Story and photos by Danielle Ciminero

Fumbling for the source of incessant noise, I knock over a cup and spill the dregs of coffee that assisted me on a late night project.  Catapulting out of bed, I snatch a shirt from the cinder block dresser to mop up the mess.  I hit the lights, find the alarm in a pile of clothes and turn it off.   Through bleary eyes I read the time, 430 am.  I'm late. 

Most people come to Costa Rica to relax,  get in a fun surf, seek a little adventure or a few drinks at the bar.  I come to train.  My plans are sometimes derailed by something or other,  but I get my butt out of bed at 4 am in hopes of staying on track. 

44th Annual New England Mid-Winter Surfing Championships

By Peter Pan

The longest running winter surfing championship in the world will make its’ 44th appearance this coming weekend February 18-19, at the world famous Narragansett Town Beach, in Narragansett, Rhode Island. It is the Annual New England Mid-Winter Surfing Championships and it is the first rated contest of the year for Eastern Surfing Association members of the New England.

It is truly amazing that we have run this event without missing one year, since 1968,” said ESA Competition Director Mario Frade. “It has been postponed for a week or two because of flat conditions.” Frade continued. “But we always end up doing it by the end of February.”

This contest always proves to be a challenge to the competitors, whether it is the surf conditions or the weather conditions. This event has been held in sub-zero air temperatures, blinding sleet, and even a blizzard. It wasn’t too long ago that surfers had to shovel our way into the parking lot at the beach, just to park the ESA truck and set up for the contest. Competitors were literally sliding down the snow banks to get to the surf for their heats.

This winter has been discouraging thus far. The swells and storms have been few and far between. ESA contest officials are hoping that surf will materialize for the coming weekend. “At this time, the forecast is for waist high surf,” said Frade. “But you never know what is going to happen.  Last year, we expected waist high waves and we got double overhead body slammers.”

For the 3rd year running, Hyperflex Wetsuits of Millville, New Jersey will help sponsor the event. The East Coast’s only winter wetsuit manufacturer is partnering with the ESA to offer 6mm Oven Mitt winter gloves as prizes for all competitors. “We figure that any surfer who is willing to paddle out in sub-zero air and water temperatures deserves a nice warm pair of winter surfing mitts,” said Frade.

The contest is on call for Friday night after 6:00 PM. Interested surfers should call the ESA hotline at 401-789-1954 for updates. Current ESA members will receive an email alert regarding the contest on Friday night as well.

I started surfing Nantucket when I was fourteen. My childhood best friend, Sean McMahon, the person who’d first introduced me to surfing, had moved out there with his mother. I’d visit him on weekends during the offseason and for entire weeks during summers. Having grown up in a working class beachfront neighborhood on Boston’s South Shore, Nantucket was a completely alternate universe, especially from fall to spring. The vibe was laid back. Older dudes cruised around in old Broncos and F-150s, almost all of them with Grateful Dead stickers on the back windows. I hadn’t even heard of the Dead at the point. As a neurotic Catholic kid, the name itself, the Grateful Dead, scared the living Jesus out of me, but it seemed to fit the people who inhabited Nantucket, especially the surfers. Everybody had that crazed philosopher look, wide-eyed as if staring into the existential void, and they weren’t frightened by what they saw. They were kind of grateful for what they had, which was silence and solitude to the backdrop of absolutely thumping beachbreak. Nantucket surfers had that die-hard persona that comes with surfing big, currenty waves by yourself on a regular basis.

Gary Kohner has always had that wide-eyed edge. Gary grew up surfing on Nantucket but now resides in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica half the year surfing the heavy reef waves of Salsa Brava. To me, Gary epitomizes the Nantucket surfer. I first met him when I was fifteen through my friend Sean. He was a year or two older and often drove us around to various breaks. Gary’s intense passion for surfing rivals anyone I’ve ever met, even my own. He charges big waves and rips in the small stuff (he was one of the first people I’d ever seen ride a fish). Over the years, Gary has done the near impossible for a New England surfer. He’s found a way to make a living at it. Gary has always had extreme foresight in regards to the surfing lifestyle. He bought property in Costa Rica before most people had ever heard of the place. He’s produced an award-winning surf film recognized by the likes of Surfer Magazine. He also runs the biggest and most-successful surf school in New England, and has been doing it long before the idea struck current opportunists. Thankfully, Gary took some time from living the dream to answer a few mundane questions from a recovering neurotic. Thanks, Gary! 

Eugenio Volpe

Volpe: I remember first meeting you in the mid ‘80s. I was a freshman in high school. I’d been to Nantucket before visiting Sean, but this was my first trip as a surfer. It was late fall and the thing that really hit me was the starkness of not only the beaches, but the entire island. I’d spent considerable time on the Cape, but Nantucket was something altogether different. Being out at Madequecham in November was profoundly raw. I found it both intimidating and awe-inspiring. What was it like growing up as a surfer on Nantucket, especially during the off-season? In what ways did it shape you as a surfer? And coincidentally, how long have you/your family lived out there?

Danielle Ciminero, a native of RI, is seeking to join the ranks of professional women's surfers. We asked her to tell us a little bit about herself, why she's trying to go pro and if there's any way we could help.

Hello New England!  My name is Danielle Ciminero and I am from Charlestown, Rhode Island, where I still sort of live.  Many months of the year I spend on the road in pursuit of waves and sunshine- getting by as an artist, videographer, and writer.

Though I stood on a wave when I was just a wee grom, I didn't really get to start surfing until I was almost out of high school. (Thanks to our non-existent rural bus system in RI you need a car to get anywhere and everywhere)  You could say I was a bit crazed when I finally did get my feet in the water, as I've spent every waking moment of the past few years trying to find a way to stay where waves are breaking.  Your all surfers, so I don't need to describe how magical, how healing, how amazing, and how life changing surfing is.

When I was a grom I read these old articles of guys like Kevin Naughton and Craig Peterson and how they would disappear for years at a time and come back with stories and photos of magical places.  All I wanted was to step into that mystery.

Aside from various stints in San Diego, I've been blessed to be able to travel through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and Australia.   Granted every bit of it I have lived penny to penny- eating rice, beans and bananas, sleeping in tents, trading wall murals and paintings for rent, swapping video clips for wrong sized surfboards, and just hoping that I could keep getting by.

By Eugenio Volpe

Q. What did Dr. Spock find in the U.S.S. Enterprise toilet?

A. The Captain’s log.

By Eugenio Volpe

For New England surfers, January is a disadvantageous time for making resolutions. It’s a sucky month and February is even worse. It’s bitterly cold. It’s bitterly flat. Artic winds batter and/or belittle the few swells we do receive. It’s the time of year when local surfers either call it quits or grin and bear the misery. January is not a month to enact positive change. It is not a month for beginnings. It is one of endings, namely joy and warmth. For surfers in California and Hawaii it’s the perfect time to look ahead and make personal commitments regarding one’s various habits and goals. The weather is in their favor as is the Aleutian Low. For New England surfers, it’s the perfect time to self-destruct. 

I’ve never made a New Year’s resolution. I’m not that stupid. I know the Roman calendar is an arbitrary demarcation of Time and I know that I lack will power. The urge to be fat, lazy, and irresponsible can strike any time of year. Why try to plan around it? Why fight it? The impetus to thrive, succeed, or shred is usually a spontaneous one. Your best bet is to sit around and wait for the moment to strike naturally and then capitalize. At least wait until conditions (oceanic and atmospheric) are in your favor. A cold, flat New Year’s Day is as terrible a day as any to start anew.

This past year at NESurf we had some great stories, photos and interviews contributed by Eugenio Volpe, Peter Pan, Brendan McCray, Joe McGovern, Rachel McCarty and many others. In order of popularity (and controversy), here are the top 5 NESurf Blog posts of 2011:

1. The Drop - Remarkable interview of big wave surfer Andy St. Onge by Brendan McCray
2. Winter Surfing Photo Contest
3. Bob Pollard  - Remembered by Eugenio Volpe 
4. Irene Delivers to RI - Peter Pan on the Hurricane that wasn't.
5. Radley's If You Dare - Volpe stirs the pot.

Happy NEw year!

story by Peter Pan
photos by Joe McGovern

Liam O'Regan

by Eugenio Volpe

Every local surf scene needs a dynamic brotherly duo. Throughout the ‘80s, the North Shore of Oahu had the Ho brothers. San Clemente not only had the Fletchers, but they also had the McNulty brothers. I think there were five of them (you know how it is with Irish Catholics). In more recent times, the surfing world has come to know the Hobgood and Irons brothers. There’s also Cory and Shea Lopez. For some reason, surfing brothers always get more media attention. We’re somehow more impressed when two people share a common shredder gene. It’s like, what are the chances? Growing up, I’d always wanted an older surfing brother, someone to compete against, a person who was both a rival and mentor. I forced this on my two best friends instead. Our favorite local surfers growing up were Joe and Pat Walsh, both of whom ripped. Pat still rips but Joe has long retired from surfing. For the next ten years or so, the South Shore wouldn’t know the excitement of having two brothers tearing apart the local lineups.

In recent years, however, brothers Dan and Steve Hassett have emerged as the area’s top surfing talents. Dan has always had both a face and voice in the New England surfing community, both in the water and on the Internet. Whether it was his early successes in ESA events or his hilarious message-bourding amongst the NESURF forums, he’s always entertained and impressed. Steve, on the other hand, has always been the low-key one. He didn’t participate in as many ESA events. He didn’t have a NESURF messagebourd name. He’s always been the kind of guy who quietly did his thing, which is ripping the hell out of waves with fast and precise turns. Steve also charges the big stuff.

Like his older brother Dan, Steve spent four plus years in Hawaii studying at Honolulu. He studied hard and surfed hard. He returned to the South Shore this summer with a degree in engineering. I hadn’t surfed with him much over the past four years. He was usually only home during the summer months so the lack of swell prevented us from getting in the water together. I’ve surfed with him numerous times since his return home and it’s been more than a pleasure to see. Steve’s one of the most progressive surfers around, but he’s also got old school mechanics. Surfing with both him and Dan is always inspirational. They both love to surf and that energy spills out in the lineup.

Another benefit of having two local brothers who rip is the argument over which brother surfs better. My friend and former Levitate Surf and Skate owner Bob Pollard introduced me to Dan and Steve when they were still groms, but even then, it was obvious that they’d quickly progress into the South Shore’s top surfers. Bob surfed with them quite a bit in those days and he’d always report on their ripping. When I finally started surfing them with myself, it was always my opinion that Dan had the slight edge over his younger brother. Bob believed the opposite. We’d argue our respective points as if comparing other famous athletic rivalries: Ali-Frazier; Brady-Manning; Occy-Curren. Surfing over the past few months with Steve, I have to admit that the comparison has become an equal one. Both brothers rip and it’s come to the point that you sometimes can’t tell them apart on a wave, especially when donned in winter gear. Given Steve’s tendency to shy away from the spotlight (he refused to be interviewed for this piece), I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he entered the recent Core Cup contest held in Maine. Steve did the South Shore proud by winning second place against some of New England’s top surfers. He’s definitely the favorite local surfer amongst South Shore groms and youngins. He’s quickly becoming this old wiseman’s favorite as well. Congrats, Steve!

Joel Feid surfer - Michael Sander photo

Heading out for final heat - Ryan Denning photo

After-party - Andy Madea photo