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