Well first off, the above picture was one of the many that I took after yesterday's session, sort of a "file photo" if you will. I did get out today after work though down at Nantasket. I left the camera at home today and concentrated on my surfing. I still wasn't at 100% today, but today was definitely an improvement.

    The conditions today were better (in my opinion) than yesterday. Today's sets were in the waist to slightly overhead range, but the wind was pretty much nil, so it was super glassy...And warm. The air temp @ 6:30 pm was 67 degrees, the water was probably in the low 50's. I wore my 4/3 today, but today was the first day since last November that I've gone "sans" hood. Vehicle of the day: The Lopez "Big Wally".

     I surfed for about an hour or so today and got some decent rides (1 shortboarder was really tearing it up out there  today..kids!) and talked to some cool people in the line-up. Not too crowded today, which was an extra bonus. On a scale of 1 to 4, I'd give today about 3 and a half stars. Had I had my game fully on, it would have been a 4 star day..... Pray for surf! Until next time..Aloha.

   Today, I left work just a bit early and got in an early evening session at Nantasket. The conditions were really, really good; anywhere from waist to slightly overhead somewhat clean sets with plenty of punch, The only tough part of the day was getting out of the impact zone. Between the constant pounding sets and nasty current from the south, it took sh*tloads of paddling to get outside. The air temp was around 65 degrees, water temp about about 50 (I'm thinking that it's almost 3/2 time!). Vehicle of the day, "The Big Wally".




  I was only out there for about 45 minutes today. Not to make excuses, but my lack of sleep, being sick yesterday, and the strain of studying (the stuff I'm reading is like rubbing glass in your eyes...I know it's lame), cut my session short. I just didn't have my game fully on today. Hey it happens....I got a few rides in, but with today's conditions being what they were, I would have liked to have stayed out there ALOT longer. Like I said in the above paragraph, getting outside was a bitch!!.





  The warmer weather is definitely here and the 2 dozen or so surfers that were out there today is a sure sign that summer is on its way. Unfortunately, with all of the stuff that I have going on right now, and gas prices being what they are (Jeff take note), it's looking like I'll doing more Nantasket sessions this summer than day trips to the Outer Cape. Let's hope we get some decent "local" swell this summer. Then again, if I cut back on some stuff I really don't need, like say food or drink, I may be able to afford those road trips.  On a brighter not though, besides the annual end of the summer "Wellfleet Excursion" (15 days), I'll be down there next month for a week of surfing...And probably (ugh!), studying.



 

  Anyway, I'm hoping that I can put the books down and get back in the water (swell permitting) sooner rather than latter. Let's hope that the waves keep coming. Though a little more time between sets would be appreciated. Especially for us old timers.  Pray for surf. Until Next time, Aloha!



                                          Beach Dog says:  "Damn! I wanna learn to surf."

                            



    I guess this is bound to happen if you're one the greatest watermen of all time.....and married to a model / beach volleyball babe. Steve & Barry's, an NYC-based casual clothes chain, will be offering "The Laird Hamilton Collection", a line of surf and skate wear for men. This will be Laird's first clothing line.  Laird Goes All Fashion And Sh*t

                            Check out "East Coast Surfer", an online "zine" dedicated to the "Bastard Souls of Surf", that's right, us Right Coast surfers. Founded by Rhode Island native Chris Clark, this site serves the "cold water warriors" of the surfing world. God bless the wet suit!  East Coast Surfer

        

 

      Here's something to keep in the back of your mind while you're sitting out in the line up this summer amongst the seals (Remember: presence of seals = presence of sharks). A swimmer in Australia was able to free himself from the jaws of a 12 foot Great White this past weekend by poking the beast in the eye. The swimmer was initially trying to locate the shark's gills, but when he felt the eye, he figured that might work too. The swimmer did receive some rather serious leg injuries, but he is expected to make a full recovery.

  The shark that attacked the swimmer was one of three that were sighted in the area that day.  Full Story

 Some photos from last week's swell taken up north on Tuesday. Courtesy of Brick House Surf and Skate.








   Nantasket was about this big too late last Sunday. We were talking about it today down at Nor Easter, how the swell just came out of nowhere and went from waist high to overhead. Mark said that some of the sets, where he went out in Marshfield, were a good 4 ft. overhead.  Some tasty waves indeed...Pray for surf! Aloha.

   I came across this article while I was web surfing on the company dime (please don't tell the boss man) today at work. Anyway, it  originally appeared in Boston Magazine way back in 2006 and the article basically describes "our passion" here in New England. I may be mistaken, but I believe the picture I included from the article was taken at Coast Guard. I love that break!!  New England Surfing

*** Author's Note: Nantasket looked good this morning when the tide was higher. It's not looking so good right now (low tide), but if it improves, there is the possibility of an after work session today.

                         


                   Surfing in western Massachusetts?  Believe it or not, they do. The above river surfing photo was actually taken in Munich, Germany. But, there are group of inland surfers who ride the "Wave O Saurus" on the Connecticut River near Holyoke. Fox News did a story on these guys and gals last week. Here's a link to some video from the Wave O Saurus.  Wave O Saurus on You Tube

                                             Or    More Wave O Saurus

 I'm sure most of you heard about this incident in California over the weekend.  A 66 year old San Diego man was training for a triathlon in the waters north of San Diego and was killed by a Great White that was possibly up to 17 feet in  length. I was thinking about this yesterday when I was surfing at dusk. Not cool at all!  Shark Attack

    

        Though it was looking like I wasn't going to get at all this weekend because of work and family stuff, I  did manage to get out late (about 6:00 pm) on Sunday at Nantasket. No one from "the crew" was available, so I was out all alone again. But, there were 5  other surfers out in the water with me.  The conditions were pretty good, mostly chest high sets with plenty of overhead waves thrown in. Air temps in the mid 50's, water temps in the high 40's. My vehicle of the day: my Lopez "Big Wally".

      
                                                            Dropping in the white water

      
                                                                                He's up
        



     Sunday's swell was a powerful one, and getting threw the impact zone to get outside took quite a bit of work. I surfed for about an hour and only got 4 waves; 3 intentional "green water" rides, and 1 ride not of my choosing.  The one wave that I was forced into riding was in the overhead rage and was just starting to break behind me and left me with two choices: get mashed by the wave or ride the breaking white water. I chose to ride, and I was able to pull ahead of the wall of white water and ride it to shore. Not a glamorous ride, but fun.

   


          There's supposed to be swell most of this week and into the weekend. Ideally, I'd like to get out one day before work this week and early on Saturday (work stuff going on in the afternoon) at Nantasket. We'll see what happens. Pray for surf! Until next time, Aloha.