NE BLAHS

Avon Pier, NC -- Struntz/ Surfing
•After living on the Outer Banks for the summer months, Ohio University Surf Club's Kyle Stock returned home for his last semester of college with a serious case of wave withdrawal. But it was nothing a short (10-hour) weekend drive back to Hatteras couldn't cure. "For the past three weekends (no Friday class!) I've driven there," Kyle wrote in a recent e-mail to ESM. "The first weekend, I caught perfect chest-high barrels off Avon Pier. The next weekend, I scored head-high groundswell at Frisco Pier. And this past weekend, October 1st to October 3rd, the Ohio University Surf Club took its 2nd Annual Fall Trip to Rodanthe." Over 60 Midwestern waveriders embarked on the club's fall pilgrimage to North Carolina--where they camped at KOA Kampgrounds and enjoyed residual groundswell for the duration of their stay. The Ohio U. crew also organized a beach cleanup that combed approximately two miles of the beach surrounding KOA. For pics of the journey, as well as extended information about the club, visit www.ohiou.edu/~surfclub. "Pure stoke has certainly found a Midwestern home in Athens, Ohio," Kyle finished in the e-mail. "Now we will just have to wait until the Northeast wind blows Lake Erie into a frenzy."
 

Ryan Carlson -- Mez
•Competitors traveled from all over New England to attend the 34th Annual ESA Northeast Surfing Championships held in Narragansett, RI, at Scarborough State Beach on October 23rd. Historically, it was the first time a surf contest took place at Scarborough. And as a powerful nor'easter buffeted the coast with six to eight-foot waves, approximately three dozen competitors took to the chilly, challenging conditions. A few of the many standouts included Anna Barend, Drew Simmons, Jen LeClair, Tricia Pan, Ryan Richer, and Mike Camp.
 
•Even while local breaks came alive with autumn juice and competitive action, several Rhode Islanders enjoyed fall time elsewhere. Peter Pan of Gansett Juice headed way south to Costa Rica for a BIC Surf contest, Tom Hogan of Warm Winds went east for an Indo boat trip, and Joe McGovern logged two solid weeks in Ireland along with fellow ESM Photographer Steve Fitzpatrick at Bundoran's Annual Ocean Fest.
 
•In Williston, VT, two former snowboard industry heavies, Stuart Knowles and Dave Schmidt, teamed up for the global launch of Himaya Sports Sun Protection, a new action sports brand dedicated to protecting outdoor athletes from overexposure to the sun. It will be available in specialty stores this winter, and it's been formulated for effectiveness in the most demanding conditions. Currently, Himaya supports North American boarders such as Ross Powers, Kelly Clark, Andy Finch, and Gretchen Bleiler. Learn more at www.himaya.com--and for rep, product, and sponsorship information, e-mail them at usa@himaya.com.
 
•Novelist and Montauk local-turned-Costa Rican ex-pat Allan Weisbecker is organizing efforts to increase computer education in Southern Costa. With the help of many generous donations, Allan has outfitted local schools with desktops, laptops, and various accessories. Big kudos to Allan on the effort. For more about the program--or to donate some of your old comp gear (it will definitely be put to good use!)--visit www.aweisbecker.com/contents/computers.shtml.
 

Mikey DeTemple -- Barb Baker
•The 2nd Annual Surf Slide Show took place at The Ocean Mist in Matunuck, RI, this year on October 29th with the help of local photographers Stephen Melidossian, Bob Johnson, Joe McGovern, and Chris Parker. Along with the stunning projection of quality surf shots, bands Sweet T and Big World (featuring Newport's own Sid Abruzzi on lead vocals) rocked the joint until the early-morning hours.
 
•After three years of intense lab work, Ben Sargeant from Hurricane Hopeful in Brooklyn, NY, finally developed the perfect blend of coffee for the early-morning surfer, Dawn Patrol Coffee. The idea originated from the super potent pots Ben brewed before he and his friends would take the ritual, 5:00 am subway ride to Rockaway Beach. Dawn Patrol Coffee currently features five wonderfully strong blends made with certified organic, shade-grown beans that come from top surfing destinations all over the world. Order one-pound sacks of your favorite, such as Rockaway Rocket Fuel, online atwww.hurricanehopeful.com. It's the perfect holiday gift, and each bag is packaged fresh by Sargeant--shipped hot, before the beans even cool. Plus, a portion of the proceeds for every order goes to the Surfrider Foundation--so be sure to find out more about Dawn Patrol at www.hurricanehopeful.com.
 
•New York, NY's, Jeff Dzwonkowski checked in to let us know that he really enjoyed writer Bill Koplitz's ESM Issue #99 Big News article titled "Air Sick: Fighting Skyway Robbery in the Post 9-11 Era." Jeff commented further, if you take a six-foot boardbag and fill it with 1) golf equipment it's free, 2) a couple of snowboards it's free, 3) 200 hard boiled eggs it's free (granted, weird and gross)... but for a surfboard it's $80 each way. What's wrong with this picture? Jeff was so worked up by the commentary that he posted more relevant information concerning the subject on his own website, www.wickedquiver.com/fee, to help educate the traveling surfer. Give it a look.
 
•Pumping beachbreak barrels came to Long Beach, NY, on October 23rd for the second of five Right Coast Red Bull Ice Break qualifiers. Five surfers from New York and New Jersey, including Ryan Carlson, Dave Juan, Jamie Moran, Randy Townsend, and Mike Roth carved high placings into the chilly fall walls--and secured slots for the Red Bull Ice Break Main Event, which will take place somewhere in Nova Scotia in winter of 2005. Stay tuned to ESM for all the latest news on the Red Bull Ice Break.
 
•Local Martha's Vineyard, MA, brothers Rob, Jamie, Morgan, and Brook Douglas recently opened CornerFive--a year-round shop to service the Vineyard's hardcore waveriding community. Full of character and authenticity, and located in an old boat shed at the island's busiest intersection, the shop sells its own original clothing line--also called CornerFive--that offers tanks, tees, sweatshirts, shorts, hats, and jackets. The outfit also has a solid selection of other top surfing garb and equipment from Rusty, Hammersurf, Barker, Hotline, Gull, and DaKine. For more information about CornerFive, visit www.cornerfive.com--or give Rob Douglas a ring at 508-693-9223.
 

St. John The Baptist Surf Club and Friends -- Barb Baker

•ESM Photographer Barb Baker's Long Island, NY, home (fondly referred to as Bab's Surf Shack) served as hospitable quarters for a number of longboard pros--namely New York native Mikey DeTemple riding for Channel Islands, Dane Peterson riding for South Coast Longboards Australia, Belinda Baggs riding for Toes on the Nose, Joey Termini riding for Joel Tudor Surfboards, and Strong Island-born photog Jim Pidgeon. The crew embarked on the full island tour--they spent a week in Montauk, catching the early-fall breaks at Ditch, and then went on to Long Beach, Gilgo, and visited St. John the Baptist High School for a photo opportunity with their surf club, headed by teacher Ed "Zippy" Arikian.
 
•2si Surfboards owner Shane Smith of Hampton, NH, recently upgraded his operations. Smith moved from a small bay in a lonely industrial park and instead bought a huge building that used to be a car dealership. Now he has a retail surf shop, shaping facility, and factory all in one. Not bad, eh? The new 2si headquarters is conveniently located on Route 1 in Hampton--just a short hop over the bridge to The Wall. Shane also made it known that he acquired a new 3DM Cutter, which he said is one of the sweetest shaping machines out there. Stop by to check out 2si's wide selection of boards, fins, boardbags, clothing, and accessories--and log on to www.2-si.com today. ­Compiled by Mike Fish



MA BLAHS

Raleigh Bay -- Not the Only Break in NC -- Struntz/ Surfing
•We heard through the grapevine (i.e. Wes Laine) that 17-year-old Hatteras Village, NC, local Beau Dempsey has been gathering some killer autumn footage of Hatty undergrounders like Will Skudin, Jason Andre, and Joey Crum--as well as a dozen-plus A-list Eastside pros during the now-infamous and ridiculously overcrowded Raleigh Bay sessions (to the dismay of several lifelong locals who reportedly sport red shirts in a low-key, nonviolent protest... always the Southern gentlemen, that crew). Look for a few of Beau's choice clips in Eastern Surf's debut video, Always Right, due out early next summer.

•In other celluloid haps, Garden Stater Mark Sisom's business, Artopia Productions, is breaking big into the surf industry as good rumors of his design and production skills continue to spread. Mark's also revamping his surf page with better New Jersey forecast links and a bigger, tighter photo gallery (featuring tons of work from Jersey shooters Bruce Chrisner, Jack Ryan, and others). Go to www.artopiaproductions.com for all that. And look for Sisom's mindblowing footage of Keith Noonan and Mike Gleason sharing 12-foot Northern Monmouth County barrels in Always Right, as well. Dis shit's unbelievable!
 
•Crystal Coaster-turned-SoCal surf artist Matt Willis recently had his first exhibition at San Diego's Gallery 504 this summer. He's now attending the Laguna College of Art and Design. Keep up the positive elevation, Matt, and we hope to see you back East soon.
 
•Willis isn't the only surf artist making waves. Toms River, NJ's, Frank Errickson, one of the artists featured in our original Surf Art Feature (Vol.12, #88) showed some of his latest and greatest work at the 3rd Annual Timothy Neylon Memorial Art Exhibit on November 5th-6th. Proceeds from all sales there benefited The FoodBank and the charities it serves. For more details on the exhibit, call 732-918-2600.
 

Dana Quinn -- Struntz/ Surfing
•Mild-mannered teacher by week/ ravenous waveschooler by weekend Jason Breiholz is proud to announce the First Flight High School Surf Club administrative crew: JB himself is acting as head advisor/ sponsor with two other teachers assisting, Herman Hall and Jay Sutherland. Club officers are as follows: President Lindsay Holton, Vice President Stephanie Quinn, Secretary Dana Quinn, and Treasurer Jon Jenkins. The club already involved themselves with the Big Sweep International Beach Clean Up, with many more activities to come. A+'s all around, gang!
 
•Gosh, we hate to say it, but WRV teamrider Andrew Meyer's salty, sailor-speak rantings posted on the company's website, www.waveridingvehicles.com, are getting more clever every month and a must-have bookmark on you computer. In case you haven't seen it, the column is entitled "Meyer's Monthly Manifesto" and the guy is pretty ballsy when it comes to his mouth... wait a minute, did we put that right? His latest spiel admonishes all those Vasco de Gama's out there who think they "discovered" the now whored-out Raleigh Bay, and Meyer goes on to urge surfers to find their own pieces of heaven elsewhere along our wave-rich shores. He also talks about how hurricanes don't have shit on nor'easters and how VB legend John "Quest" West and his lovely wife Kim just had a beautiful baby boy, Gavin Luke West. But the spewing took on a decidedly classier tone when Andrew described the 12th Annual Jeff Hunter Memorial Contest, aka "The Jeff," which went down this October at an undisclosed North End spot. And Meyers' own words put it best: "If Jason Borte's surfing expresses Currenism... Jeff Hunter was a goofyfooted Slater... VB losing Jeff Hunter was like the Hawaiians losing Ronnie Burns. Bless his heart and all the boys that keep his spirit alive!" With a requiem like that, it's obvious Meyer's online, Lenny Bruce, Jr. comedic act should be taken with the sarcastic humor intended. It seems he knows where his loyalties and roots lie.
 

Richard Gilligan -- Struntz/ Surfing
•Tarheel Brendan O'Brien is off on a video trip to Costa Rica in December with Wrightsville Beach rippers Slater Powell (who just won the Men's division at the ESA Easterns, thank you very much) and Rob Cordero. The crew plans on covering the whole Pacific coast in just a few weeks in hopes of getting the goods. Godspeed, gentleman!
 
•Alright, listen up skateboarders! This is an order from the Sgt. Major of Blah-jobs, because your days of fingerbangin... Oh, sorry, this ain't no movie. Check out www.eastcoastaholic.com for a whole new layout, updates on skateparks all over the Great East, fresh pool pics, a shitload of upcoming events, new site sponsors, a new-and-improved forum, new road trips... Anyhow, this site is the tits, so give it the click-and-drag, OK? And be on the lookout for Eastcoastaholic (ECA) Video, Volume #3 to be released soon.
 
•Former ESM Art Director Kenny "Gibber" Gibbs has been doing the right thing and shooting the powerful-yet-extremely underexposed Delmarva shoredumps lately, scoring a particularly good day at 45th Street in October with Delaware ripper Aaron Powell. Get us those gnarly shots ASAP, Gibber, we can handle it!
 
•Speaking of Aaron Powell, he's headed off to the Pacific for a late-fall Hawaii/ Costa Rica/ California triple-header as we speak.
 
•According to our Jersey buddy Todd DiCiurcio, on November 6th an ultra-special record release party for the elusive indie-rock sensation Schizo Fun Addict's debut "Atom Spark Hotel" went off bigtime at Soho, NY's, Pianos, and the whole affair was nothing short of spectacular. An accomplished surfer, artist, and musician, Todd even played drums on two of the album's tracks. He also drew a limited-edition signed poster of the live show in the first 200 vinyls that were pressed. If you missed the party, then you'll probably regret it for the rest of your life, but that's not an M.P. That's a Y.P... your problem.
 

Jason Griffith -- J. Wilson
•ESM Assignment Writer Josh Hunter experienced a bit of bad luck this October. While out boating looking to hook-up some King Mack, his cell phone fell into a cooler full of dead fish. We're pretty sure Cingular doesn't recommend chumming your phone, but things turned around for him a few days later, when Josh went spearfishing with Surfing Magazine Photographer DJ Struntz and got himself several great catches, while DJ biffed like a rookie and shot a 27-inch trout. Easy there, Citation Nazi!
 
•Dave Yayac of Tokem Boards wanted to relay that Tokem is donating a special board to be auctioned off at the new WQS-rated Sebastian Inlet Pro this January. Proceeds will go to Surfing America and a Downs Syndrome Center for Children.
 
•Virginia Beach, VA's, wandering son Jason Griffith is back in his adopted homewaters of France after a beautiful summer/ fall campaign--traveling on the Volcom tour, racking up the photos, working hard getting 'er done on a Nicaragua trip with Tom Carey, and such. Keep blazing, Griff.
 
•Speaking of Jason Griffith, what do you get when you combine him with Noah Snyder, Ben Bourgeois, Matt and Richard Gilligan, Chris Curry, Sam Hammer, Jesse Hines, Mike Gleason, Ian Parnell, Matt Beacham, Carl Wallin, Billy Hume, Jeff Myers, and Rob Brown? Only the heaviest damn gathering of Mid-Atlantic talent we've ever seen. And they're all in Pat Stublen and Brian Townsend's long-awaited, and independently funded new release, Back To The Front. Stay tuned for more on that next issue, ya bunch of freaks!
 
•And it may seem like we're getting a little long-winded about all the video stuff lately, but what can we say? We're just video-crrrr-azy, especially with ESM's first-ever video project with longtime mag contributor Mike Nelson, Always Right, coming to life. And with a hefty amount of clips already in the bag from Eastside and abroad, (thanks in large part to several topnotch and budding videographers from all around the Right Coast), we're just gathering more steam. In fact, ESM Photo Editor and Chief Photographer Dick Meseroll is joining Nellie as we speak on an exclusive trip to the wave-rich shores of Ireland with Red Bull star riders Sam Hammer, Billy Hume, and Ian Parnell. So put dat in yer' pipe 'n smoke it! Then go kiss our... blarney stones! ­Compiled by Matt Pruett

SE BLAHS

Adam McGill -- Gregg
•Take it from us--groms rule. And Volcom teamrider from New Smyrna Beach, FL, Stone Towers is going absolutely mental lately--bagging a hard-fought 1st-place finish at a recent NSSA Southeast North Conference contest... and on his birthday to boot! Stone then went on to place runner-up to winner Evan Geiselman in a spiritually charged Christian Surfers comp before entering another NSSA event at Bethune Beach with a broken arm, and grabbing fourth! Keep up the resilient ripping, Stone, and best wishes for a speedy recovery.
 
•Folly Beach, SC, charger Chad Speedy left his beloved second home of Hawaii this fall and returned East to catch a couple bombing sessions at Raleigh Bay with Surfing Magazine Photographer DJ Struntz. Hey now!
 
•Did ya hear? "Big Mike" Ficocello is the new team photographer for Pit Surf Shop and Jay Smith's kick-ass line of Clever Surfboards. So you can expect to see a lot more shots of the Daytona Beach, FL, crew, like Pete Jagocki and Eric Worley, in the pages of Eastern Surf.
 
•West Palm Beach, FL's, Shawn Murray is now running the Osiris Surf Team for Florida--including Justin and Eric Ellingham, Jaden and Rylan McCart, Aaron Frosio, Shane Murray, Carl Strand, and Andrew Christopher. And Paul Barga is the new Osiris rep for Florida.
 
•In Gulf Blahs, The Island Shop has moved to a new location, 309 Gulf Blvd., Indian Rocks Beach, FL, which offers more parking, easier access, and heaps more floor space. Give 'em a ring at 727-596-2244, or dial their "Wave Line" at 727-596-9299. They also have a new site up and running to keep internet-savvy surfers aware of shop specials, surf conditions, contest info, store updates, and general info on the West Florida scene. Visit www.islandshopirb.com for the straight poop.
 
•If you lost a surfboard at Sebastian Inlet in October, call Tom Dugan at 321-729-6121. If you can describe it, you can have it.
 

Shannon "Hopper" Eichstaedt -- Dugan
•Freestyle Watches is stoked to announce Mandalay Surf Shop in Clearwater, FL, is the winner of the Freestyle Surf Expo Surfboard Giveaway. Shops were granted raffle tickets for every $1000 ordered at the show and Zak Franklin of Mandalay won the drawing. Cool!
 
•Ormond Beach, FL, contest terror Tyler Crawford was recently added to Adio's amateur squad, according to Florida rep and ripper Casey Stahr, who also noted that Adio riders Ross Howatt and Matt Oberman have been getting tons of photos lately and working especially hard.
 
•Look at the big brain on Jimmy! Jimmy Walker just moved to Cocoa Beach, FL, where he's currently maintaining a 4.0 GPA at Cocoa Beach High School. He's also picked up a few new sponsors, including Cobian, Surf Co. Hawaii, and Headhunters, after making it to the ESA Easterns, where he showed additional smarts by placing 5th in Junior Longboard, followed up by a 4th in Junior Longboard at the NKF Surf Festival, and a 3rd in Junior Longboard at the Waterman's Challenge. Not bad for the kid's first year of competition!
 
•In South Florida deets, Surfmiami.com editor Michael Micone claimed solid eight-foot tubes during Hurricane Frances, and he says he has the photos to prove it on the site. Click and see if he's joshin' or not.
 
•We made a Blah-Blah boo-boo last ish when we said wahine phenom Karina Petroni now rides for Body Glove Clothing and Wetsuits. She actually sports Body Glove Swimwear and Wetsuits. Karina is also representing Vans' new female clothing line and shoes.
 
•In Ambiguous news from the Southeast, our man Jason Roberson reported that Pat Conner put on a stellar performance to reach the Juniors final at the Volcom VQS Seacow Series contest in St. Augustine, FL, eventually placing 3rd behind Fernandina Beach, FL, groms Sean Poynter and Brady McKenzie. Also, fellow North Floridian Adam McGill made the Pro-Am final and placed a respectable 5th. Meanwhile, further down south, Brevard-based Ambiggy pro CT Taylor just returned from a trip to Chile with Eastside superpowers Sam Hammer and Asher Nolan, scoring surf in the four to 20-foot range. And superbooster Sean Tubbs and ace shredda'/ Da Kine Diego's taco man Brian Denning caught a bangin' swell on the Gulf Coast of Florida during Hurricane Ana. Go to Page 62 for this issue's "Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season" Photo Feature, or link up to Josh Coville's site, www.inletsurf.com, for some sweet vid clips.
 

Joe "Linguini" Langella -- Mez
•Speaking of Tubbs, during a recent double-points NSSA contest at his beloved Mel Beach break of Ocean Avenue, Sean was on the beach before his heat when a swimmer got caught in a treacherous rip and a heads-up Tubbs paddle-battled to make the save for the home team. Give him triple points, we say!
 
•Ponte Vedra Surf Shop held their first-ever Crossroads Classic at a hush-hush spot outside of Jacksonville in October. Jason Venn, Pat Conner, and Adam McGill were just a few who showed up to lend their support.
 
•Big ups to Ehren Tresher, who provided us with some much-needed Blahs from the NSB area this month: Inlet Charley's Surf Shop is proud to announce they took out their corporate counterpart, Quiet Flight, in the O'Neill Bragger's Cup at Sebastian Inlet on October 23rd. IC's placed 4th overall ahead of QF, despite some pre-contest gloating from the latter. Slamming the door shut on the competition, though, was Sunrise Surf Shop, consisting of Rory Reep, Dane Jeffreys, Adam McGill, and Julia Arnold. Meanwhile, Shannon "Hopper" Eichstaedt headed back to Mainland Mexico this fall (not Puerto), where he once again scored grinding tubes with Cali tripster Brian Conley. Look for Hopper's video footage of that excursion soon in the next ...Lost vid, as well as ESM's upcoming Always Right. And Devon Tresher booked out to the North Shore with Gulf Coaster Sterling Spencer. Eric Geiselman also managed to weasel out of school to make an appearance at the world's most famous stretch of surfing beach. Hopefully, former Volusia County standout-turned-Rock fixture Spencer Suitt will find time in between tuberides to get ESM some photos of the boys. And lastly, NBK video guy extrordinaire Casey Collins has been working hard on growing a thick mustache so all the 18-year-olds at the New Byrnah' clubs will think he's sophisticated and wealthy. Fortunately, the addition hasn't kept him from ripping on his roundnose fish. If only the young night-goblins on the strip could see that.
 

Robbie Blevins -- Gamma
•Alex Juelle of Puerto Rico's Bora Bora Surf Shop was the East Coast winner of West Surfing's "Trip to West Oz" Contest, where retailers had their photo taken wearing a West T-shirt. Alex was chosen at Orlando Surf Expo by Dan McInerny of Hub 360, and both Anthony and Alex won a set of round-trip tickets, good anytime, to the land of dingoes, didgeridoos, and huge bombora reefbreaks.
 
•Joe "Linguini" Langella bravely left Brevard County for a six-month stint in Angola, Africa to work on the Embassy and catch sick left point surf only 15 minutes from his house there for his troubles!
 
•One company that's creating quite a buzz lately is Seventyseven, Inc. Located on Anastasia Island, FL, with roots in Philadelphia and New Jersey, you can peep them on the web at www.sessionlife.com.
 
•Though the chances for the East Coast claiming an ASP World Champion this year are nil, as far as our WCT big boys are concerned, ESM still has two quick words of congrats. The first goes to the greatest surfer who ever tasted seawater, Kelly Slater, for winning the 2004 Surfer Poll (what many consider to be the greatest honor in the surfing world), despite failing to grab his seventh world title last year. The second goes to newlyweds Damien and Charlotte Hobgood. Happy honeymoon, kids!

•In case you didn't know, Robbie Blevins, one of the most underrated and bizarrely talented surfers to ever come out of Brevard County, is now on the Hurley program full-bore, and the guy's been going absolutely looney lately. In fact, we don't know who or what lit this new fire under his ass, but Robbie's been embracing a particularly impressive work ethic that could run a locomotive all by itself. Check out Eastern Surf's Summer 2005 release, Always Right, for celluloid evidence of this redhead ripper's steez on, under, and above the lip, 'cause Blevo's hotter than St. Helens right now. ­Compiled by Matt Pruett

 

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