BUILd-A-hOLICS ANONYMOUS

       It started out with simple sketches. It began with conversations in the line up. Little did we know how fast and easy it would be to throw together. Our only option is to keep building....and that we will. We've used 80% recycled materials stopping at any and every dumpster in the area scouring them for useful wood and fill materials.

        We've had more success than we could have imagined and in the prescence of these concrete works of art all we can do is laugh and plan to keep expanding. It wouldn't have been possible without the co-operation of home owners letting us have at their dumpsters. We are making a full-on snake run. Completion should be just in time for the summer flats and SW thermal flows....mad props to RJAMC & "The Mrs."(chief safety inspector) for allowing this basement transformation. Surreal. This wave breaks all day every day!!!! JB 

2011 ESA Regionals

       We couldn't have asked for better weather. The surf was size-able and confused(as usual) which gave the SNE locals a bit of an advantage over the out of towners. You had to stay on your toes and keep your eyes on the horizon constantly searching for a head high right hander to roll through the corner at Second Beach. Advancing heats required 2 good wave scores which was not an easy task as the sets coming into the beach were 4-5 closeouts in a row with maybe 1 or 2 waves lining up amidst the chaotic churning of the southern New England waters. Men's results Open Shortboard results Senior Men
 Junior Women  Ladies More here

    I can honestly say that it was the first taste of summer for all of us Saturday morning. Temperatures hovered around the upper 50's to lower 60's early on. The surf was waist-stomach + clean and had a little kick to it...still lacking a bit of power...would have loved some 3ft @ 14 seconds! Haven't seen that in a while. Much thanks to Moondoggiesurfer.com for complimentary downloads! More event photos here
Next ESA event is in June. Pray for surf! ....far overdue for a venture over the bridge to the outer Cape.

                                         

Build to ShRed. Forecast isn't looking so big for the next week so it's back to the dungeon for some expansion on this mini bowl. Taking over the basement one trowelat a time. Basic construction method after weeks of proper planning we threw this gem together in roughly 10 hours. Wood templates + rubble fill + sand + quickcrete = mini bowl basement training facility. Don't take skateboarding for granted. S.O.D. !

Greater Expectations

Sheltered points never fail

SPRAYED

       The EYEWITNESS is so vital to building the stoke as you haul ass to the beach hoping it's as good as your buddy says it is.Checking the surf forecast is a habit I will never break. It's like an addiction, constantly checking the offshore wave heights....Looks like that double digit swell is on its way for tomorrow. The only thing that can quite possibly beat an online surf report or offshore wave height is a friend at home blocks from the beach on the telephone calling you as he looks at various points with a telescope.  Latest captures from the weekend. It was nice to get in the water again. Water is up 3 degrees! Hello 41F!!! FNP

A bit mellow...still fun.

Photo credit goes to RJAMC once again.

Secret Spot Somewhere Southerly

A Few Shots From The Week

Dry reef all ways makes swell break

      
       The past week supplied surf for most of the region.. Clean conditions fluctuated from the southern shores to the northern and the eastern reaches of New England. The cold is still a force to be reckoned with. Water temps are still hovering around 38* and it looks hopelessly flat for the next week or so....hoping for a double didgit swell sooner than later. I can't remember the last time I saw offshore wave heights hit anything over 12ft @10 seconds.....I opted to stay on the southcoast while the NEsurfadventures guys ran up north and scored as well. Hope everyone got some surf! Surf to Live

Photos by RJAM

60 Degrees and I got a call 10 minutes before I was off work which brought me out to play on waist high walls alone for 2hrs. 5'6x19 3/4x2 1/2 pristine warm fun. Think it's safe to say Spring is here.

SPRING-A-LING-A-LING

       I am sure we have all been getting hungry for waves by now. How hungry are you? Would you say you're hungry enough to hop in your car with a buddy, stuff it full of gas,and go exploring? Would you be willing to drive any more than you had to? I am. You've gotta be down! ESPECIALLY with all the options New England has to offer....it's overwhelming sometimes. Where to surf?!?!....Do you want a reeling point break on a sketchy ledge or would you rather have dredging perfection on concrete-packed sandbars??

       Surfing the same spots time and time again gets old. Certain people surf certain spots. Certain spots break certain ways and it just gets old after you've pulled into the same section time and time again. Swell after swell....same break over and over again. Yea, the comfort level is nice but I like stepping out of my comfort zone. Learning to surf a new break can be ultimately frustrating but so freaking rewarding at the same time.

       Imagine you scope your local break and 12 or more people are already on it....good time? I have other thoughts about that. It pays to put in the extra time on the road. No one said good waves came easily. Certainly not cheap either. Yet, imagine you leave your local break, drive an hour and find an empty lineup AND it's 3x's better than anywhere you've seen. This has happened to me more times than I can count and I'm going to keep doing it because two's company but three's a crowd.

Two was a crowd....

UPS AND DOWNS: Shots From The Weekend

I remember winters when there was overhead surf 3 times a week. I remember having the leisure of planning surf ventures days in advance. This has by far been the least sizeable and consistent winter surf season I have seen in over 6 years. I remember New England for giant swells in the middle of January and February. I remember howling offshores and blind take-offs on walls the size of buildings. I remember the Ocean scaring the crap out of me. I am sure I haven't been desensitized. I am positive I am not remembering false occaisions of epicness. I had so much anticipation for this season to out do the last. I can't complain too much, however, our Hurricane season kept us pretty satisfied.

        We can only cross our fingers and hope that our nearly swell-less winter will give way to a consistant and busy spring. I DO remember the years when all hope seemed lost in the months of January and February that the coming spring season seemed to explode with all the energy that was missed in the winter passed. Let's hope that jet stream shifts in our favor.
       On the bright side of things...there has been swell for the past few weekends and there is more forecasted for the upcoming weekend. Desperation is starting to set in. Hunger for double overhead. We can only wait, hope, and pray.

Thanks again to RJAMC for the water shots!!!!

Puxatauny on the money!

       It's Feb....the month after January and things seem to be warming up quite nicely. A 40 degree day with light offshore wind sunshine and 6 feet of swell were the last things I expected to be wrapped up in on Superbowl Sunday. Surfed a double session with some good friends. Our morning session was alright not so much power on the face but a mellow head high point break is what we ate for breakfast and by low tide the ledge was exposed and I was one fin box less. Went back to the house to grab another board and surfed __________ for 1 more hour.

        Lunchtime was easy going. The swell was stable and holding so we took our time eating and relaxing. Around 2pm we decided to check a different spot and it paid off in some draining barrels and some decent water shots. Needless to say it felt like Spring had arrived. The chirping birds and warm pavement made the walk back to the house surreal especially after the score we made. Mid-winter's 43rd annual contest coming up on Feb. 19th!! Enjoy. JB

Much thanks to Ray of NESURFADVENTURES.BLOGSPOT.COM  and JA for the photos!

Flatness

     There's nothing worse than a swell-less Ocean. In times of flatness I'd do almost anything to have 6-12ft @ 13 seconds. You have to look on the bright side of things though. We got a good amount of snow to play around with. I don't know about you but I love snowboarding just about as much as surfing. Backyard setups are something I love almost as much as charging through a glade in 3 feet of fresh powder. Just the thing to take my mind off the flatness. Just as the novelty of our make-shift quarter pipe wall ride and mini step down wore off a swell found its way to the coastline. I love how different swells turn a familliar break into a shifty mind game. Hopefully we're falling into a bit more of an active weather pattern from here on out. Where's the epic winter swell???? JB