Mild Winter's Day and Surprise (sort of) Waves

All the web cams looked ambysmal, and the reports were piss-poor, but hold the phone - things got pretty fun before the wind came up. The pictures are so-so, again, another case of "screw the photos, we're burning daylight. Ditch the camera and suit-up."

Janet's especially stylish on her Meyerhoffer - you know, one of the hour-glass shaped cult crafts.

Fun enough for a day which was supposed to be flat. I was too hurried to shoot them, but theer were some solid chest high sets.

Small leftovers and more mild weather tomorrow?

The Long, Strange trip of the Queen Bee

From earlier this week but I'm still amazed.

No one was killed when Scott Douglas and Rich St. Pierre were tossed off the 26-foot long boat (the Queen Bee) in August 2008 off Nantucket and forced to swim two hours to shore. The U.S. Coast Guard says the boat was left adrift because the seas were extremely dangerous.

She was discovered in Llanes, Spain, over 3,500 and miles away and over 3 years later! The Queen Bee traveled across the Atlantic Ocean, MSNBC notes, perhaps carried along by the Gulf Stream ocean current.

The boat was finally found 3 years later 20 miles off the northern coast of Spain. According to Maritime law, Spain now owns the boat.

Also, in case you were wondering, Spanish media reports say the vessel still contained a first-aid kit, fire extinguishers, a radio and maps of the U.S. East Coast. Everything else had been taken.

Etta James 1938-2012

Rest in peace & thanks, 'Miss Peaches'.

Amber Waves

Amber Waves - 10'0" noserider

Spot X by Chad Huff

Say it ain't so: Kodak Files for Bankruptcy Protection

OK, folks this is not good. From today's Wall Street Journal:

Eastman Kodak Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York early Thursday morning, after the struggling photography icon ran short on cash needed to fund a long-sputtering turnaround.

and the crooked places will be made straight

"One day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight."
~Martin Luther King Jr.

Chilly but fun enough & crispy

Especially when the lineup cleared out

More pretty light - and who doesn't love the complete lack of snow?

Dog Bar Breakwater - Image: Bodin Historic Photo

Dog Bar Breakwater, circa 1906 (note lack of rip rap on the ocean side on right) Alice M. Curtis/© Fredrik D. Bodin

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I'm totally gleeping/stealing/ripping off this post from the excellent Good Morning Gloucester blog because I think it's so flipping cool.

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article by Fred Bodin:
Dog Bar Breakwater extends nearly half a mile from the tip of Eastern Point across the entrance to Gloucester Harbor. It not only shelters the harbor, but also covers the treacherous Dog Bar Reef, for which it is named. Construction by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began in 1894 and continued until December 1905. The foundation of the structure is granite rubble taken from Cape Ann quarries, and is capped by 12 ton granite blocks supplied by the Cheves Granite Company of Rockport. A total of 231,760 tons of granite were used to build the breakwater. A small tower lighthouse marks it’s outermost extremity.

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Head's up:
Fred Bodin has the coolest gallery on Main St. in downtown Gloucester. If you want to see (and buy) amazing photographs, dont miss it.
bodinhistoricphoto.com

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And Today:

Wayne Lynch, Nat Young, Ted Spencer x Paul Witzig - how can you miss?

The Jetty

By Kiyo
Safe to say it's pumping out there.

Somebody somewhere's stoked

A 10' noserider nears completion.

Harold Iggy: 1941 - 2012

legendary shaper, surfer, waterman

starting 2012 with a bang: day run to the Southlands

And don't let the Mayan's tell you any different, ya hear?
Far more fun than it looked, and pretty damn sweet given the miserable forcast.


Let's see - motivate and venture and things are more fun than expected, thanks to the fun crew you're with. 2012's gonna be a great year!

Also - the choice - bigger crossed up and super crowded? smaller, no one, plenty of room for everone, and the stigma of a beginner spot. Easy choice.

01-01-12 First ride of the year.

And probably the last for months since it's 18° and windy outside as I type.

Fun ride which turned out to be a race against the sunset as the roads got a little slick. The half fremer came along for the easy ride.

New Year Resolutions & all the best for '12 y'all!

In no particular order here goes for 2012:

• Rock climbing – Maybe a kindred spirit? A perfect way to unwind, and there are good places around here.
• Put a sock in it and listen to people
• Join the community
  Gloucester & environs: Jump in! – there’s loads happening.
• Learn Spanish
• Ride shortboards
• Surf Nova Scotia
• Cook more
• Hike again - someplace different? Same in 1 day? Both?
• Finish stack of books hiding under my bedside table.
• Take a remedial guitar class – the acoustic is under an inch of dust
• Be more organized in my daily workflow
• See more movies. Not a single theatre-movie in '11!
• Eat more green in every sense – 2009 – 2011 saw huge advances in this area, keep ‘em flyin’.
• Take a surf/travel trip – Tortola was amazing (so much so I’d go right back again too) – but Europe - Cote Basque - North Devon - Ireland. As said in 2011 as 2012.
• Give back – I've been pretty fortunate all along. Something’s out of balance – my point: give “something” back – I don’t know how, what, or when; but what better way to thank our lucky stars?
• The B.C. (wtf!): tall tall order, but sometimes you gotta say wtf. SUP? Lay-down paddleboard? Dory? Kayak? (gag) Stay tuned.
• Timeliness – a recycled resolution from a year ago – improved, but much room for improvement – do or do not, there is no try.
• Focus – the main thing: keeping the main thing the main thing.
• needs and wants – separate but not equal