Eastside Surfblog past entries Read 05/21/09 entry
Read 05/14/09 entry
Read 05/07/09 entry
Read 04/30/09 entry
Read 04/23/09 entry
Read 04/09/09 entry
Read 03/19/09 entry
Read 03/12/09 entry
Read 03/05/09 entry
Read 02/26/09 entry
Read 02/12/09 entry
Read 02/05/09 entry
Read 01/29/09 entry
Read 01/22/09 entry
Read 01/15/09 entry
Read 01/08/09 entry
Read 12/31/08 entry
Read 12/24/08 entry
Read 12/18/08 entry
Read 12/11/08 entry
Read 12/02/08 entry Useful links Warp 11, Grady’s new favorite band
Video of the bigger skate bowl
Nosara Wildlife
Jupiter Inlet
Juno pier
IOP pier surf cam
Favorite surf forecast site
Click here to e-mail the Surfblogger.
| Editor’s note:
The Surfblogger is traveling around the state the first week of June, so you'll have to wait for the next episode in his tales of surf and sand, but this one was so good, go ahead and read it again! 05/28/09 I’m pretty well surfed out. Two weeks of rideable surf has been quite a gift from King Neptune. It never really got good in that classic sense, but it was good enough. Unless, of course, you are from California or Australia or something — if so, there is no help for you here. Just suck it up like the rest of us. The Eastside did its typical thing, and if firsthand accounts can be believed, was about a foot or so less than the Washout. Since I’m about 10 minutes from the IOP and 45 from Folly, I’m perfectly happy to sacrifice a foot of size for over an hour’s worth of drive time. The other cool thing was that Bert’s broke for several days and did get pretty classic for a session or two. Sort of rare to see it breaking under cold NE conditions when the water is warm. I really do miss having an establishment on the Island called Bert’s, though. I’m not so sure that a barbecue joint will have the same cachet, but at least the surf spot will retain the name. Thinking back on how Sullivan’s Island continues to change makes me nostalgic for some of the surf icons we grew up with. I miss McKevlin’s surf shop on the Island. It was close enough to walk to from just about anywhere on the Island, so as young rats, we hung out there just about every day in the summer. That doesn’t mean we hung out there all day. It just meant we hung out there until Mr. Mac got fed up and told us to leave. Then we’d just go to Bert’s drug store and hang out there until we got kicked out. Then it was back to Mr. Mac’s. It was the cycle of life. And more than the shop, I miss Mr. Mac. Looking back through the eyes of an adult, I realize how much stuff he put up with, and there are only a few times that I ever saw him get mad — and even then, he was pretty quick to forgive and forget. One summer, I think he must have spent some money to get the parking lot in front of the shop repaved. Cardinal mistake, because that made it perfect for skateboarding. In those days, the Hobie skateboards had wheels made of clay. They left white tracks on the fresh black asphalt, and he fought a losing battle to keep the parking lot track-free. He had this great Geechee accent and would just crack you up by the way he said things. He never referred to Vinnie in my presence as anything but “that Vincent.” As if he were a stray dog or a poltergeist to be exorcised. “Grady, it’s time for you boys to go — and make sure you take that Vincent wid’ya.” The other thing I miss about Mr. McKevlin is his surf report. Of course, there was no Internet, so the best thing was Mr. McKevlin getting up early and putting his surf report on the answering machine. And there were some classic reports: (Geechee accent) “It’s 7 a.m. at Folly Beach and the fog is so thick I can’t see th’ water. Might be 1 foot, might be 6 foot. I don’ know. You jus’ gonna have to paddle out and see fo’ yo’self.” So I’m gonna do my weekend surf forecast in a Geechee accent in honor of Mr. Mac. “That Internet thing ain’t showin’ no kind of surf fo’ this weekend. You can tell that Vincent if he wants to find some decent wave to ride, he bes’ get on one of them airplanes he gets on and go someplace else.” |
Print