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
Some shots from "the archives":
And remember…..next time you surf with 30 people, somewhere in this country there is someone surfing with 300 people. And they are more stoked than you? Can't be. Stop the padded fist fights and keep your composure dammit. Remember the way of the surfer. But if you don't choose the dark side expect to get your hand lopped off and replaced by a sweet robot arm. Much like Luke Skywalkers…...
Photo credit: T. Hinman
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.
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!!!!!!!!!!!!
