Sunday Easy Ride

Sweet Melissa

Melissa swell, warm temps and fun waves. In time to shoot a few pictures, but I had to wait until the next day to get in the water.

In the Woods Near Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire

My girlfriend's folks have a place up in the New Hampshire lakes region. We were there with her folks over the Columbus Day weekend. The color was amazing. Also some talented nephews shot some drone footage that gives a nice overview of the area.

oh man, say it ain't so

NYT Article:
The Long, Strange Tale of California’s Surf Nazis

https://nyti.ms/2mDieg7

The Channel Rock Club in Boston

Damn I miss this place, and the good times.

1985 Ads from The Boston Phoenix - just look at the post punk, reaggae & blues lineup!
AND FREE PARKING!

The location now. G.E., "we bring good things to life" - they also made neutron bombs, true story.

Upon entering the club, the patron faced a large raised wooden corral that provided a view of the stage from the far end. The stage faced a square sunken dance floor, called "the pit", which was surrounded by drink rails and tables with padded stools. For punk rock and metal shows, the management locked this furniture up in the coat room. When the bands were playing and the crowd was jumping, the entire wooden floor bounced up and down, causing the 15' high PA system, to sway precariously back and forth.

There was also a back bar area that had the ability to be closed off during all-ages shows by lowering metal grates over the window openings. All ingress/egress was restricted to a single door that was manned by a bouncer who checked for hand stamps to allow the over 21 crowds to enter for a drink, as well as prevent them from bringing alcoholic beverages out into the rest of the club with the underage crowd.

Depending on who was playing, the pit would become a mass of sweaty skinheads, punks, metalheads, goth kids and the occasional hippie slamming into each other. In the late 1980s, shows would be stopped because kids were getting too violent. The bouncers had a notorious reputation of brutality, and there certainly were a number of incidents where this was the case.

Ginger Baker: 1939-2019

Cream founder Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker

Easy Glide

Summertime & the glidin' is easy

OK boppers, so Summer is gone. With all the clichés too. Crowds, kooks, flatness, dog days (no complaints here – remember – the ground here actually freezes) no surf zones & hours, waaa.

So, friends and rippers, It's contrarian time.

Please think about this:

Riding the smaller waves we have this time of year forces us to be resourceful, not only where to surf, but how to approach the wave. Do you do the late take off? Chase it down from way outside? Or will the wave behave the same way, only smaller? I find myself thinking about it, yes – a cerebral approach!

Learning from choices, and experimenting – that's the opportunity now. Practice cross stepping, head dips, run off the front of the damn board, who cares!? There's no penalty!

Hell, anyone can ride a chest-high wave. But when it's only knee to thigh high, squeezing an actual real ride out of the wave is hugely satisfying. Make a statement about your skill!

You're weightless, it seems. Like you just got away with something. The glide; an aquatic free lunch – ha-ha.

Riding these small and often imperfect waves, wherever, with your friends it where's it's at. Period. Yes, given the choice, who wouldn't take perfection? No, it isn't all time, not epic; you won't be talking about it in the parking lot next winter.

And here's a promise: ten years down the road, friends, you'll remember dorking around in the warm water with your freinds almost as much as anything else.

Next time – an all Big Bertha issue!

Ocean State Flashback

We're entering that time of the year again. A time of early sunsets and late sunrises, a time of staring longingly into distant (and not so distant) web cams, a time of missing a lot of prime swell. Like today.

All this gets me thinking about this year's RI trip. Surf-wise it was pretty much a bust. But we rented a small cottage on stilts. The weather and water temperatures were in their September glory. The waves? No so much.

Always a good time in the Ocean State – surf or no surf.

This is about as good as it got - this is literally the view from the cottage.

Sunset over the legendary Ocean Mist

Vintage B-17 flyby - sadly this same plane had a fatal crash today in Connecticut

August & September 2019 Flashback

Plenty of fun waves back in August

The Mothership Connection - 4Runners do it all!

Dorian - a little to big for me

Day 2 of  the Dorian swell and the beaches were still closed out
day 3 it was knee high - New England Style!

Jump in Mom, the water's still warm!

Peter Fonda: 1940-2019

Day of sorrow

In the film The Limey (clip below) Peter Fonda descibes the sixties as "'66 and part of '67" - just sayin'

Great Marsh & Ipswich Sunset

No surfin' but it's been a gorgeous Summer so far.

What Ike said

June Scenes

Busting out the 'ole Canon with its glorious 20mmm superwide lens.

Mid-June evening session

And on Saturday there was an Arts fair on Cabot Street in Beverly, it was pretty cool.

father's day 2019

Fathers: you never escape the idea that maybe after all they're right.

Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr. – Dr. John: 1941-2019

Yes this isn't news at this point, but a loss this big cannot go unmentioned.
Rest in peace, night tripper, you were amazing.

Dr. John, Montreux Jazz Festival, 1973

Catching up - Late May into June 2019

Yours truly - very satisfied after riding that 11' Hansen in the foreground. 
Yup, 11', that's what you need these days to have a fighting chance

Niki Lauda 1949-2019

Niki Lauda - one of the greats

13th Floor Elevators - You're Gonna Miss Me

13th Floor Elevators on American Bandstand, 1966

April Beach Scenes

Some fun waves, lots of rain and fog. Because this blog was beginning to look more like an obituary page.