Happy Holidays everybody

Merry Christmas everyone, don't let the weather keep you from going out, you never know what you might happen upon.

Lake Superior

I didn't even know they got surf on the lakes

killing time

Delaware Showing off its abilities. A funny thought just occurred, all (most) of these shots are from the east coast, renowned for its malformed and weak waves. Unfortunately these are all from the same storm surge.

Casino Pier in the dirty Jersey churning earlier this year.

Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, just before thanksgiving was producing 20-30 ft faces nearly a half mile off shore.

Newly crowned Champion, Stephanie Gilmore, throwing some spray at the Billabong Pro in  Maui. The 19 year old from Australia is poised to do great on the world tour.

A potentially re-occurring theme, "Weekly Wahine"?

Less than optimal

Me and my ex-roommate and good friend Robert, made a random decision to go to Ocean City Saturday morning. It was close to 7 P.M. and we were making final preparations for what was supposed to be a huge party (and it was), I asked him if he wanted to come with us Sunday. He said he was in. I forget the rest but we ended up making the decision to leave directly from the party the next morning.
The party turned out to be one straight out of a movie. Some kid was left his multi-million dollar house by his parents. Kid decides to throw a small party, word travels fast, and before he knows it representatives from more than 6 high schools and at least 15 colleges. There were more strange faces than i could shake a stick at. I strained to find people that weren't foreign to me. Of course, all of the typical big party scenariosoccurred: Beer pong, bong rips, fights, people trying to push, owner getting decked through a window, cop scares, more fights, unabashedly making love in public areas, drunks falling into the covered pool, etc. The party was abruptly ended after the third major fight broke out. I made my piece with the owner, thanking him (and appologizing) for the party before leaving. From there, we (robert, Luke, Julia and, I) made our way across the street to an old friends place. The rixeys were having a smaller party, one in which you would know everyone once you entered the place. twas a goodtime.
We slept in the car and woke at sunrise. Robert had forgotten to pack his wetsuit so we doubled back to his place and made way to OC. He slept the whole way. Ocean city is an amazing city during the winter. There are no cars, no lines, no people and no showers. I think I saw 4 cars the entire time we were in the city, all at McDonalds.

We arrive around 9ish at the inlet, Robert refuses to wake up demanding "30 more minutes." I am unable to wait this long because I have just spent 2 hours fighting off the sandman, that and I was stoked to be at the beach once again. I suit up in my 5-4 Oneil mutant, grab my 6' Gary Wilson "Punisher" and sprint to the beach. I jump in about 200 yds north of the jettie and the Inlet and cringe at the loss of feeling in both my hands and my feet. The waves were waist to head high, wind was gusting from offshore really strong. The current was sweeping southwards at a fast pace.

I paddled for 2 waves, dropped in on the 2nd but wiped out because my backside sucks. I look back to the beach to see if Robert was coming out yet, no sign of him, but about 15 ft in front of me was the jettie. I look back out to the ocean and I see two big waves barreling towards me, ready to sweep my hungover tiny frame into the rocks. I ditch my board, b/c I cant duck dive white wash real well, and swim straight into the face of the first wave diving down at the last second. I feel the board tug at my ankle and i come back up and paddle again as hard as I can. This time I make it past the wave before it breaks and I look back to see if anyone saw what just happened, cause im a narcisist like that. What I see kind of worries me. I was in the middle of the inlet, quickly being washed to the far side and there was no one around to help. I paddled like I was trying to not to get caught on the inside at teahuopoo. I managed to break through the swirling current and dash inland along the bank of the inlet. Somebody finally sees me and calls to see if I need help. I reply and point further down the bank to a calm area, away from the waves still crashing on my rump. I watch as the man crawls over the safety railing and down to the rocks. He takes 2 steps on the wet rocks and his feet raise above his head in one swift motion. My heart nearly stopped, I was more afraid of having to climb up the barnacle ridden rocks alone in my brand new wetsuit than I was for this man who was trying to help me. Luckily he gets up after being stunned briefly and begins to walk towards me, very cautiosly now. I get to him and test how deep the water was. I could feel a rock under my foot, so I unstrapped the surfboard and handed it to him. he lays it up on the bank and returns to pull me out of the water.

Once out of the water I momentarily went into shock. I couldn't understand the english this guy was speaking nor could I form words of my own. I was fixed on the jettie that was taunting me. I snapped out of it and saw that my protector was cut pretty badly and bleeding from a few places. I invited him back to my car where I had a first aid kit. I gave him an ice pack for his head, 4 bandaids for his hands and 1 for his leg, some antiseptic, and a bottle of water to rinse the cuts out with. I thanked him again and we split ways. I get back in the car and Robert is still asleep. All of this occured in less than half an hour.

With Robert now being awake,we went to get food. Since we lived here over the summer we were well acquainted with where everything was. We drove to get some tacobell at 123rd st. we get there only to find its been shutdown and soon to be remodeled. In unison and at the top of our lungs, many a, "Fuck" were thrown. after our anger passed we went to McD's for som edolalr menu. we got there 20 mintues before lunch was served. I decided I needed something NOW. Robert chose to wait. I got 2 hashbrowns. Consumed them and got 2 more, then repeat. The cashier only laughed after our 3rd and 4th laps around the golden arches. We ate and let our food digest a bit before heading directly across the street to the beach. I wanted nothing to do with any kind of obstacle in the water.

To make it short and sweet, the waves sucked. They were big but they were all close outs. I got only one ride, Robert didn't even get that.

All in all it was a good trip, however I had to call and cancel the trip with my brother for today.

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning is supposed to be looking pretty good up in Delaware. Me and my brother Matt are planning an early morning trip to Indian River inlet. If anybody wants to join us give me a call or leave a comment. Unfortunately due to visiting family, we will only be able to be there while the tide is on its way out. Less than optimal but it wont stop it us from having a good time.

Pictures will be posted if any are taken.

Aloha

Welcome everybody,
Here is a bit of background on me and the purpose of this blog. My name is John Crooks and I Surf the East Coast. I have been surfing on and off since I was 12, but only in the past few years have I begun taking it seriously. I live in Maryland. When I'm in town I surf Ocean City, Either by the inlet or 32nd. Depending on the swell The Washout becomes a goal of mine but I don't have a boat so I paddle there.

I go to School in South Carolina at Coastal Carolina University. I am the Co-Founder and President of the Coastal Surf Club, a group dedicated to bringing together surfers at our school and within the local community. We currently have 20 active members and another 30 on reserve waiting for the weather to warm up. Our "Official" meeting spots are 48th North and the Surfside pier. If your in the area you should come out. Every Saturday you can usually find someone from the club on the beach or in the water.
This was our first official outing, unfortunately the waves weren't great so a lot of people didn't want to come out. Though, those who did had a great time.

I have surfed a good portion of the East Coast: New Hampshire (The Wall, Rye Rocks, Random Point Breaks), Long island(Dilgo Beach[?]), Maryland (The Washout, all of OC), Delaware (Indian River Inlet, some state park), Virginia (Virginia Beach), North Carolina (Kitty Hawk, S-Turns, [Have yet to get Cape Hatteras on a good swell so I don't count that]), South Carolina (Garden City Pier, Apache pier, Polly's Island).

I have also been lucky enough to surf in Costa Rica, but only once, and I was Deathly ill the whole time.

Travellers Tip: Do not use the tap water for anything beyond bathing. Do not make coffee with the tap water. I was unlucky enough to find out that coffee makers do not heat water up enough to kill the bacteria and or parasites that may be present.

La Playa Del Jaco was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to. The beach face went on forever. Where we stayed there was a giant Monolith of a rock overlooking the beach from a good quarter of a mile into the Pacific. One of my friends tried to tell me this was the famed Witches Rock, but to this day I am still not sure. I have never really been able to pin down an exact location of where we were or where the rock is. All I know for sure is that I want to make a return trip sometime before I die

I will be using this blog to document my Travels along the coast (and elsewhere), Surf ambitions, surfing News, Places of interest and whatever else I can dream up that relates to my one true love, Surfing The East Coast.