Following a disappointing winter spent in Breckenridge, CO, Ben “Boozy The Clown” Pratt is back in Cape Cod, MA. He moved out to the Breck last October to get his annual dose of fresh powder with his brother, Hooked rider Andy Pratt, but marginal snow conditions forced him back East to once again break in his sea legs. “Hey, duck-dives and Celtics games beat the shit out of snowboarding slush with a bunch of drunks,” he chimed. Pratt suffered a rude awakening, though, as he was forced to brave his first 2002 session in 50-degree Cape waters in a springsuit! He’ll get no sympathy from us; after eight months swilling his meals in the mountains, Ben needed the sobering up.

•Long lost ESM staff writer Darren Saletta checked in from the Federal Freelancer Protection Program in Chatham, MA, to provide us with more Cape Cod blahs. Shawn Vecchione returned home from Kauai with remarkable boardbuilding skills, increasing the number of topnotch shapers in Cape Cod to a whopping... two. The other craftsman is none other than Hawaiian Moon’s Mike Lasorda, and Saletta says all the locals are stoked to have these two pumping out such quality boards in their hometown. In wahine deets from the Cod coast, welcome home to the 2001 Santa Barbara Surfing Series Women’s Champ, Mercy Reed, who recently moved back to the Cape and is sure to be out ripping it up with the blossoming crew of female year-round chargers including her mother, Martha Nunez, and fearless beauty Rachel Finn. Hey, how about some sponsorship support for these hardcore wahines?

•Darren himself just returned from a two-month trip to Indonesia with Cod rippers Jon “Buckwheat” Buck and Asa Nadeau where the trio scored scary, double to triple-overhead caverns at Desert Point and several other great waves in Sumbawa and South Lombok. They wish to thank VEC Surfboards for crafting such dependable guns for the hairy conditions. Additional thanks go to Ocean City, MD, native Alan Cassell, who runs Indo Connection Surf Adventures, for safely delivering them to Asian bliss. According to Saletta, with the advent of dozens of shady and overbooked boat trips, Alan provided them with first-class accommodations and food. To complete your Indonesian surf experience with an epic and affordable voyage to Lombok and Sumbawa, contact Alan at indoconnection@hotmail.com.

•The Great Wide Northeast will serve as the kickoff site for the Quiksilver Crossing, scheduled for early-fall 2003. From there the crew will journey down the East Coast, through the Caribbean, and on to the rest of the seven seas, inviting special guests on their journey for various stops and legs along the way. Stay tuned to future issues of ESM for more on the Crossing.

•Narragansett, RI’s, Bob Johnson returned from a late-spring trip to Puerto Rico, stopping in Wilmington, NC, for the now-infamous Reef Brazil bikini contest before making his way back to the Northeast. Bob also wanted us to plug his new repping gig, as the A-list photographer is now handling Hot Buttered Eyewear and Hot Girls Clothing in the Northeast region. Anyone interested in obtaining these Hot products can reach Bob at 401-742-6041.

•While we’re on the subject of heat, a warm word of thanks goes to Montauk, NY’s, Danielle Beckmann, who sent us the following info regarding the NSSA Northeast Conference Contest #2, held at Delaware Avenue in Atlantic City, NJ: East Hampton High School’s Jason Hewitt placed second in both the Explorer Juniors and Explorer Men’s divisions while Montauk Public School’s Travis Beckmann claimed victories in both Open Men’s and Open Juniors. Both of these surfers are dedicated to validating surfing as an official sport to be recognized by the East End Long Island school districts. Following the comp, the New Yorkers were trapped in the Garden State overnight due to a raging forest fire at Double Trouble State Park in Ocean County, NJ. Speaking of Travis Beckmann, be sure to check out ESM’s profile on the Volcom teamrider on page 79 of this issue’s Who Da Guy feature.

•Out of York, ME, Zapstix owner Mike Paugh reports that the grand opening of his new store at 38 Woodbridge Road was a huge success with a tent sale, face-painting booth, and raffles provoking a delightful mob scene. A kicker to all of Zapstix’s immediate sales was the fact that the surf that day was head-high and clean, a wonderful omen for both business and summertime swell probability. Paugh wishes to thank all the people of York for the retail raid.

•In Levittown, NY, Sundown manager Tyler Breuer is working his tail off with famed photographer Michael Halsband to put the finishing touches on his upcoming film, The Surf Movie: Reels 1-14, which is set to premiere late this summer. According to Tyler, the unique angles, film quality, and original music of the project places it in a category all its own. Meanwhile, Tyler’s older brother Jamie “The Searcher” Breuer goes the way of Kinski, Herzog, and Bodhi in wandering the outer reaches of South America to destroy the inner demons that come with relationships and adult responsibilities. Finally, Sundown would like to welcome back Joe “Scat” Scatturro and Rob Ludwig from their winter pilgrimage to the west coast where the two binged off a steady diet of Blacks and Scripps Pier peelers.

•In other New York news, the highly anticipated world premiere of Unsound Surf’s Couch Tour video—produced by Mike Nelson, Brian Walsh, and Dave Juan—went off in a big way in Manhattan, NY, on June 13th. Big thanks to everyone who came out to check out the most talked-about flick of the year. For the complete lowdown on Couch Tour, turn to our Cinemateque story on page 117.

•The University of Rhode Island Surf Club is in the process of rebuilding, and they’re already ascending to the club’s former glory days. Anyone interested in becoming a member before the 2002-2003 school year gets underway can contact President Colin T. Hynes at 401-783-8044 or Vice President Ben D’Avanzo at 401-877-3555, or e-mail the organization at Murp@urisurf.cjb.net.

•It seems the Luck o’ the Irish has once again visited our very own Senior Writer with nine lives, Tim “Shreddy” Donnelly, who has taken over the editor’s chair at Long Island’s ultra-hip rag, The Improper Hamptonian. Besides running an extensive and controversial piece on East Coast surfing legend Rick Rasmussen, the Central Jersey-born Donnelly—always the perennial character—is even featured on the second cover of his IHM stewardship as a skinhead version of the farmer in Grant Woods’ famous painting, American Gothic—further defining the mag’s editorial slant of “The View Askew for the Hamptons and East End.” From our 10-year association with the Shreddster, we can assure our friends at the Hamptonian they definitely hired the right man for the right job. ­Compiled by Matt Pruett

Face it, summertime on the East Coast translates into scalding sands, sea lice, and flat spells. How do you combat the boredom? Romance? X-Box? A liter of Jack Daniels? No, you go skateboarding, dummy! And on the OB (for God’s sake, don’t call it OBX), it’s head-high everyday... in Wanchese! Locals recently constructed a ten-foot bowl with a foot of vert in the square and a half-foot of vert in the round, two hips, and an oververt pocket. It’s completely surrounded with pool coping and composed of salt-treated plywood, but owner Brent Beasley wishes to add a final layer of Skatelite—the same super-fast, water-resistant surface that’s used on the high-profile ramps of the Vans Triple Crown and ESPN X-Games. Costing $90 a sheet and with 80 sheets needed to finish the bowl, the crew is in desperate need of funds. Any local business owners or tranny-hungry skaters looking to contribute can contact Beasley or Marc Corbett at mhc@beachlink.net. The two assure all that this isn’t some rickety backyard halfpipe—this is the real deal. For conclusive proof, log onto www.criticalthrash.com/action/wanchese and view the creation for yourself.

•By the time you read this, Time Bomb Surfboards and eastcoastsurfer.com should be finished with their new video, What Exit? 2, which is rumored to blow doors on their first release. The flick will be available on both VHS and DVD with 20 Right Coast bands—including New Jersey’s Knuckle Sandwich and Don’t Look Down—providing the auditory amp. Get off, oops... we mean on your ass and log on to whatexitproductions.com for more info.

•Out of Ocean City, MD, Malibu’s is already in full summer swing, and owner Lee Gerachis said that Sharp Eye Surfboards and Ricky Carroll designs are flying out the doors faster than a cat can lick its ass. The crew also welcomes back employee Nick Lhotsky, who returned to Maryland for his summer break from Flagler College, where he majors in Public Relations. Finally, Malibu’s teamrider Jeff Daguybra just recently returned from a trip to El Salvador, where he scored insane surf along the country’s many right points.

•New Jersey pros Sam Hammer and Frank Walsh haven’t been seen around their respective Lavallette and Long Port homebreaks lately. First, the duo joined Tarheel Billy Hume and Jacksonville, FL’s, Daniel Terry on a trip to Nicaragua with photog Chris “Dirty No More?” Wilson before rejoining the aforementioned Hume, fellow Volcomstain Mike Guarino, and Seth Stafford for an early-June assault on Puerto Escondido’s bombing beachies. Look for coverage of those Central American sessions in future issues of Surfing and Transworld Surf.

•Speaking of Seth Stafford, the mega-talented Westchester, PA, photographer recently landed a retainer as Staff Photographer for Transworld Surf, making him the latest East Coaster to get a well-deserved nod in the Cali club. It’s hard to say at this point, but our bet is you’ll be seeing a lot more photos to come of Right Coasters in the pages of TWS. Way to go, Seth!

•Seasoned Surfboards owner David Barnes told us about their new, 10,000-square-foot factory located less than a mile from the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, which means even more employee absences for the company. Barnes also leaked that former Vah Beacher-turned-Cocoa Beach, FL, resident Allen White—famous for his RAW Shapes—returned to the Old Dominion early this summer to visit family. Taking full advantage of his five-day break that comes with being a fireman, White had time to carve out a few boards for his old Seasoned label. An additional word of congrats goes to Allen for winning the gold medal in the 45 & Up Men’s Shortboard division at this year’s 30th Annual Florida Firefighter Games.

•Did you know longtime Wrightsville Beach, NC, shredder Mitch Baker now rides for Etnies? No? Well, now you do. Speaking of Mitch, he will join fellow ‘Ville locals Guion Lee and Zach Tompson on a midsummer excursion to Mainland Mexico.

•The stork flew over Seaside Park, NJ, on May 9th to drop off a beautiful baby girl, Malia, to Right Coast Surf Shop’s Mike Colombo and his wife Sherri. Congratulations to both of them.

•From the “I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue” department, ESM wishes to apologize to Vah Beacher Brad Harrell. We mistakenly wrote in Issue #80 that Brad rode for Hotline Surfboards, when in reality, he is currently independent of any surfboard label. Brad’s paying for his boards these days, no matter who shapes them. He is, however, carrying on his loyalty to Hurley as a sales rep.

•Patrick Herrle sent word that legendary Australian craftsman Bruce Smith, who currently carves foam for Wave Riding Vehicles in Mundaka, Spain, will be stopping at their East Coast factory this summer for a quick in-and-out shaping session. Meanwhile, young WRV foam magician Tommy Moore just returned from a shaping stint in Japan and Hawaii.

•Speaking of “the friends of the porpoise”, kudos to WRV for dominating the competition at the first annual O’Neill Outer Banks Surf Shop Challenge, held in chunky, nor’easter conditions at First Street, Kill Devil Hills in mid-May. To no one’s surprise, Noah Snyder topped the other 55 contestants to grab first-place in the individual results while WRV teammates Brendan Petticrew and Jesse Fernandez placed second and third, respectively, sealing a landslide victory for the store. The trio couldn’t stop 17th Street Surf Shop’s Drew Meredith, however, from grabbing the “Most Progressive Maneuver Award” with a super-techy frontside reverse. Big thanks to all the shops who came out to compete.

•Avalon, NJ, schralper and unemployed scientist Pat Rafter will join the folks at Scripps Institute on a research cruise this summer to the Juan de Fuca fault line off Oregon, Washington, and Canada for a gas hydrate check—a perfect way for Rafter to get acquainted with the Scripps nerds before he relocates to Southern California this fall. Best of luck to him.

•In other Joisey deets, Orbit Surfboards is looking for teamriders to join Central Jersey standouts Matt Christ and Frank Altomare in representing the newly formed company. If you think you have what it takes to blast into Orbit, give them a call at 609-334-7054.

•Virginia Beach, VA’s Ken Hunt was recently hired by Billabong, the Aussie surf product conglomerate as one of their newest Mid-Atlantic sales reps. He will carry the Bong’s finest products along with veteran road warrior Jon “Kleiny” Kleintop. With these two on the program, it’s safe to say Bong is building quite the formidable sales force in the Mid-Atlantic.

•In a final bit of Virginia Beach news, The Betty Series VB Surf Jam is slated for August 10th-11th at the First Street Jetty. With a whopping $25,000 in cash and prizes available for the taking, organizers are expecting 200 entrants. This contest claims the biggest prize purse ever for an all-women’s event on the East Coast, and there will also be raffles and giveaways, a Saturday night bash, onsite surf clinics, and even a hula hoop contest with a crisp Ben Franklin going to the best... uh, hooper. Call Missy Sixberry at 321-733-6582 for more details on the inaugural event.

•In Delaware news, the time has come for Time Has Come: A Bodyboard Odyssey. Filmed in digital and 16mm film, the video focuses on the dropknee madness of Dagsboro local and five-time Delaware State Champion Colin Herlinhy while casting a light on the current state of high-performance sponging around the world. Herlinhy, who is also an avid stand-up surfer, spent three years traveling throughout Hawaii, the Caribbean, California, the East Coast, and Canada to accumulate footage for the film’s summer 2002 release, and you can check out teasers for the flick by logging on to www.delsurf.com. ­Compiled by Matt Pruett

DJ Struntz

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Jared the Subway guy! No, wait... it’s Captain Helmet Head! That’s right folks, Captain Helmet Head aka DJ Struntz is on the scene in Wrightsville Beach, NC, now shooting the local lineups from the water and scoring not only ESM’s cover shot of Brendan Petticrew last issue (Vol. 11, #81), but also the pics on the Contents page, In This Issue, the opener of the Essentials Photo Essay, and this issue’s cover. We only hope that after he sees all his photos, the Captain will still be able to fit his swelling melon back into his trusty helmet.

•In California, Jeff “Rat” Battisti wanted to send special thanks to Stay Covered Accessories, OAI Photography, and ESM for supporting his company, Rat Surfboards. In addition to the props, Jeff also said that Spinnaker Surf & Sport in North Carolina is now carrying Rat shapes. To get Jeff’s boards for yourself or your shop, go to ratsurfboards.com or call 760-633-4827.