|
Got
good surf epics? Send em off to me directly. (See link below) Just make sure they're 650-700 pixels wide. NO bigger NO smaller. In fact if you have any questions about the size, email me first and I'll write back. Start shooting crackie!! Ralph's Pic Of The Week |
|
If you want to access the Pic of the week from past weeks click here. Archives |
|
June
22, 2008 And as if right on cue, there are rumors of a swell tomorrow. Monday June 23rd. Could this Summer be the best Summer since 2005? Or 1995? Or 1969? We can only wait and see. But I'll tell you what, if there's good surf tomorrow and it lasts a few days I'd say we're off to a good start. Because as much as I hate to say this, we have been in sort of a semi drought. The last decent swell was the week before Memorial Day. But like a lot of you, I needed a break from the weekly swells. It was at the end of last week that I realized that I was really missing the surf. Of course there were a few smaller days here and there since Memorial Day that could be considered fun. But I have been waiting for something a little more significant. Something with a little push. And Lil Ralphie here needs the push. The older we get, the harder it is to get into waves earlier. The added push in good surf helps. Or it does for me. I can't grovel in the weak stuff nowadays. I see the Youth Brigade out there all the time catching anything that moves on these little swizzle sticks for surfboards. That ain't me. Like I said, I need the push. Hopefully whatever it is that's coming has a little push. Another reason why I think the surf is coming up is, a good friend of ours is leaving for a two week Surf trip to Costa Rica tomorrow. That's almost a guarantee that there will be surf. It never fails, someone gets antsy and they freak out and plan a surf trip. The day they usually leave, the surf comes up. That kind of karma has been happening all my entire surf life. It is my friends, the ole Sacrificial Lamb theory. In fact, this same family of wave riders left last winter for warmer climes and tropical surf and got somewhat skunked. It's true. They packed their boards, bags and trunks and went to PR only to be met with rain and no surf. Meanwhile back home in New England we were blessed with great consistent surf the whole dang winter. Now I certainly wouldn't want to see my friends get skunked again, but I won't lose any sleep worrying about the kind of surf they will be getting. It is after all a crap shoot. Predicting surf is like predicting the weather around here. You never know what you're gonna get until that day arrives. In fact, there's really only one place where you can virtually guarantee that you will get surf. Oahu. That's right. Winter, Spring Summer or Fall. You know, that somewhere on that Island there is surf. It may not be great surf, but there's surf. Anywhere else, it's a hit or miss deal. You could get the best surf of your life, or, you could get the worst skunking of your life. But that's a chance, that we are all willing to take. I guess that's where the original "Pray For Surf" line came from |
I was thumbing through this Surf mag the other day and saw this really nice photo of some guy at Pipe. It wasn't just a photo, but a double page spread. I believe the mag was called WATER. You should check it out, it's pretty good. Besides, our own Brian Nevins has a feature spread as well as Maine's Nick LaVecchia. It's nicely laid out. Getting back to that particular photo. The guy was at the bottom of a big Pipe bomb. It was a great shot. He was wearing these remake striped surf trunks, much like the trunks that Greg Noll wore during his peak of stardom. The guy obliviously chose these trunks because he wanted to stand out. Let's face it, we're all a bit of ego gorillas when it comes to surfing and standing out above the pack. It's part of our DNA. Well, what struck me as being odd at this shot was the caption and description. "Unidentified" at Pipeline. Unidentified? This guy buys these loud Greg Noll surf trunks to stand out of the pack, he gets not just a photo in a mag, but a lead in photo, and it's a double page spread, and his credit is UNIDENTIFIED??? The horror, the total injustice to this poor, surf photo starved, potential surf star. Unidentified. I of course thought about all the photos I've posted over the years, and had to throw the "Unidentified" line out there. I always feel bad knowing that most of you will end up seeing yourselves and calling me out about it. And I typically make the correction right away, unless it's a photo from the archives. In which case, I make the correction in due time. But you would think that if some photographer was out shooting Big Pipe and he shot some guy wearing those loud ass trunks, he'd at least ask around about the identify of the rider. Wouldn't you think? I could just picture this guy at some friend's house, thumbing through this mag, only to stop and blow his drink out of his nose as he sees himself for the first time...and undoubtedly yells out..."HEY THAT's ME!!! Check this out!" Or worse, some friend sees it first, and says..."Hey man this guy looks like you...wait it is you! Dude, this is YOU!!!!" I mean what do you do? Call or email the mag, and tell them? Then hope for some small correction in the next issue, or just suck it up and revel in your 15 minutes of fame and glory? Then go out and buy 15 copies for your family and close friends. And show it to anyone who has the 'surf thing' going on in their lives. Otherwise, you will always be lost in anonymity. Unidentified. The
Boston Celtics are NBA World Champions. They beat those LA
LAKERS handily during Game 6. At one point they were up by
40 points. Oh that's very hurtful but good. Congrats to all
you TRUE GREEN CELTIC Fans! HAPPY Birthday Kevin "Doc" Grondin. Remember
my friends...Surfing heals all wounds.... |
|
Yesterday
1989 Julia Nichols in Hawaii.
(Above)
Julia and friends. (Above)
Surf Dads and Uncles at the party for Julia.
(Above)
Surf family Cropper.
2008 Today-SURF SPRING, 2008
2008 Today-SUMMER 2008 "SECRET SPOT" OPEN FOR BUSINESS!
Above)
Smoothies, Salads and Wraps available NOW at the SECRET SPOT on the Beach
at
(Above)
Local surfer/photographer Kevin Doherty is a die hard local Celtic fan.
He shot these from the Victory parade in Boston this past week...looks
like Ray Allen with fist clenched.
(Above)
Celtic Pride! Oh yea, from the Victory parade in Boston this past week.
Today
2008 Parting Shot..."Coming down...I mean...Going Right! I mean Above)
Encased in this North Shore lip on Oahu can't be a good feeling...but
then again, maybe it is.
 Click On Wave to Go Back to The Top.
|
