NE BLAHS

Eastern Mass -- Tricomi
After a slow start, surf in the Northeast picked up in mid-January, and evidence of the upswing in activity was provided by regular photo contributor Bruce Tricomi, who sent sweet shots of Eastern Massachusetts during a glassy head-high swell that had everyone in the ESM office drooling with envy. Anyone else holding visual proof or wishing to plug their surf store, please send your shop news and best pics for publication post haste. •Tom Hogan of Warm Winds in Narragansett, RI, also sent confirmation of the winter gems with crisp, A+ images of local fisherman Jamie Risser and Sharp Eye’s Curt Niles catching overhead bombs at Monahan’s Dock. Hogan claimed that although the surf in Rhode Island has been mediocre in general, the snowboarding has been all-time with lots of deep powder. In March, Tom and his wife Susan switched gears, leaving the snow and chilly 35° water for the tropically tasty waves of Tortola. •Bill and Rachael Ryan escaped the ultra-frigid waters of Maine in January by taking a three-week long surf trip to summertime Chile which is well, chilly, but not as extreme as wintertime New England. Booties, gloves, and 3/2 millimeter wetsuits were all that was necessary to catch the fabled machine-like lefthand pointbreaks with water temperatures dipping into the lower 50°s. Although they didn’t catch one right-breaking wave during the entire vacation, they were able to score incredible 8 to 10-foot lefts at Punta Lobos. The long days of sunlight, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., supplied them with plenty of time to surf and mingle with the local Chileans, who were extremely inviting and friendly. Bill and Rachael would also like to send out congratulations to good friend Arthur Villator for landing his dream job as a full-time cameraman with Channel 18 News. •Dana Trumann of Moose County Music in Portland, ME, provided extreme content for a TV segment on the Resort Sports Network. Trumann and Michael Grover were filmed riding 3 to 4-foot glassy winter perfection. The two even convinced the more-than-brave RSN anchorwoman to slip into the chilly Maine waters with a
Jammie Risser -- Hogan
6-mil fullsuit donated by Billabong. •Bill Woodward from York, ME, is riding for Shane Smith’s 2Si Surfboards. Bill reported scoring solid six-foot surf at home before leaving for Santa Cruz, CA, to compete in the O’Neill Cold Water Classic. After the WQS event, Woodward headed to the North Shore to hang with the Volcom crew and Maine’s Psycho Surfboards shaper Mike Morin, who is cleaning up his shaping room and firing up the planer after an extended break from crafting boards. •Mark Anastas of Liquid Dreams in Ogunquit, ME, reported that his shop has been surprisingly busy this winter. Mark is bringing back the skateboard department and stocking the store with trucks, wheels, bearings, and decks. Anastas, who is also in the process of building a new house, has been updating and improving his website liquiddreamssurf.com. The internet location, which launches in mid-March, will feature New England surf forecasting, travel info, and product reviews. •ESM’s Maine-man photographer Jim Ready made his annual mid-winter run to sunny Central Florida’s Club Mez to catch warm water and waves far away from the Arctic conditions hitting New England this past December and January. Proving that everything is indeed relative, Ready, who is used to wearing a 5/6 survival suit that’s replete with hood, thick booties, and lobster claws, was laughing at the newfound freedom of his 2 mil while we bitched and shivered in our
Bill Ryan -- Ready
taped 3/2s in water that hovered just under 60°F. •New Hampshire’s Ralph Fatello, who has since passed the halfway mark in his year-long surfathon to honor his father, recently released a two-part surf video called 99 to 90 that covers a decade of surfing in New England. Ralph will also be putting out another flick dedicated to showcasing his homebreak at the Wall, and that vid will be entitled Wall 2000. Be sure to log onto his new website, surffreeordie.com, or call him at 603-926-4668 to order the vids. •Craig Metzger has been appointed as the new East Coast marketing representative for Sole Technology. Based in New York, the former editor of Platform.net will be organizing events and scouting new talent on the East Coast. If you would like to talk with Craig about events, sponsorship, or riders in the East, give him a shout at 718-545-8796 or e-mail him at craigmetzger@hotmail.com. •Unsound Surf Shop’s Mike Nelson reported that water temps in Long Beach have fallen to a record low of 36° F. Many locals, like Chris Martin, have opted to don their snowsuits rather than their wetsuits for extended snowboarding sessions to satisfy their adrenaline addictions. Others, like Unsound co-owner Dave Juan, have chosen to bail it all entirely and fly to the Hawaiian Islands. Nelson and the rest of the crew would like to welcome back Terry Patterson, who regained her title as head of the ESA’s New York district after returning from an expedition through Bali. •Uh oh, lock up your daughters and your liquor cabinets, Bunger Surf Shop’s #1 loveable pain in the ass, New York’s Ed “Zippy” Arikian, is due for his annual Easter weekend migration to Florida. Any girls on the beachside beware,
Ed "Zippy" Arikian -- Dugan
especially in the vicinity of Tootsy’s in Satellite Beach. Zippy is most likely to be spotted stumbling between Ichabod’s Bar and Grill and the Quality Suites seaside pool deck when he’s not doing his afternoon runs to Petty’s Meat Market for free beer. •North Kingstown, RI, bodyboarder, Steve Melidossian, traveled to the North Shore in January to compete in the prestigious Banzai Pipeline Expression Session. Steve was the only East Coaster invited to surf in the huge winter waves after placing fourth in the 1999 event. Steve’s brother Drew, who has been ranked the top bodyboarder in the New England ESA for the past four years, recently relocated to California to attend the University of San Diego and plans to compete on the California pro tour as well as the NSSA circuit. •Lake Michigan Surfrider members spent a January morning researching and cataloging trash on their local beaches. Volunteers, led by GLSA’s Rick Boss, scoured the lake shores to collect 419 cigarette butts, 230 candy wrappers, 76 pieces of plastic, and 40 balloons among other miscellaneous trash from Tunnel Park Beach. •In other Surfrider news, the RI chapter hosted the Surf Film Blizzard at University of Rhode Island’s Edwards Auditorium on February 15th. The film festival featured Bill Ballard’s Peaches and Revelation and successfully raised hundreds of dollars for the URI Surf Club and the RI chapter of Surfrider Foundation. Besides raising money, it most importantly provided a winter surf fix for the entire community.Compiled by John Steinhorst 


MA BLAHS

Luke Ditella -- Gotthold
Early in the season, winter water temperatures in the mid-Atlantic plunged into the lower 40°s and upper 30°s, so many locals chose to travel to their favorite warm water destinations in search of more welcoming waves. After a month of powerful Pacific surf on Hawaii’s North Shore, New Jersey’s Frankie Walsh jetted to the Caribbean for a smokin’ photo trip with Surfer Magazine in Jamaica. Walsh’s brother Jaker decided to follow in his footsteps and flew down to Barbados where he found plenty of hot waves and cold beer. To see photographic evidence of Frank’s North Shore sessions, check out this issue’s Hawaiian photo feature. •In other Garden State news, surfers were glad to learn that Asbury Park’s decades-old anti-surfing ordinances will no longer be enforced thanks to the state’s Surfrider chapter and Loch Arbour Mayor Bill Rosenblatt. Also on Jersey’s shore, the current beach renourishment program along Monmouth County’s shores has been halted, and the last remaining jetties have been temporarily saved from destruction. Although eight miles of prime surfing coastline have been negatively affected by the sand build-up and jetty notching, three miles of groin-studded beach in the northern part, from Elboron to 8th Street, may survive after being recognized as important marine habitats and valuable surfing areas. •Mid-Atlantic photographer Chris Polk just returned from his pilgrimage to Hawaii where he snapped hundreds of images of the winter surf. Check out Polk’s new website at www.polkimaging.com for his mouth-watering pics of the North Shore and for cool snowboarding shots from the Northeast. •after a hard winter battling walking pneumonia, Luke Ditella also ventured to Hawaii during March to get back into his surfing groove. Now that he’s fully recovered, Luke is looking for a clothing company to sponsor him. Keep an eye out for photos and editorial from his trip on Surferseye.com. Justin Casey, founder of Surferseye.com, and editor Megan Duffy just got back from a lengthy New Zealand vacation. Photos of their journey will be displayed on the website as well. •On a sad note, Virginia Beach’s Mike Alexander passed away at the young age of 39, ending his month-long battle with cancer on December 30th.
Craig Watson -- McCarthy
Mike, who left behind a beautiful wife, two sons, and hundreds of friends will be remembered as an awesome skater and all-around great guy. He would be happy to know that one of the largest churches in town was filled to capacity with standing room only at his funeral. •Heir to Dare County, NC’s, big-wave gladiator throne, Craig Watson, is back on the glass. Fiberglass, that is. Beginning this spring, Craig will be starting his own ding-repair business called Sea Foam Services. Craig promises the “quickest, least expensive repairs on the beach”. For more information, call 252-480-1847. •Rising Outer Banks photographer Billy Diggs recently returned from an expedition to Costa Rica where he, along with Noah Snyder, Jesse Hines, Daniel Hughes, Brent “Pepe” McCoy, Brant “Chicken” Doyle, and Foundnation creator Nic McClean, surfed, filmed, and built a church right outside of Boca Barranca. Combining their surf trip with Christian mission work, the group helped construct a new house of worship for the locals in between surf sessions at the left point. Pepe and Chicken, bailed on the house party to venture to Australia, and the two 17th Street Surf Shop teamriders will eventually meet up with Drew Meredith and the rest of the boys in Indonesia. Following trips to the Bahamas, California, Mexico, and Portugal, Drew will explore the Indo archipelago from Bali through West Sumatra before being yanked back to work in May.
Brant Doyle -- Carey
•Speaking of yanking, Martin Fucci stepped into the wonderful world of higher education this semester when he enrolled at Cape Fear Community College with brother Justin and friend Roger William Hume III. Coping with the tiny Wrightsville Beach bowls the only way they know how, the three Team Shitpile poster children spent most of their time playing with the remote-controlled phenomenon known as Surf Bob. A little more than a foot tall, Bob carves better than you do when the waves are only inches high. •Other OB surfers leaving the island this winter included Chad Morris and his girlfriend Brandi Midgett, who spent New Years in Barbados; spongebrains Ryan Rhodes and Dan Cera, who visited Brian “Captain Goodvibes” Zyngolowicz in Hawaii; and Keegan Barkley, with girlfriend Erin Moore, who also traveled to Barbados. Unfortunately, Keegan and Erin had a nightmare trip, not receiving their boards or luggage the entire time they were there. The couple returned to the Banks for New Year’s Eve, where they, along with scores of other boys and girls, were beaten and sprayed with mace at a Chili Peppers’ celebration. The aggressive cop on the assault was none other than Officer Liverman, and lawsuits
Jay Reale -- Dugan
are currently pending. •Along other violent fronts, Outer Banks groms and Pride Surfboards teamriders Seth Barrick and Jason Jordan had the unholy crap kicked out of them in Wilmington after the two attempted to take on a UNCW frat house following a skirmish at Hardees. Seth received 20 stitches to the face and head, and a major gash to the ego. •Congratulations to longtime boogieboarding cave dweller Evan Foster and his new wife, Angela, who are opening up a new shop in Corolla in May called the Surf Source. •Ocean City, MD, bodyboarders Brian Stoehr and Jay Reale, along with New Jersey’s Larry McGinn, Chuck Guarino, and FL’s Brian Hinton, will depart for Australia for three weeks in April. Jay’s brother-in-law, photog Pete Gleason, will accompany the crew to document the sponge sessions, so watch for coverage of the top pros in ESM’s “World Travel” issue. •Crazy Chris Morris of Atlantic Beach, NC, has relocated to Carlsbad, CA, to surf more consistent spots like Blacks, Cardiff Reef, and Swamis, and he’s now riding the west coast waves on shapes by East Coaster Pat Mulhern at Back Yard Boards. because of his southern accent, Morris was initially hassled by the locals, but fortunately silenced the skepticism after getting spit out of a double barrel at Big Rock on the biggest day of the year. Surfing skills aside, Chris may still need to check with California penal codes to find out if the ode to onanism stickered to the deck of his board is a criminal offense in the Golden State. Compiled by John Steinhorst


SE BLAHS

El DIablo - Mez
The masked contestant calling himself El Diablo who raised hell during last November’s King of the Peak contest at Sebastian Inlet has inspired Keith Lyerly, manager of Red Dog Surf Shop in New Smyrna, FL, to organize a surfing tournament that combines elements of the WWF with a surf contest. On April Fool’s Day, the Inlet Cage Match will take place at New Smyrna Beach in conjunction with the inaugural Rip Curl Team Challenge that begins on Saturday March 31st. When the 20 four-man teams in the Challenge finish battling for a free surf trip, a masked celebrity surf match will take place with KOP heroes like this year’s King, David Speir, and event organizer and shaper, Matt Kechele. Judges, including NA’s Pete Dooley and former Aussie super pro Richard Cram, will determine the winners by the surfer’s domination of the no-holds barred, no rules surf heats. Competitors will try to physically prevent their opponents from winning by whatever means necessary, and they’ll be scored on the waves they’re able to catch. Hopefully, the infamous El Diablo will have enough backbone to step into the ring and grapple with the big boys. The proceeds of this unique charity event will be donated to Volusia County’s Schowerer family, who sadly lost their home to a devastating fire on Christmas Eve, 2000. •Indian Harbour Beach, FL’s, Entropy Surfboards has recently signed Central Florida shredder Justin Carver to their team. Justin has come out of the shadows to make another competitive comeback in East Coast WQS events after upsetting traveling pros by landing fourth in the National Kidney Foundation surf contest. Entropy will be hauling Carver and the rest of the team to Nicaragua in hopes of filming One Eye Productions’ next anticipated video simply titled Clean Surf. •Ayal Lifshitz recently returned from a satisfying surf trip to Nica himself. The expedition found overhead barrels everyday, groomed by the consistent offshore winds blowing off Lake Nicaragua, which lies just inland from the wave-rich Pacific coast. Ayal was filming his ecstatic friends trading tubes when a large crab crawled into his baggies while he was sitting on the beach. The crazy crustacean surprised him with a powerful pinch that quickly ended the videography. Fortunately, Lifshitz has totally recovered from his crab problems and is now repping for Sanuk Sandals in South Florida along with Arnette Sunglasses, Nixon Watches, X-Trak, and K-Grip. To offer Ayal advice on preventing further parasitic invasions, or to find out more about his product lines, phone him at 305-868-6885.
Justin Carver -- Spankypalmer
•Indialantic, FL’s, favorite party host Steve Lenches is excited to become the newest representative and distributor for Aloe Up Suncare Products in Central Florida and can be reached at 321-953-4761. Anyone interested in carrying Byrne Surfboards in their shops can also contact Steve at this number. •Mark Baker, head of sales and marketing at the R & D Surfboard Factory in Rockledge, FL, has started a new repping job with Sister Clothing, and he’ll be covering Florida, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia. For inquiries about the latest Sister product line, ring him at 321-636-4456. In other R & D news, the Florida factory recently doubled its size with the addition of two, 200-square-foot rooms used for glassing and sanding. Mark and the rest of the boys were paid an educational visit by Hawaii Surfboards’ veteran shaper Jack Reeves who schooled them in the fine art of resin work. After the lesson, RC Surfboards shaper, Ricky Carroll, headed out to Oahu to challenge Sunset and hang with Ross Williams at Backyards. Finally, a congratulations goes out to R & D’s fin specialist Andy Webb and his wife Kristy for the new addition to their family on February 4th, a healthy baby son named Zane. •West Palm Beach, FL, pro surfer Peter Mendia has been added to Legend Eyewear’s team just in time to score some new sunnies and photo incentives for a trip to the Canary Islands in late January. Although he may have missed the Big Wednesday swell that brought double-overhead grinders to his homebreak at Reef Road, he wasn’t too disappointed with the 12 to 15-foot barrels thumping Fuerteventura’s shores. •Billabong USA has been keeping the action flowing along the Eastern Seaboard holding two competitions in Central Florida during March. The Surf Rat Challenge on March 10th at New Smyrna offered free admission to all the competing grommets under the age of sixteen. The other Bong sponsored contest, the Junior Pro, was held at Sebastian Inlet and provided young, aspiring East Coast pros a chance to qualify for the Billabong Junior World Championships. Look for in-depth coverage of the event in the May issue of ESM.
Ayal Lifhshitz -- Javier
•Another comp to check out in the near future, the Ron Jon/ Duke Boyd 37th Easter Surfing Festival, kicks off April 12th for four days of non-stop surfing and offers over $25,000 in prize money. There will be competitions for everyone from skimboarders to longboarders in this two-venue program headquartered at Shepard Park behind Ron Jon Surf Shop. This year, they are expanding the program to include the Cocoa Beach Pier to accommodate the thousands of spectators and contestants who are attracted to this colossal, annual event. For information about competing or event sponsorships, call the festival hotline at 321-799-8888 x1088. •Professional Florida paddleboarder Michael O’Shaughnessy is looking for someone to sponsor him during the extreme Cuba to Key West Paddle Race across the “Big Blue River” in June. If any companies wish to aid Michael during his arduous excursion, contact him at 407-628-4478. O’Shaughnessy will also be competing in the largest gathering of paddleboarders on the East Coast during the Florida State Paddleboard Championships. The championships will be held in conjunction with the Easter Surfing Festival on April 14th.
Jesse Palmer -- Desanze
•The Craig Thompson Memorial Contest at Ponce Inlet was held December 2nd and 3rd in fun, two to three-foot waves on Saturday and big, sloppy northeast wind conditions on Sunday. While many of the contestants had a hard time paddling against the strong currents and kept drifting into the rocks, Glenn Lockerby had to be rescued after he paddled out to sea to avoid colliding with the jetty. The trecherous conditions made mighty mite competitor Ryan Briggs’ first place win in the Junior’s Division all the more impressive, and New Smyrna’s Brad Bowen worked extra hard in the nasty chop to place in three finals: men’s, open, and master’s shortboard. Bowen, the new Florida distributor for Stay Covered, can be reached at 904-428-5558. Call him to receive the complete story about the contest or to order a leash in case you are faced with similar victory-at- sea conditions. •Lou Maresca of the Central Florida Surf School is directing and producing a local television show called Let’s Go Surfing that airs in Vero and Southern Brevard the first week in March on TV10. The first program debuts on March 3rd at 10 a.m. and will feature footage from the King of the Peak, the January Surf Expo in Orlando, an interview with Robert August, and coverage of the Big Wednesday swell in Stuart. Stay tuned for the weekly special as Maresca travels to Costa Rica to capture clips of Witches Rock and Ollie’s Point. •Hopefully, Lou will be luckier than Tybee Island, GA’s, David Synderburn Sr., David “Jabba” Synderburn Jr., Jesse Palmer, and Ashley Woodward. The three Peach Staters were vacationing in Costa during the first week of January, and upon landing in San Jose, the group headed straight for Hermosa to catch a dying swell. While they were surfing, their rental car was broken into, and they lost over $1200 cash, four cameras, clothes, and all their gear. Besides this run of horrible luck, the surf barely reached head-high for their entire stay. Compiled by John Steinhorst

Blah Blahs
BACK ISSUES
#63 / #64 / #65 / #66 / #67 / #68 / #69 / #70 / #71 / #72 / #74 / #75 / #76 / #77 / #78 / #79 / #80 / #81 / #82 / #83 / #84 / #85 / #86 / #87 / #88 / #89 / #90 / #91 / #92 / #93 / #94 / #95 / #96 / #97 / #98 / #99 / #100 / #101 / #102 / #103 / #104 / #105 / #106 / #107 / #108 / #109 / #110 / #111 / #112 / #113 / #114 / #115 / #116 / #117