January
11th, 2005
"Where's
that wave?" The client in my office asked this week as he stared
at the monitor on my computer. On the 19" flat screen, the opening of
my movie 13POINT5 was playing as I checked the latest batch of DVDs.
"Right down the street." I answered. "Are you kidding
me? That's here in Hampton?" he asked. "Yep. That's the Wall,
you know, 10th Street...North Beach." I told him. He
stared at the monitor with his eyes bugging at the perfect barrels unloading
before him. "I had no idea we had waves that big around here."
He finally said. "Oh God", I thought to myself. Here we go again.
"Well, we do. Not all the time. But, we do get waves that big. I know
we do, because I filmed what you're looking at." I answered, somewhat
bothered by the lack of knowledge that some non surfers have. We have all
heard statements like that a million times before. But, here's the kicker.
This guy was a local. Granted, he dosen't surf, but he lives here in Hampton.
All his life. The man is in his 60's and he's telling me he's never seen surf
like that around here? "What planet do you live on?" I asked
under my breath. I know you've all heard similar statements. Isn't it amazing
what some people see and what some do not?. It's hard for me to comprehend
that there are many living among us who are clueless to what's happening out
in the Ocean. I guess that's why this thing we call "Surfing" is
so special. Apparently, not everyone sees what we see. Maybe it's the East
Coast stigma we've had since the early 60's.
Look, we know that surfers from West Coast and beyond used to think
that we lived in a barren land for waves. It wasn't until the last few decades
that New England started getting media coverage that opened the eyes
of the blind. I can remember being very offended by the snide comments we'd
get from the "elite" groups who had more consistent surf than we
had. The incredulous looks of utter disbelief when you tried to describe the
surf we actually get. "No way man. You guys couldn't possibly get surf
that good in New England." They'd say. "Well we do, and I've
got the goods to prove it." Then I'd show 'em a photo, or a film clip
and watch 'em stare with their mouths hanging open like dogs. It always felt
good. But they'd always come back with..."But it's gotta be cold."
And I'd always answer..."Oh yea. It's beyond cold. So cold that NO ONE
surfs back there...it's just too cold." And I'd smile at em.
"Too cold to surf in New England.".
Same
day as above...another Tsunami Wave?
You
all know this spot...but what you didn't know is, it's part of that deadly
tsunami a half a world away! This is truly mind boggling when you think about
what you're seeing. Great photo Green Mountain Boy!
photo by Dave Sautter
The Red bands indicate the actual swell lines. Look at New England! There's
an amazing video on the NOAA website to see this whole deal unfold.
If you
got good surf pics send em off to me directly.
Just make sure they're NOT huge files. In fact if you have any questions about
the size, email me first and I'll write back. Start shooting crackie!!
Ralph Pic Of The Week
Yesterday
1968. The North Shore of Massachusetts.
I'ts a photo of me. A young Ralph Fatello. I was 17yrs old. I still have this
board. It's in my office. The Rapier, made by Harbour Surfboards.
It has no rocker at all. But in 67 and 68 it was considered
one of the first short boards. It's 8' 3" long.
I'm guessing this was winter. I never wore a hood in those days (didn't look
cool). I froze my ass off. This was right before I went into The Marines.
My oldest surf buddy Jeff Crawford sent me the photo this week. It
blew me away. I remember
those early days. We had a Surf Club, Competition East . The world
was a different place back then. Thanks for the memories Jeffy! I'll be posting
more in the weeks and months to come.
Photo
courtesy of Jeff Crawford
I just saw something on the Network News that blew me away. The massive
tsunami of Dec. 26 2004 actually sent waves all around the entire globe.
They just showed a time-line graph from NOAA that clearly showed the
waves from the tsunami reaching our very shores. Do you know what this
means? My friends, it means, if you surfed on Monday, December 27th,
2004, you surfed waves from the tsunmai! That's insane! That's
just mind boggling. This is for real. I saw it on NBC. That deadly
swell hit our shores.
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2005/s2365.htm
See last picture below for the actual NOAA Graph. If you want to watch the
video go to the NOAA website and watch it...UNREAL!
Speaking of deadly...what is going on in the world? The snow and floods in
California are unheard of. Are you kidding me? The landslide
footage on TV was right on the heels of the never ending video footage of
the tsunami. Is it me, or is the world's weather going haywire? Is there a
logical answer to any of this? If any of you weather experts have a handle
on what's going on please email me. I'd like to be enlightened. Because, it
looks like (at least on the surface) that there are things happening out there
that have a lot of us concerned.
Maybe, it's bigger than the weather...
Well, the Patriots are playing the Colts. Is this what you all
wanted? A rematch? That freak Peyton Manning throwing a million TD
passes this season is bringing his voodoo magic to Foxboro this Sunday. Let's
hope it is a repeat of last year. Except we won't be having Ty Law's
services. He picked off Peyton 3 times last year. Our secondary is
hurting like never before. I guess we have to believe in Coach Belichick's
uncanny ability to get inside Peyton's head and cause havoc. One thing's
for sure, we'll be getting our money's worth this weekend. It won't be a blow-out
(I hope).
The Patriots are NOT the Broncos. Not even close.
And what is up with Randy Moss and Randy Johnson? Have the Randys
gone Crazy? I tell ya...the weather's going crazy and so isn't the world
of sports!
Let's Hope we're heading to Pittsburgh next weekend...or better yet,
let's hope the JETS are coming to New England! GO
PATS!
As always my friends...Pray for Surf. Pray for Peace. Surf For Fun.
Ralph
P.S. Help the victims of the Tsunami if you can.
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