids are always distracted by someone or something. But it's all good.



This particular item caught my eye. It was in the Grange Building. This my friends is what we used as kids to empty our garbage. We called it a "Swill Bucket". It was not a good job to have to haul out the dinner scrapings to empty it into the Swill Bucket. It was usually crawling with maggots. And the truck and driver who came to pic up the garbage was always an ornery looking gentleman who wore this gloves and smoked a cigar. An unshaven brute who had little or nothing to say. I felt bad for him once they invented the garbage disposal in our sinks.



I shot this pic of the girls waiting patiently while Mimi bough some tickets to go on the rides. There is a full gallery of the Fair and the Fundraiser we went to after the Fair.



We are blessed to have such a loving and kind family. My daughter Noelle and my brother Johnny at the Michael Colby Art Scholarship Fundraiser.

" Surfing, Fairs, and Family Heals All Wounds."

This week's ED's Corner is pic from the same session as I ran last week. Only this is Kyle Linseman. I love the shot of Markey from last week and I love this pic too! You had a GREAT Eye Ed. And you are missed every single swell. 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
The 4th annual Michael Colby Art Scholarship Fundraiser was this last Saturday. Always a fun time with family and friends.



QWILL and his son Eli. To say that QWILL is a talented individual would be a gross understatement of his real talent. He's an amazing Multi Media artist. He played an hour long solo set.

He loved his cousin Michael as we all did.



So this happened. Professor Christine Blasey Ford's words were not enough evidence to stop Judge Brett Kavanaugh from getting the nod to the Supreme Court Justice. Oh well. I still think one of them was lying through their collective teeth.



And this happened too. Melania went to Africa. Looked like she has quite a following there.



She petted some baby elephants. Or rather fed them.



She also posed in front of the pyramids. Though this looked more like a fashion shoot than anything else.



Am I right people? Does this not look like a photo shoot out of Vogue magazine?

Speaking of photo shoots. How about this shot?

*Click on the photo above to see a larger version

(Above) The walk along the coast provided me with a cool perspective.
Saturday October 6th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) The closer I got, the better it looked.
Saturday October 6th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery



(Above) It was a true sea of green. Saturday October 6th, 2018.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) My oldest closest friend Kevin "Doc" Grondin was out.
Saturday October 6th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Mike Stanek was on his pitch fork lurking in the shadows.
Saturday October 6th, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Kainalu Nichols. Slotted again at full speed.
Wednesday October 3rd, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery





(Above) Mackey V has a sweet roundhouse style.
Wednesday October 3rd, 2018. Photo by RALPH
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery


Today- Sunday September 30th, 2018.
Photos by RALPH



(Above) There's that slab again. Sunday September 30th, 2018.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery




(Above) Unknown backsider. Sunday September 30th, 2018.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) Mighty Slabby out there. Sunday September 30th, 2018.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

(Above) This pic is my new screen saver. Sunday September 30th, 2018.
Photo by RALPH *Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery