Although this time of year brings blizzards, shore ice, and howling winds to their region, Great Lakes surfers are far from hibernating, and they’ve been bombarding ESM with news this winter. Fresh back from a trip to Hawaii where he caught waves with transplanted Laker Kenny “the Gremmie” Ashburn, Great Lakes ESA Co-director Magilla Schaus of Buffalo, NY, told us that his district is blowing up with new members. Myles Grimm, Chris Furminger, and Amy Weeks are three of the fresh faces, and Chris and Amy were so stoked after joining, they decided to get married. Several other Midwest waveriders attended their wedding, which included a surfing bride and groom on the cake. In comp news, despite snow, 18-degree air temps, and 32 to 34-degree water, Magilla and seven other Lakers held the 2001 Nutcracker Surf Competition this December near Genenva State Park, OH, in slushy, two to four-foot waves. Magilla told ESM that everyone who competed in the brutal conditions deserved recognition as only the truly hardcore came out for the event. How hardcore? Check out the accompanying photo of Berea, OH’s, Mike Miller with his 6-mil and icicle-encrusted hair. Nutcracking, indeed. Lastly, look for two new surf videos from the Great Lakes, Liquid and Surf Michigan Two, which are due out later this summer.

Mike Day-- Mount

•On behalf of everyone at ESM, Associate Editor Matt Pruett would like to apologize to the Montauk surfing community’s local legend Tony Caramanico for the bullshit surrounding our Kingpin on Montauk Point (Vol. 10, #74). Apparently, a wannabe local decided to slander Mr. Caramanico by impersonating multi-World Longboard Champion—and Tony’s close friend—Joel Tudor when the vote was recorded. While the writer believed he was speaking with the real Tudor (whose number was given to us by the same fraud), Pruett decided to trust his subject’s identity, and therefore didn’t think a callback was necessary. Once again, our deepest apologies. Let this be a lesson to Pruett to check the validity of his given phone numbers instead of merely relying on the surfer code. Let this also serve as a warning to others considering a similar masquerade. The phony in question has since been ostracized from the New York surfing community and forced to leave town. Karma, it’s a beautiful thing.

•Blades Board and Skate photographer Dave Mount hooked us up with blahs from the Cambridge, MA, shop. In mid-January, Blades sponsored the 8th Annual Monster Park Battle, an amateur snowboard competition carrying a whopping $1000 cash prize for first place. According to Dave, the format was based on a combined score of a halfpipe run and a big-air event at the Waterville Valley, NH, park. Danny Garrity was the eventual winner in the Men’s division, Jenny Buono took top honors in the Girl’s, and local Blades teamriders Mike Day and Jason Bayne were also impressive throughout the competition. A huge post-contest extravaganza followed complete with food, prizes, and Boston DJ’s spinning into the wee hours.

•Skateboarding rules the winter months in the Northeast, and Religion Surf Company’s Ed Gerbino said his inventory changes weekly to keep up with the demands of local grinders. He somehow still managed to cram over 30 different snow decks, 50 surfboards, and 150 wetsuits into the slim confines of the Shirley, NY, shop. Ed wanted to give big props to Religion teamrider Joe Minuto, who placed 2nd in the Panasonic Shockwave Tour of Skateboarding, earning him an invite to the Beast of the East contest. Joe also placed 2nd in his division at the local “Rampage” Contest in Setauket, a favorite skate spot for shop guys. Finally, Ed would like to thank Osiris for sponsoring the shop squad’s latest snowboard trip with tons of free goodies.

•In other news from The Empire State, the buzz is building about Unsound Surf’s first video release, cleverly titled Couch Tour, set to hit the streets sometime this May. Couch Tour largely focuses on Unsound’s airstrike team—Long Beach, NY, regulars and Lost boys Ryan Carlson, Tommy Acosta, and Dustin Ray—but also features world-class surfing from New York surfers like Chris Martin, Adam Coons, Bruce and Java Bailey, and former ESM Kingpin Chris Harmon. There’s no shortage of locales covered in the flick, either. From New England to Georgia, Portugal to Reunion Island, the Unsound crew has it covered. The vid was primarily shot by ESM Senior Photog Mike “Full” Nelson (with additional clips provided by other videographers from around the coast), and if the film footage is anything like Nellie’s superb still photography, then expect nothing less than a remarkable effort by one of our coast’s leading lensmen. Call Mike Nelson or Dave Juan at 516-889-1112 or log on to www.unsoundsurf.com for more info.

•Longtime Hampton, NH, surf shop Zapstix is moving to Maine. Owner Mike Paugh is relocating his store north to York Beach where he’ll have a much bigger shop replete with new surfboard lines like Back Yard Boards, G&S, as well as fresh shapes Mike crafts himself.

Clean and Sober (by day) - The Gilgo Beach Boys-- Detemple

•Another New Hampshire surfer on the move is Hampton local Ralph Fatello. With his homebreak The Wall frozen over and looking like a “glazed doughnut,” Fatello headed out to Cali this winter to surf one of his dream waves at The Ranch. Out West, he caught several of the beach’s isolated points reeling from an overhead groundswell. Ralph also wanted to give a shout out to Pioneers Boardshop owner Steve O’Hara and his wife Heather, who were blessed with the birth of their new son Gavin in late December.

•ESM Co-owner and Chief Photog Tom Dugan was also blessed—or some might say cursed—this winter with the annual invasion of his hometown Gilgo Beach, NY, buds Ed Arikian, Bill States, Keith Davidson, and Warren Rand. Although this way over 40 wild bunch only visited for four days, they still managed to wreak plenty of havoc. On their first night in town, they were kicked out of the infamous adult club Tootsies for getting too rowdy. Twenty-four hours later, a certain regularfoot in the crew started a ruckus by hitting on someone’s wife at ESM’s Christmas party. Not content to lay low, the following night they capped off their salacious streak by getting caught perving on the underage models at Bruce Walker’s 50th birthday bash. The group had such a raucous time, they’re already planning their return visit next year—right about the time Dugan’s hangover will be cleared up. ­Compiled by Chris Towery and Matt Pruett.

•Damn, we were wrong! Wrightsville Beach is just like Dawson’s Creek in boardshorts. Just ask Avalon, NJ, Counter Culture/ Adio rider Pat Rafter, who scored a cameo appearance on the (s)hit television series filmed in New Hanover County. Be sure to tune into future episodes where Pat will, among other romantic interludes, string Dawson up with a comp leash while Katie Holmes’ character performs a luscious striptease in a pool of fermented fish paste.

•Rodanthe, NC’s, Jason Helig recently added Counter Culture Clothing to his list of repping duties which include SurfCo Hawaii and Back Yard Boards. Jason and partner Pat Barton also continue to bring the latest designs from Sanuk USA and Style Eyes. For more on these fine products, call Jason at 252-987-2044.

Mike "The Sperminator" Schirmer -- 2M

•Far from his Belmar, NJ, abode, Eastern Lines manager Dan Cesareo is the latest lucky leprechaun scoring an uncrowded boat trip to the Mentawais following 9/11. Dan put the icing on his Indonesian cake with a two-week jaunt to Namotu, Fiji.

•Virginia Beach wiseass and Whalebone teamster Mike Schirmer fled to Hawaii this winter with his freshly crafted quiver of Sharp Eye Surfboards, The Sperminator’s new sponsor.

•Speaking of sharp eyes, Volcomstain Ian Parnell almost lost a retina after running face first into a car antenna. The injury didn’t stop Parnelli from bagging some of the heaviest backside barrels during the now-famous, late-November Rodanthe Pier session. Look for footage of “The Day” in Pat Stublen’s soon-to-be-released (we hope) video, Destined For Second.

•Another surfer raising eyebrows during that same Rodanthe swell was Delaware’s Aaron Powell. According to Noah Garrett, an aspiring surf photographer and staff writer for the Outer Banks newspaper The Coastland Times, Aaron snagged some of the deeper pits of the day but disappeared from the lineup before Noah could dig up any more info on him. Fortunately, ESA-Delaware District Director Harry Wilson gave us the lowdown on Aaron, who is currently sponsored by Split Clothing, Dev Surfboards, and K-Coast Surf Shop, verifying the 19-year-old as Delaware’s best young surfer. Harry himself joined fellow First Stater Kevin Brosnahan for a winter trip to Eleuthera, where the two caught excellent surf at James’ Point and Hatchet Bay. Harry’s biggest dose of excitement, however, came when he awoke to find a DEA Black Hawk hovering above the harbor in front of his house while four Bahamians, assisted by localcitizens, jumped off a cigarette boat before heading into the hills with bales of product.

•The aforementioned Noah Garrett would like to let the East Coast surf community know that he is currently available in the Outer Banks area to shoot any interested surfers, pro or amateur. If you find yourself scoring filthy pits on the Banks this year and want some shots to prove it, you can reach him at 252-423-1277, or e-mail him at noahredman1@aol.com.

•In Maryland news, congratulations to Redsand rep and Coastal Surf Supplies employee Kevin Henson, who joined his new bride Tiffany, a Roxy rep, in holy matrimony in the British Virgin Islands this winter.

•Also trekking to the Caribbean this January were Noah Snyder apostles Brant “Chicken” Doyle and Brent “Pepe” McCoy. These guys are two of many free agents in the surfwear department after losing their sponsors.

Jon (or is it Jason?) Gilleland -- Pruett

•One surfer who did manage to get a new hook-up is Fayetteville, NC, escape artist Robbie Myers, who called to tell ESM how utterly stoked he was to be riding for Sauritch Surfboards. A clothing sponsorship from Ezekiel followed soon after, allowing Robbie to make his first journey to Oz this spring decked out in style.

•Though plagued with its own inter-industry problems, the surfing world will provide a major boost to low-income families this summer. Tom’s River, NJ, surfer Tim Mulvaney put together a group of college grads and students to paddle longboards up the 128-mile Jersey coast from Cape May to Sandy Hook in an effort to raise funds and awareness for Habitat forHumanity, an international non-profit organization that builds homes for less-fortunate families. The money raised for this event will go to Long Branch Habitat’s “Youth Build,” where a crew of young people will build a house for a family in need. Check out www.HabitatPaddle.com to help out in any way.

•In Wrightsville Beach news, Rob Evans and BJ Freeman continue to transform their new company Unknown Souljah from concept to reality. In addition to their site, www.unknownsouljah.com, Freeman is working on developing a “communal” surf bungalow/ reggae dance hall on some land he recently bought in Hermosa, Costa Rica. Best of luck to Rob and BJ on their irie endeavors in escaping their suburban Babylon.

•Straight outta Jersey, Rick Sutera is officially the new Marketing Specialist for Wax Research/ Sticky Bumps. Rick has just a few tricks up his sleeve for readers to be on the lookout for concerning Wax/ Bumps’ 2002 product line including improved deckpads and a new cold-water wax formula.

•Speaking of Sticky Bumps, a heartfelt muchas gracias goes out to the Cali-based company from the ESM crew for supplying us with cases of their fine product for the past two years. Bumps is the tits wax, for sure.

•Virginia Beach surf scribe supreme Jason Borte called to let us know that Duck, NC’s, quintessential watercraft rentsman Drew Meredith continues to enjoy the much-deserved fruits of his 7-month, dawn-to-dusk labor. The Pride Surfboards teamrider spent seven weeks in Costa Rica with girlfriend Rebecca before joining his brother Michael in South Africa in March to complete in all-in-the-family winter.

•In other Pride news, the company would like to welcome Jon Gilleland as the new team manager. Jon will join fellow teamrider Jason Jordan for the finals of the Volcom Contest Series in California this spring. Jason Borte also recently joined the Pride team, severing a longtime relationship with WRV. He and Chris Todd will cater to the instructional needs of surfers this summer by running Pride Surf School in Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks. Meanwhile, 17th Street Surf Shop will also be conducting a skateboard camp in eastern Virginia for all skill levels. For camp information, call 757-285-9277 or 757-486-5055.

•New Jersey surfer Matt “Knuckle Sandwich” Paulson wanted to give a shout-out of thanks to all his Garden State buddies—especially Bosko and Louie Gatz—who helped him quit smoking, a habit that plagued him for more than ten years. Now, at 23-years-old, Paulson is proud to say he is finally able to go from rail to rebound without stopping for a cig break.

•In other New Jersey news, Quiksilver pro rider Frank “Van Hagar” Walsh spent a whopping three months in Hawaii this winter, scoring surprisingly clean conditions on the Eastside along with his usual share of North Shore deathchunks. Despite having a great time on The Rock, Frank made it clear he was more than ready to get back into his frigid hometown waters for some much-needed shrinkage. Hard to believe those Jersey freaks actually start to miss 40-degree water after awhile.

•A few days before Surf Expo weekend, Tarheels Kenny “Ray Ray” Midgett and Jordan Ford, along with Floridian Todd Remmel, got a sweet surprise less than a mile off Hillsboro Inlet, FL. While fishing on a 16-ft flats boat, the trio landed three 60 lb sailfish using—get this—8 lb testline. For those of you who know nothing about fishing, that’s equivalent to catching a bomb Sunset West Peak and successfully threading the inside bowl on a 5’5” fish.

•Speaking of fishing, Zeke Sanders (you know, the Hobbit-like Vah hopper who won the WQS-rated Dan Heritage Memorial Pro in New Jersey a few years back) has been paddling a very big stick lately—a 17-foot Swan Point center console—courtesy of Penrod Barker, The Corndog Man. In addition to Captain Zeke’s plundering of the peaks off Rudee Inlet, sources say he has been slaying the local stripper, uh... we mean striper population. ­Compiled by Matt Pruett

As the milleniums fly by and East Coast surfing’s historical legacy grows exponentially, surfers in North Florida are looking to memorialize their place in waveriding’s annals. This January, former ASP judge Mike Martin told ESM that the Smyrna Surfari Club unveiled a monument to New Smyrna surfing in the form of a 9-foot longboard mounted into a concrete and steel base and emblazoned with a bronze plaque dedicating the piece to the city’s surf community. Martin, a long-time member of the Surfari organization, and fellow clubbers like Skipper Eppelin, Bud Wright, Ronnie Dreggors, Charley Baldwin, as well as Jim and Gordon Smith, hoped the memorial would encourage people to start surfing and make younger riders better appreciate the sport’s cultural significance. But regardless of the monument’s effect on new riders or the coming generation, the Symrna Surfari Club’s monument stands as a beacon in Right Coast history while demonstrating to both surfers and non-surfers alike that waveriding’s impact runs a lot deeper than the beach bum, bro-brah stereotype.

•Lou Maresca, owner of Lou Maresca’s Central Florida and Costa Rica Surf School, reports that his Costa camps blew up hard this winter. The instructional sessions were held in the country’s northern reaches at Witches Rock and Ollie’s Point with Lou reporting epic surf for most classes. Also in the land of Pura Vida around that time were log legends and Endless Summer stars Wingnut and Robert August, as well as pros Alex Knost, Mike DeTemple, Mark Martinson, and Sam August. With such top talent in the water, Maresca’s students earned a little extra credit while watching these plank professors in action. To book lessons for future camps and schools, call Lou at 561-231-1044 or go to surfschoolcamp.com.

•In sad news from the Gulf, Texas surfer Scott Gangel sent word that the collapse of the Queen Isabella Causeway near South Padre Island tragically claimed the life of local surf artist Barry “ Harpoon” Welch and his wife Chelsea. Welch, a one-legged waverider and past champion in the US Championships’ Prosthetic Division, was among the eight people killed when a tugboat struck the bridge, causing 200 feet of the roadway and several passenger-filled vehicles to fall into Laguna Madre Bay. Friends and family held a memorial paddle-out and scattered the couple’s ashes at South Padre Jetties, one of Barry’s favorite surf spots.

•St. Augustine, FL’s, Clint Richardson wanted to get the word out about his newly-opened store, The Pit Surf Shop. The business, which has a heavy focus on bodyboarding, is located smack dab in the middle of the town’s surf central—right on A-Street. Richardson informed ESM that The Pit team is off to a kick-ass start with members Travis Hawyer, Dan Worley, and Billy Anderson rounding out the competitive squad. Richardson also let us know that Hawyer, the ESA Men’s Bodyboarding SE Regional Champ, scored new sponsorship with Stewart Bodyboards and Viper Fins.

•Other surfriders picking up new backing are Melbourne Beach, FL’s, Simon Springer and Jacksonville, FL’s, Jeff Crego, who both recently inked deals with Jeff “Doc” Lausch’s Surf RX Surfboards. Twenty-five-year-old Simon, who also rides for Smith, MCD, and Spectrum, can most often be found shacked inside throaty barrels at The Boardwalk or getting limber at his sister’s yoga biz, Yoga by Helena.

•Satellite Beach-based Rusty ambassador Shon “Dirt” Lassiter announced that he, too, has been signing fresh contracts, and the Dirt is now doing promotion and managing the East Coast squad for Utopia Optics. In between his industry duties, Dirt informed ESM that Second Light on Patrick Air Force Base is now open to surfing, and the popular lineup is breaking as good as ever. The beach was closed for nearly three months following 9-11, but Dirt said that the spot’s shorebreak was firing during mid-winter with unusually sparse crowds.

•According to Board Room shop employee Mike Joseph, a mid-winter flatspell had most of South Carolina’s waveriders going frickin’ nuts from late December through all of January. But Mike reported that Board Room rider Anthony Osment bailed the lake-like conditions and got heaps of swell during his first trip to Hawaii’s North Shore this January. Anthony explored every side of Oahu during his month-long visit, but he really had his Hawaiian cherry popped during a session in mackin’ eight to ten-foot Sunset where he got his ass handed to him but did manage to snag a few heart-stopping rides in between the wash cycles. “I trained and everything,” exclaimed Osment, “but nothing, I mean nothing, can really prepare you for those type of waves... except surfing them.” •Another South Carolinian hitting the road this winter was Folly Beach’s Josh Veit. Josh spent two weeks out west surfing SoCal and Baja with friends Pete Kohn and Danny Burress. During an excursion into the desert south, the trio found most of Baja nearly flat, so they jumped a charter to offshore Todos Santos to get a taste of some real Pacific juice. Veit and crew scored smokin’ 6-foot surf at Killers and Hospitals and said that they could see how the place could get really sketchy because even at such a small size, the waves possessed “awesome power and intensity.”

•With summer right around the corner, time will tell if last year’s bloody shark frenzy will repeat itself once again, but Right Coast surfers looking to be more proactive in protecting themselves from the men in the grey suits can start by checking out a new product called Shark Camo. Started by Melbourne Beach, FL’s, Cash McConnell, Shark Camo is based around a New Zealand study which found that the striped patterns of certain inedible fish send out optical signals to predators, preventing them from getting eaten. Cash’s product is a replica of these patterns in the form of a 3M decal for either bodyboards or surfboards, and he claims the similar-looking designs will thwart sharks from chomping on you and your board. Surfers up-and-down the seaboard—especially in New Symrna—can check out and purchase Shark Camo by logging onto sharkcamo.com.

•Former Melbourne Beach, FL, surfer Chris Maslow relocated to San Clemente, CA, this year and has fallen in with Ambiguous Clothing, gaining slots not only as a teamrider but also as an artist designing their new lines. The gig fits Maslow’s schedule perfectly as he’s a freshman at nearby Costa Mesa Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising as well as a teammember for fellow surf labels BAT and Utopia Optics.

•Also in Central Florida, videographer Mike Cruden in Indian Harbour Beach is putting the final editing snips on his new surf flick, The Times. The vid is due out in March and focuses on Brevard County pros, such as Alek Parker, Justin Jones, and Danny Estes surfing the East Coast, Barbados, Japan, and Indo. To get your hands on a copy of The Times, log onto his website at solas.cc or call him at 321-779-3952.

Justin Jones-- English

•Anybody in the Sunshine State need a new job? Cordell Surfboards out of Costa Mesa, CA, is looking for experienced reps in Florida. Call Dave Nielsen at 949-280-6552 for details. ­Compiled by Chris Towery