Holidays…...

Things are picking up as far as Ocean activity goes. This passed Sunday I was working 200+ miles out at George's bank. In 15 foot NW swells as well as 50mph gusts and near white out blizzard conditions, moving a 95lb lobster trap around the deck of a 75ft hi-liner in 15ft seas was cross-training at its finest. Just something I keep on my mind to prevent me from going crazy while we're out on our week long trips. Tried to get the go pro out but the battery was drained(turned itself on in the night's 15-20ft beating). Sitting on watch was like being on a roller coaster. The walls of water would roll gently and as the boat slammed through the peak of each approaching wave would careen down the steep wind driven face of the backside of the wave. Twenty seven hours later we made enough headway out of the fetch and seas tapered down; about 6-12ft. At one point in the first leg of the journey home I woke up mid-air and had to shove myself back into my top bunk off of the ceiling. Great fun. We had waves on Thanksgiving again! here are some shots from various sources. Hopefully the wave machine stays on. Our tropical season was WAY too quiet. TOOOOOO quiet. Ten years ago there was a winter. In that winter there were 3 low pressure systems per week producing world class surf on all reaches of New England. Hopefully we're back in that pattern. Stay warm. Photo credit: T. Hinman

Last night will hold a solid vision burned in my mind for years to come. Every bit of my being has been affected by what I experienced. It has felt like AGES since this feeling has come to resonate within the heart of my soul. Surfing is pure nature. Aside from our man made devices we ride upon, the act of surfing is the act of immersing yourself in Nature. The horizon was worth writing innumerable words of its cherry hue as the Ocean reflected and churned. All the while, solid and consistent waist to head high groundswell swept over one of my favorite reefs. One hour later, three people in the lineup and we were all stoked. Wave counts were maxed out. Solid head high runners for hours. Barrel sections, air sections, the surf was getting better. The sun was dropping, the lighting was f*cking surreal! The sky turned all shades of yellow to orange finishing with reds to fluorescent pink to greyed out purples accented by an offshore storm-front. If this wasn't good enough, the entire session was in full double-rainbow over the horizon, "holy shit nature is making me so f*cking high on life" fairy-tale land. I think they call these mystical experiences. This is why it all started for me and it's taken almost thirteen years to understand this. Charged. I can only begin to describe the plateau of bliss I was on for those two to two and a half hours of surf. All natural liquid molding and bending over reef, uninterrupted. Hooked. For life. Have been, will be always wanting more. JB

"That's not rideable" = B.S. Bad Attitudes = You look like a fucking joke.

One thing is for sure. There's all ways a way to shred. Whether it be your favorite Sunday times news paper out of flat-spell low interval mushy surf driven frustration or mind bending the crap out of something on a skateboard. Never say "it's not rideable". I will never forget my first experience on my 5'6" Vec shaped for me years ago. It's virtually bullet proof and is still water tight! There's all ways something to shred somewhere. I can surf 1/2 a foot to over-head on that 5'6" x 19.25" x 2 5/8" magic carpet!! We all can't make it to our favorite liquid ramps all the time. So if you can't rip, tear or shred a turn at your favorite break you can try a VAST ARRAY OF OPTIONS. 1. Tearing up Sunday's paper 2. Ripping up your favorite paper- back novella 3. Shredding some confidential documents at the work place 4. Slaying some epic cuisine 5. IF YOU SURF AND DON'T SKATEBOARD YOU NEED TO START (it may be the key to re claiming your surf-fever driven insanity!!!!) 6. Crank an attitude as a local scene-ster! (way too much localism going on lately!) Shots from the weekend: Franken-ramp keeps expanding. "Oh damn, a wall ride mini full-bowl!?....no WAY is the transition rideable!" "So rideable!" J A gets a ton of props(and should from everyone) for the continuous blood sweat tears and man hours he's put into this ramp.(not to mention his great surf etiquette!) He is the man. If you see him in the water you should let him know how fucking Newport and local he is.

Blizz'd Up!

Been snowed in lately but it wasn't enough for me to stop and think, "hey, it's cold outside, stay in by the fire and keep warm." Got ahold of a 4x4 vehicle and charged through snow covered roads. Two hours of searching, driving , donuts, and fishtails led me to some dark n' stormy barrels. Never lose hope in the search. Surprises will find an open perception. STAY WARM!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's the waiting in between those dream sessions we have that make a day with perfect conditions have that surreal dreamy magic.

Journal Entry: Dec. 8th 2005 : 4:15am

    
  Awoke this morning to find Mother Nature had dumped buckets of snow. A solid blanket covered everything. Brewed a jarring pot of coffee, filled my X-Gulp, still had no idea how much snow was outside.  Opening the door was the first challenge that faced me. It took a few good body thrusts against my Mattapoisett home's storm door to get it open , the snow was packed fairly well against the exterior.  With dry winter suit, coffee, and 2 surfboards in hand, I trudged through the snow, about knee deep. The next task was carving through the pillow of snow that surrounded my 1992 rear wheel drive Ford Ranger 4 x 2 - 4 cylinder. Eventually uncovered, I started up my ride to the beach, next in sequence was the snow blower. It wouldn't start. Pull after pull on the rip chord, it sputtered and sounded hopeless. Luckily there was also an electric starter because on about pull 41 or 42 it snapped clear from the machine and that's when the snow fell from the plug and the button for the electric starter. A self propelled beauty of a machine with 9 speeds. Twenty minutes later the driveway was clear.
       I threw 5 bags of Quick Crete in the back or my truck directly over the rear axle, stuffed two boards and a duffel bag full of warm layers on top of the yellow dusty anchor weight and spun my wheels out of the driveway. Hopefully I could make my way through the remaining blizzard to a desolate location near the Sea. Hitting an unplowed road would ruin my attempt at surfing. my Ranger didn't have 4-wheel drive. One hour and about thirty minutes later after a tricky slick road-ride I saw perfection. Untouched. Not a trace of a human being around aside from a freshly plowed parking lot. It was about dark-thirty and the first signs of daylight were approaching. I began suiting up.
       Conditions were wild. Snow covered everything. A light offshore breeze and untouched snow set a surreal tone in the early morning hues. One final blast of heat and some more warmth to my core sipping coffee, I shut my truck down and stepped into the Wintry elements. What was I thinking!? This was insane. This was Love.
        As the waves furled against an equally matched velocity of offshore wind I realized how alive the Ocean was. These weren't waves, these were living creatures. Every right hand wave peeled across the reef resembling a dragon in flight, mouth wide opened. A dark and scary cavern only the believers could make it through. Pitch as black. Eventually past the break of the 1-2ft overhead walls, sets of 5 or 6, I picked off # 4. Taking off was a breeze and checking into the pocket was textbook. The anomaly was the ride. The Ocean opened it's mouth wide and gave me a view I could never forget. Amidst the chaos & white noise of falling through time in space upon a vertical liquid face I snapped a mental photograph. In this moment time seemed to stand still as I peered out the oval frame of light, The Exit.
       Not yet, this was too beautiful. The silver light shown through the liquid ceiling accenting everything around me. It went from pitch black to this. The shore, lined with snow and a brief interlude of ocean sand amidst the whiteness, had captivated my attention. I felt a moment of bliss only a surfer can tell you. 

       You only live once. This bliss doesn't have to fade. Praying this winter kicks it up a notch.

JB
     

Surf Everyday: Revolution Evolution

      
       There's not much that can compare to large powerful waves. The ebb and flow of the tides and the effect it has on open ocean swells; knocking swell intervals down and picking them up as they come and go. It's easy to be and feel like a surfer when there's surf to be had. It's easier to associate. It's easier to feel whole and connected. What if this connection never had to fade? What if you could feel the bliss of riding a heaving barrel walking down the street? Would it satisfy the addiction to liquid ramps and houses we all share? Would it suffice? It might come close. Nothing is as good as the real thing. Lately, in the past year or so, I put down my kung-fu practice(Baqua, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Al Pako Kenpo) and began practicing Yoga. My reason? Revolution Evolution!
       I know the concept is blasphemous for some closed minded religious views that deny the existence of such a thing but they're wrong. Evolution does exist and it's taking place right now. It takes place each and every time I hit the water!(YOU TOO!) My body, over the past 13 years of surfing, has formed a defense mechanism. It's called surfer's ear which is skin growth over the inner ear canal. The reason? To keep the water out! Wear ear plugs! They'll keep you warm and you'll spare yourself a trip to the doctors to get the skin scraped out of your ears.
       In retrospect to the evolution of surfing, it has reached pivotal points of progression along the way. When these points of change occur it's been surfboard design that has led the charge in the evolution revolution allowing the physical surfer to shred harder with more progressive moves. Today the surfboard has been engineered to perfection. Fin selection has come light years from where it once was and this has demanded higher performance from us, the surfers. So what happens now? what happens when we've evolved our wave riding devices as far as they can go? If you said that the surfer's physical being is next to evolve YOU'RE CORRECT! But how? How can you contribute to the evolution of physicality?? My answer was brought to me a year ago when Yoga came to me.
       Each and every time I hit my Yoga mat I have one thing in mind, positive change. Sure, you may have done some stretching in your lifetime but have you ever done an hour and a half of organ purifying twists, blood swirling inversions, and leg elongating lunges? The first time I stepped on a board after a Yoga class I was charged. Skating or surfing, that board was stuck to my feet. Immediately after I started pulling maneuvers I had only dreamt about as a far off fantasy of what I wished I could do. My wishes were granted by an increase of balance and focus in and out of the water.
       So what happens when we push physical evolution of the Surfer to it's peak; to the maximum state of flexibility and performance? Mental evolution comes next. Your attitude, the thoughts you have and keep, the beliefs you have in your own abilities are what need to be mastered. Evolution of mentality falls into two categories: The Believers(+) and The Non-Believers(-), Yin and Yang, Positive and Negative. It's amazing how much a positive attitude makes a difference! Assumptions are the trap and the ability to maintain a happy vibration is the cure. I'm sure we've all experienced this one way or another. What if the surfer could attract to him or her whatever they wanted just by visualizing it? What if you're not getting barreled as much as the others because they're visualizing it before they sleep? What if all that you have to do to surf better is think better by sending the Universe a mental picture of what you want your next wave to be like? That seems like a much better intent than pulling the localism attitude that is prevalent in much of the Surfing in the USA. What if there is only a lack because our thoughts and attitudes have created it? What if everyone could evolve for the better? There is enough to go around and there all ways has been!

 Ride The Fire.

JB

Ocean Body Slams Into Sand....

Empty Barrels On a Lonely Beach. Heaven.

It's been a while. Been hooked on point breaks recently but Cape Cod, as always, showed how much power it can house up. Shacks the size of hatch back cars and small trucks; shattered shell and mid sized pebble encrusted bottom ass kickings by one of the farthest reaches East in southern New England. This picture is not enough to describe the flawless perfection we witnessed. 5-6 second screamer cover ups. The bottom was not soft....and my shoulder blade is bruised.....

a shot within a shot. by All Photos by the Newportian: RJAM

A little bit of Nadine love

Before we decided a 2hr car ride was in line:

Ray Jarvis cruisin the inside slab:

J A Macfarlyn who knows how shallow it was....

Yes, There ARE Sharks In The Ocean.

   

 As many of you know there has been a lot of bustle regarding our fierce friend  Mr. Great White. They've been here for who knows how long. Ten years ago if you mentioned anything about a Great White Shark in New England people would look at you like you were crazy. Guess what? It's true!!! Going to visit the head of our lovely Ocean friend scientists left behind washed ashore in Westport, MA after performing a necropsy. The fish was healthy at the time of death. If that wasn't enough of a wake-up call there have now been numerous sightings in the waters off of Fairhaven, MA.

Cape Cod's Mr. Shaun VEC and Bradley Louw Dropping the cage for the first time

Marine Biologists, hop on in!

 

      Now let's talk about Cape Cod, the food source for our revered predator is plentiful off Monomoy Island, yet, there was an attack up in the Truro area.....So with some rough triangulation calc's THE GREAT WHITE POPULATION HAS BOOMED. They are everywhere. Time to step out of reality and into the movie Jaws. The cage goes in today, the news crews are swarming and I'm at home waiting for first hand pictures and/ or video. Time to go visit our beheaded Mr. White in hopes that there may be a few teeth left to salvage as a token of respect. Nice week of swell coming up :D nice to know we'll be sharing the same venue with such an amainzg creature.

I've been surfing large waves lately

It doesn't take much. To keep the stoke alive becomes a battle like none other. When you've been there. When you've walked away unscathed, clean and humbled in the best way possible. Riding liquid mountains like you have never seen before. Our day will come as it all ways does. To deal with the waiting between sets, between storm fronts, sunrises, sunsets, moon phases, years, decades, a hundred years, as much of a part of surfing as waiting for snow is for the white wave. Travel ponders and hopes of arcaine barrels of pure sunlit glory plague the mind. The most pure circuit charging the soul in the most indescribeable way. Still we remain Hungry. Like an animal of its own kind; Of it's own breed. A seperate extension of the mainstream. We are the water walkers, the storm riders.
        My only vice has been music. It has consumed me. Music and arbory. Day in day out. I have a climb and I make music. Waves come in all shapes and sizes. I like the ones made of salt water the best. It's all I crave. 6ft @ 16 seconds. For 2 weeks straight. Light variable winds 3-5kts. Just enough swell and wind variation so I can take 2 weeks from work to explore every nook and cranny that the oh so promising New England coastline has to offer. Swell and a long sought after boat trip. I'm ready Nature. Are you? I'll be waiting.....