|
|
Got good surf pics? |
|
|
|
October
26th, 2008 This was New England Surf at it's very best. My brothers and sisters, this week's abundant surf was truly a gift. And I would hope, that you all got to sample some of it. Because there were waves a plenty. I guess, I should really start with Monday. Even though the swell started on Sunday. It was that early Monday morning sunrise, that gave way to stacked up lines, that were stretched all across the horizon. Big Green walls just marching in from the Northeast. Shaking the foundations, of everyone's sleep mode. That Nor'easter came in with conviction. Those lines were every bit as solid and powerful as any Easter before it. There's no denying that. And if you don't believe me, why just ask the boat Captain who lost his 32 Schooner off of 18th Street on Monday. The name of that craft (are you ready for this?) BLOWN AWAY. I kid you not. She went down in a huge set. A large wave hit her port side and she snapped the mast, and then, she flipped over, only to have her keel ripped off. At that point, she was at the ocean's mercy. And as we all know, Mother Ocean has no mercy, especially when she's in the growing stages of a powerful Northeast Swell. And we were all there. Virtually very photographer, who's ever submitted a photo to this blog was there. Waiting for the inevitable. The high tide Smashing on the Rocks. I said we were like "rubber neckers" on Rte 95 after some Tractor Trailer turned over. Seeing a spark and waiting for it to hit the fuel line. That may be a bit of an extreme comparison, but not by much. Really, it was both sad and entertaining. The Captain was learning valuable marine lessons at a high price. He dropped two anchors off her bow and then tied a line to one of the parking meters. This had disaster written all over it. At one point, the meter line was so taut that I thought it was going to snap and decapitate an innocent bystander. I remember thinking..."Whoa, if I can get that scene on video, I might have the most watched clip on YouTube." Thank God the line came undone. But you know the old saying... "when it rains it pours." The poor owner of the boat was sitting in his pickup with his dog. As he backed up pulling away from the wall, he put his vehicle in gear, when his drive shaft fell off. Oh dude... It's a hard way to learn about New England waters and Nor'easters in general. But life is full of learning lessons. The BlownAway is still sitting there on the beach. And there's a new swell rising. If you want to catch any of this yourself, she's down off 18th Street. Speaking of crazy shit. During
the peak of all the boat madness, we looked out beyond the sets and
could see a solitary figure slipping in and out of view. The trough
of the waves were so deep, that it was hard to see anything. But on
a second look, I spotted what looked to be a guy in a Kayak. A yellow
Kayak. This was way way off shore. "Who the hell is that?"
I asked out loud. Before I could say another word, I realize it's local
Surfer/Comedian Jimmy Dunn. Jimmy may be a funny guy celebrity on stage and TV, but underneath the mic and laughs, is a a true waterman. A local Hampton Surfer Kayaker. Out at the Wall, by himself, on one of the biggest days of the year. I guess that's funny. |
One of these swells...I forget which one. After all, there were three distinct swells this week. Including today's beautiful Sou'easter. But getting back to my original thought. Oh I remember, it was Friday morning. The day after the Nor'easter. Tony and I were looking for a spot to surf. We found one close to his home. And at first glance, it looked like a fun session was in the making. Why? Well first off, there were only three people out. Nohea and Steve Rafferty and Paulie B. Now typically, I hate bumming my friends out by paddling out if they are smack in the middle of a soul session. You know the deal. No one wants to ruin the party. Even me. But I noticed that Nohea was getting ready to leave. H-m-m-m-m. Next thing you know, Steve leaves. Then it's just Tony, Paulie B and myself. Like I said kids, it had all the markings of a sweet soul session. And it was. Sweet, soul, almighty. For the next 45 minutes or so, the three of us shared waves. It was...well, it was so much fun, none of us could contain ourselves. Finally, Paulie B left and it was just Tony and I. Are you kidding me? But wait, I didn't tell you the details. And I can't deny you all the sweet details. The surf was chest high, maybe slightly bigger on the sets, There was not a drop of water out of place. The wind was light offshore. And there was not a cloud in the sky. And roaming up and down the beach, was my man Ed O'Connell. Ed figured there might be surf at this spot, and just showed up. Ed as you frequent readers will recall, is one of our main Photographers. So there we were...perfect surf, on a perfect day, with Ed on the beach firing away. Did I feel guilty? Hell yes I did. Not so much because of our good fortune, but because the few times that other people did show up, with boards on their vehicles, to check the surf, there would be these long lulls. I mean long lulls. So anybody just checking the surf, and not having the patience to wait for a set, can really blow it. That happened several times that morning. People would show up to check it, and the sets would stop coming. Then the second they pulled away and out of sight, the wave machine would start back up. It was all par for the course though. So scoring good waves with no one out can still happen in 2008. I know this my friends, cuz I just lived it. Please don't hate Tony, Paulie B, Steve Rafferty and a few others for scoring. We got lucky. Speaking
of lucky, I hope you all got some surf today. It was beautiful out there.
How beautiful? Well, it does not get any better at the Wall than
it did today. Mid to late October. No tourists. No crowds. Warm
sun, good size hollow surf. And photographers lining the shoreline.
We even had a few visitors from out of state who turned a few heads.Frankie
Walsh and his brother were up and out. And let me say this about
Frankie Walsh. His backside attack is one of the most powerful
I've ever seen. He was killing it out there. I expect to get bombarded with surf photos from everywhere and everyone. Oh yea...this has been a helluva week my friends. Thank
you RED SOX for a very exciting series. If you saw Game 5,
you saw one one of the ALL TIME best ever baseball games in the history
of the sport. UNREAL. So they didn't advance to the World Series.
Neither did Manny. There's always...(that's right). Next Year.
But how about them Patriots? They whooped the Denver Donkeys
pretty good on National TV last Monday Night . It almost makes
up for the terrible San Diego game. Or the Super Bowl.
On second thought, nothing can erase the shame and humiliation from
that fiasco. Thanks RED SOX. And Your New England Patriots
just beat the RAMS at home. And the Bills lost to Miami.
So what's this mean? Nothing. There's surf out there. |
|
|
|
Yesterday-August
1973- Wells Beach Maine.
2008
Today-This Week in New England October 20-24th
2008 Today-MORE New England Surf Scenes this week of October 2008.
(Above)
How sweet is this? Somewhere in Northern NE.
(Above)
Grab a rail and go. Steve Franson Friday morning October 24th.
(Above)
Dean riding the coping. Friday morning October 24th.
(Above)
Anthony Curro... Friday morning October 24th.
(Above)The
same Unknown. Friday morning October 24th.
(Above)
Lenny Nichols quadback, Tuesday night. 10-21-08.
Today 2008 PARTING SHOT-"Hey Jim, we better time this right!"
|
