August 27, 2022 - The Wall, Hampton, NH

 Trying to get a last, or second to last surf in with Mel.  I really wanted her to get a wave or 2 and these were small and pretty easy to catch, with short rides, of course.  We parked at 8th street and surfed there.  The water was so warm and the surf was clean at 9:00 AM, but we should have got there an hr earlier, because it turned messy about 45 minutes into our session.  I managed to catch a bunch of rides though. Used my McT and Mel the RC.  Mel had a few wipeouts and really only one were she almost got up.  She needs to really work on paddling strength and popping up real quick, both strength things.  It was a nice session with Mel.  I just hope she finds it fun enough to keep doing it.  She will need a friend her age to surf with at some point.  

August 11, 2022 - The Wall, Hampton, NH

This was the Surfing with Smiles event #2 of the summer that Mel and I volunteered at.  We brought our boards, the RC and WRV, because those were the only boards we could fit in the Prius, and surfed before the event.  The waves were so small and crappy so I spent my time teaching Mel.  She was able to get a few where she stood up at the end.  We shared the RC and I surfed for about 10 minutes and barley caught a couple in the messy surf.   The water was warm though.  Such a great event to volunteer at.

July 19, 2022 - 2nd Beach, Middletown, RI

 It hasn't been that long since I last surfed, but seems like a long time because we've been lugging around surfboards and getting skunked.  This was cool because it was a change of pace from Hampton.  My brother was up for the week and there was surf, so we brought all 3 boards from Mattapoisett to RI, plus Evan and Joaquin.  Got to the beach around 8:30 or so and waves were pretty big, but somewhat messy.  I wore my cutoff Bodyglove for the first time, and it was riding up on my crotch.  It was a good call though.  I mostly used the RC, but tried all 3 boards today.  The RC was the best board for this surf, and I can't believe I used to ride that WRV.  It's so hard to catch waves on and paddle out.  I should trade that for an 8 footer.  The water was so warm (72 deg) and there were some nice big waves, but the best way to catch them was to wait until they broke and let it just push you.  They were pretty mushy, so no risk of getting pummeled.  I got some nice rides.  Joaquin tried surfing and stood up.  Mike used the McTavish, but he never really got out past the breakers.  Good workout and it was cool to surf RI again.  We took a walk up the cliffs afterwards.

June 30, 2022 - The Wall, Hampton, NH

 This was a Thursday afternoon and was the Surfing with Smiles event that gets kids with special needs out surfing.  This popped up on my instagram in the morning and I really pushed Mel to do this with me to get some volunteer experience.  So glad we did, because it was great!  It was pretty packed with people and there were 80 surfers signed up and lot of helpers.  There was no sign up for helpers, which made it easy.  The conditions couldn't have been better for this.  Perfect small longboard waves, sunny sky's and clear cold water.  I really wish we could have surfed, because I know Mel would have caught these waves.  But it was really a great experience being involved with getting these kids surfing.  One of the surfers, Maggie, was actually a WA student!  I also bumped into a client from Procon, which was extra cool.  All the famous Hampton local were there, Cropper, and Ralph, etc.  Although we brought our boards, we didn't surf because were were cold and the waves died down, but we did get in the water and waves.  Photo is post-event.  We will be doing this again on July 14th!

June 26, 2022 - The Wall, Hampton, NH

 Wow, two days in a row!  We had no plans and Mel wanted to go to the beach surfing, so I check out the Cam and it looked OK, but nothing special.  I have to keep reminding myself that every trip to the beach is getting more expensive with gas prices.  But surfing is my passion, and I will spend money on it.  We (all four of us) got to the Wall on this hot day at prime time and it was packed with cars, so we parked in the quarter meters further south.  Man, the surf turned south so quick and was so disappointing.  The wind shifted to on-shore and the waves faded, so it pretty much sucked.  Me and Mel  got in and I focused on getting Mel some waves.  She got up for a split second at the end, but she was quite the complainer and she didn't last that long.  We drifted north pretty fast with the south wind.  Love being at the beach, though and every time I get her out there is a win.  Again, forgot to get a photo, but it was ugly.

June 25, 2022 - Jeness Beach, Rye NH

 From the reports it looked like there was going to be a good swell on Saturday morning.  So I got up at 5:30 and was out of the house by 6:00 AM and at the Wall by 7:00 AM.  Its nice to be up early.  Took the Prius since gas is pricy and grabbed the RC, which fits inside.  Man, I did not think it would be this big.  It was like the biggest hurricane swell.  The tide was coming in at the wall and I did not want to deal with surf this big with a slightly ailing back muscle problem, so immediately headed to Jeness.  At 7:15, you already had to park past Cable Rd.  I sat for about 20 minutes and watched the swell and I wanted it to mello a bit before I went out.  The tide was coming in and I noticed it started to calm down a bit.  Once I got out it wasn't as bad as I had imagined, but there were definitely some big ones.  You had to get them rather late, so it could be a steep and fast drop in.  In only caught a few, but what a great experience.  I caught one where I was just getting in to the face and was high up on the wave and crauching, but had to bail or hit some dude.  I t was the weirdest shortest ride and wish someone caught a photo.  Photo is from the wall.  Real good stuff!

May 30, 2022 - Jeness Beach, Rye Beach, NH

Two days surfing in May already!  It was a hot Memorial Day and Mel wanted to go to the beach all week because she missed out last weekend.  Will also came, so it was a full car.  We had to go to Jeness because the tide was too high at the Wall.  The great thing about Jeness is that you can get free parking along the road.  You may have to walk a half mile if you get there at prime time, but I think its worth the 20-25 dollar savings.  We did the drop-off and pickup, which works great and keeps everyone happy.  The waves were so clean and beautiful with an off-shore wind, but on the smaller side.  They were perfect size for Mel, but very hard to get into.  You really had to paddle like hell and rip some muscles in the process.  I'm sore as I write this.  Water was still frigid, so I used my booties.  I caught a few rides, but nothing spectacular.  Mel almost got up, but she gave it her best shot.  It's nice to have someone to surf with.  The waves flattened out at high tide. We went to the Beach Plum afterwards for their giant small ice creams.