Warriors!!! Come out and Play!!!

Surfing’s history is certainly built upon groups of riders coming together and meeting the challenges of the ocean with a communal effort. I’ve read several books about the first guys to head to Hawaii and travel the Big Island looking for bigger surf including stories of some that never came back. I’ve also read about the clubs of surfers living off the beaches of California coast and other far away places, surviving off what they could scavenge from the beach and tides. It seemed in the early days of surfing it took a primal warrior type attitude to meet the challenges of the ocean. 

Most surfers on the Cape are certainly weekend warriors but clicks of surfers reside at almost every break along the Outer Beaches. During most of the year, these "clicks" can be easily found at their beaches and usually come into the parking lot in a caravan of surf vehicles signaling either “party waves” or “no room for you”. Depends which group you're in. 

The winter changes things. The number of surfers drops off dramatically and the beaches usually come down to one or two locations depending on the tide or size of the surf. Real winter begins when the morning temps drop into the twenties and the lineup is empty except for a lone paddle boarder or two. The art of getting in and out of your wetsuit in seconds is essential along with making sure you have all your sh….t. (booties and gloves). 

The waves are certainly more dangerous in the winter with swells generally running head high and closeouts costly as sandbars tend to be more pronounced! Getting Captain Crunched for breakfast happens but not something you look forward to! I was punished twice this year by the sandbar, busting an eardrum in the early fall, and then not long after my return, getting smoked on the Lecounts bar like Captain Sam B and his crew and “broke my back” as I said to the doc at the emergency room. 

I had crawled off the beach and up the dune and peeled off my wetsuit despite the knife-like pain. A day later, I was looking for meds and thinking I was done for a while. Incredibly, within a few days my back healed and I found myself ready to get wet despite the cold forecast and big waves. I dialed Ray T, who gave me a cab window view of the breakI I knew I needed to show up back at Lecounts to shake off my last loss and found three guys out catching Ok surf. I quickly got in the water and paddled out into the break. I got some fun waves and it felt good to be on home turf. I didn't know the next day I'd be geting shacked further down the Cape.

When I rolled up to Lecount the next day just after dawn the waves were twice the size from the night before if not bigger! The tide was still low and waves were barreling with mostly closeouts but regardless it was packed by winter standards with half a dozen guys out. I decided to drive further down hoping there would be cars at the Comah but nobody. I drove further still to Newks and when I rolled up to the end of the lot, I could see the waves were just as big but three paddle boarders were out to the left and catching bombs!!! I watched Big Wave Dave coming in from his last ride. It was big but ridable!!! 

I saw one of the surfers, Kenyon, getting ready with board and paddle in hand. His wild hair and blue war paint smeared across the cheeks had him taking a page from one of my favorite classic movies! The Warriors!!! 

War it was to both get out past the huge beach break and catch the bombs that were pumping in every five minutes like a subway train going to the next station. You had to brave the drop down the big faces and ride like hell, getting off just before the wave would crash on the beach. You quickly turned around and paddle back out or took the chance of getting mugged by the next set.

Warriors!!! Come Out and Plaaayyyyy!!! 

KTM - 2/20/24

The Duchess of Newport Beach!!!

  Everybody who rides waves knows the King of surfing is the Duke Kahanamoku. His legend as both a surfer and Olympic Gold medal swimmer made him a household name over a century ago long before the title of the goat that Kelly Slater wears today. The Duke was famous for many things involved with surfing including tandem riding and invited young women to join him to demonstrate when he traveled the globe. I don’t think he really realized how much he would change women’s lives over the years as their own passion for surfing would progress beyond going for rides and the eventual development of women as surfers. 

Recently, I answered an ad for a vintage board that I knew was a rare popout made with the Duke’s permission. The bright orange board with Duke logo and the additional  “The Maui” label made it one of three different models: The Hawiian, The Maui and The Butch VanArtsdalen model. It was quite a find to have one popup on Facebook. I somehow, despite the hundreds of facebook responses, was able to get the owner to meet me at her home in the landlocked woods of Freetown. She was an older lady but a firecracker, who was one of the pioneers of this Gidget aged group of young girls determined to find their own way into the surf despite what society might think. 

She said her best friend and her saw all the surfers at the beach and wanted to try it. Her friend bought a board but never took it surfing. They, however, worked together at the phone company and her friend had a Volkswagen convertible so the deal was she could take the board down to the beach and go surfing as long as she didn't go by the gas station where her friend's husband worked. She talked about taking the board out in a storm and getting pummeled like the rest of us. She also had to handle the boys dropping in on her who weren't ready for a girl surfer including throwing one guys boards off the Cliff Walk after a bad encounter in the surf. I call her the Duchess of Newport but don’t mess with this chick!!!

 She somehow ended up with the board and it has been sitting in her shed for over 40 years. I was able to convince her to pull the board out and couldn't believe the shape it was in. She had one repair done to the board but it was done well and the rest of the board shined with the bright orange pigment paint, incredible Duke Kahanamoku logo, and wood block fin. She had gotten lots of people calling and one was even rude to her about the pricing and made crazy claims about its value. I paid $500, which I felt was the market value for New England, knowing that if I was standing in Hawaii or California it would cost a lot more. I thank you Duchess!!!

KTM - 2/20/24

Sometimes You Just Gotta Go!!!

     What a great fall it's been for surfing here on the Cape. The waves at Nauset Light and Lecounts have been the tastiest with some epic sessions with the gang and photographer Eddie Deveraux. It wasn't easy getting there at times, however, with my Riverview Cross Country team racing in the Cape and Islands LIghthouse League. I had set goals for my team and also set two goals for surfing. Stay in shape for big waves and continue changing over from my longboard 9’ Cannibal Performance board to a shorter 8’2 Rusty Desert Island board I've been using for the past few years. 

I had the desire, dedication, and determination that I tell my runners they need to be successful in running. I would repair boards and sand and polish vintage gems keeping my arms strong for paddling. I saw on Book, Eddie’s pics of some of the crew hitting it big!!! There were some days when I was at work and staring at the Moosh cam or Beachcomber cam and dying to go surf. Weekends if possible were all about surfing, forget taking care of the wife or house.  I’d drive to Rhodie to surf if it was on and run down Cape from Dennis any time I could find any wave. 

In Cross Country, we have near the end of the season, some big Saturday meets and league championships races. I expect my runners to bring it up a notch at these meets and dig deep! I always tell my guys that I wouldn't ask them to do something I haven't already done myself.  Surfing gives me power and I alway look to surf the day before big meets. It helps give me the focus and energy I need to coach. 

I was desperate for action, craving the water, the feel of the force that makes being in the water such a huge part of my life. Sometimes you just gotta go! After several different days of seeing Eddie’s pics of guys getting barreled in an Oct swell. I jumped shipped and took off from work telling my boss I gotta go! He understood. He knew what a passion I had for riding waves. 

I would spend half a day working and then my lunchtime head down. The crew, as usual, was at Lecounts especially when the waves were big. It was real work to catch waves with some scary minutes of questionable thoughts after getting pounded a few times. Eddie would capture a few of my best moments and worst! 

The week of my XCC team state meet things got crazy at work and the “gotta go” feeling took over. Newport's second beach became the target and I hit it hard!!! I was getting total bombs and my confidence soared. I convinced my wife, Marie,  to go with me on a Saturday to Newport. We got married there so it is always easy to spin the trip. I knew it was going to be big but when we pulled in the parking lot it was beyond big with 10 ft swells plus smoking in from out deep. Marie quickly questioned my sanity but I knew I had to go even though I was questioning it myself. Most surfers we're getting tossed around in the surf and only occasionally did you see a surfer actually make the huge barrel that was way out in the distance from shore. I agreed with her that it would be one and then done no matter what happened! 

I quickly suited up, borrowed some wax (a tradition), and paddled out along the edge of the rocks. I  was leary looking out from the water at the huge waves forming in the clouded mist far ahead of me. I stayed close to the rocks and despite feeling disaster ahead kept paddling. I magically made it over the inside sets and used the elevator  backwash from the rock ledge to get out beyond the madness and in the huge sets rolling in from the Atlantic ocean. 

I didn’t have to wait long to see my chance and made a go at an incredible bomb but backed off at the top when I saw the huge drop I knew I wasn't going to make. I paddle deeper only to see an even bigger wave coming. Sometimes you gotta go!!! I did! I rocketed down the face holding onto my board and  getting up as I neared the button of a huge pit.  I banked into the barrel and just shot along on my Rusty and standing up I looked out toward the beach waving to my wife who I hoped would be watching. The wave rolled on forever and I stayed in the pocket all the way right to the beach. Marie was all smiles on the shore and I was one and done for sure but I’lll be back for more!

Gotta Go!

Ken

The Girls and Boys of Winter!!!

I have been surfing for many years and have made a host of friends across the Cape and beyond. No matter where you meet, there is a spirit of camaraderie that comes with the freedom and dangers the ocean brings. It’s usually all fun games in the summer but things change as fall and winter come. While there certainly can be a crowded day when it's pumping at Lecounts but most days the beaches can be deserted. I trust however that someone from my  inner or outer circle of waveriders will be like minded and hopefully pull up boards ready. They always do!!!

It can be cold as … and winds uncertain but as long as it’s surfable it's usually only moments before a surf vehicle comes into view. These girls and boys of winter are a hardy crew and like myself are prepared to make the plunge. There are quick questions about the surf and then suits are peeled on in moments and soon you're paddling out. 

The water can be cold and the waves are not perfect but attitude is always high after these sessions. It's all about keeping the feel going and being ready for the next big swell which seemed to hit every other week through the last few months. 

One late November day, despite the cold winds and poor surf conditions, I only waited a minute before a young lone surfer girl pulled up and expressed immediate interest in surfing what was there. It got hot when she peeled down to her red undies before suiting up and it was the same in the water as she ripped up the waves and talked about getting on an even shorter board. She had just graduated from a big university and had big dreams ahead. Like me however, she still needed her fix of the ocean.

Early December I arrived on a cold day at Newport. My wife was in doubt that I would even get out of the car but  the first person we saw was my youngest son Colin’s best friend Mike. Mike first went surfing with our family and became part of the regular crew on the Outer beaches and works in marine biology today. It was great to see him as always and we would be at beaches together several times over the next few weeks as the waves kept coming up Aces. I would see him again along with another good friend Dylan at G….Harbor during an epic session just as winter finally hit!

The late Dec. afternoons at the top of Lecounts were the best. Nods from inside the vehicle to the other. Quick change and paddle out! 45 minute sessions!!!

The days of traveling along the coast and finding waves continue right up until Christmas week. One of my last sessions was at Newcomb Hollow all by myself. Brave, scared, stupid I’m not sure but by the time I was back in my car I was missing the girls and boys who were just down the street getting barrels. I rejoined the girls and boys for the final days of the year surfing New Year's eve at Marconi with a small group of hardy souls and opening up the year with another lone surfer in what was an incredible 50 plus degree day. Can't wait to see what 2023 will bring for friends and surf!!!

Over the Rainbow

I’d drive anywhere to get a cool surfboard if the price is right. I’ve driven hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles to score a board that I know has either historical value, fantastic logos or rocks with patina. The boards once I get them go through a thorough cleaning and fixing of all dings and I sometimes even remove even old ugly repairs to make them look better if necessary. During this process my hands and arms all cover the board, sanding and waxing the top coat. It stenghes my arms for paddling when not in the water. Yes, just like Karate Kid, go laugh and watch me paddle! 

Even more important is I start to get a feel for how the board should be surfed and what waves it needs to be ridden on and what maneuvers I would do. I even look up shapers and boards history and read stories and watch videos about surfers who used the boards! Somehow days later it always transfers into my surfing during the next few sessions and I find myself on my longboard trying to do things I normally would not do. Taking deep deep drops! Cutting up turns like a shortboarder, and recently flying off the lip for an aerial!

Recently,  I’ve purchased a few boards that were made for the old Cinnamon Rainbows shop in Orleans owned by Todd Walker. The first was a 6ft tri-fin which was a total beater with delam and total ugliness of old repairs and 40 year old wax almost petrified to the board! However, it has some great logos underneath for both Cinnamon Rainbows and also Stewart surfboards including all the glassed on fins with Stewart labeling on them. It took over two years to find the time to give it some working over but each time I spend on it makes it look better and better. I did have to slice her open to get rid of the delam but better to be watertight then beautiful!!! Pics below and still a work in progress. 

My second Cinnanmon Rainbow looks better but actually needs more major surgery with its fin box in need of replacement. I have taken what remains of it out but still need to purchase a new one and the correct peridot fin! It does have the Team logo across the front which makes it really cool. 

This board I purchased from a young surfer who had recently actually been in Hawaii surfing but admitted the vibe was not right for him and had come back to the Cape. He had a young wife and newborn and needed cash as it was midwinter on Outer Cape which means money is scarce. I gave him full price for the board which has an incredible V-shaped airbrush in orange-yellow blend on top V and  and blue and black for the lower V. At over 7 ft it’s plenty surfable for a guy like me. Bummer the fin box is smashed somehow and the fin lost but the rest of the board is in great shape! Pics below of boards in progress still. 

I also have pick up in the last year inclduing one just a month ago two Rainbow surfboards which have very cool logo and airbrush work.

The Rainbows kept coming however but this time in the shape of one one of the coolest boards I’ve ever owned. I’m always chasing boards just like waves but it's been tough these past few weeks. I've had to put an additional amount of time into yard work for a life celebration for a dear friend, Janet,  at our home coming soon. The closer to the big day the more I feel the need to make thing even nicer than ever on our property which sketches for almost an acre of land. 

I’ve also been full into my track season as coach at my school which can be never ending. It was worth as we ended the season  as Div 1 South Unfied Track Champions. School is out on Friday. Time for another board. I felt it was well earned after a long year! My search found a cool Infinity board which I do hope to expand upon later but timing on the deal fell off over the weekend so unsure on Sunday I researched the spot for boards and wham! up came a more expensive board, a little over $300 but very cool 1969  Rainbow colored Jim Phillips. 

Filling in the Season

It's what’s inside the matters 

It was a little lonely this past winter surfing at times feeling like the Old Maytag repairman waiting for the phone to ring! I spent time fixing my multitude of boards and going online and seeing online several guys getting zippers on their knees. I surfed the Comah with a small core of young guns before the chaos of these past few weeks returned. It helped already being tuned into the wave when charging in a crowded lineup! 

I surfed the Carolinas as well and came back in mid February in great shape. Everything, however,  seemed to be in need of repair as the beachheads at several spots were wiped out. Climbing up the extremely steep cliff at Lecounts was an incredible experience, sometimes more daunting than the wave I just surfed! What a fellowship of surfers showed as strong as just days after the first climb up a small aluminum ladder helping get the final feet up or down the hill was in place! It didn't last long however as one of the last winter storms destroyed even more of the wall closing the beach for weeks. 

I had one epic session climbing down now on the left on what was a straight jump almost to the bottom. I was psyched to ride a few huge waves with just one other guy out. I dry heaved a little after paddling back out, something that happens often when I surf hard! He was still in the water when I started climbing up the hill clawing my way up the sand, placing my board further up the hill and praying I didn’t fall backwards down the slope. Being old, I stopped to reset several times and then still 20 feet from the top I heard the guy behind somehow just below encouraging me to keep going. I scrambled for the top, tossing my board onto the ledge as I grabbed for the top, crawling onto the dune!. The young gun came behind struggling now a little himself.

 It was in the low 30’s and getting dark so no more than big smiles between the two of us before struggling out of my wetsuit and jumping in our cars.  All worth it as I was in great shape all winter and ready to dig deep inside myself to get  good waves as seen in the pics of me charging at the Beachcomber day after St. Pattys.

My Irish eyes were smiling!

Eddie Devereaux on the Cameraaaa!!!

Photo by Eddie Deveraux

Thank You Sir! May I have another!

You know the surf is big when guys are coming back up the hill with broken boards! Such was the case one day last month when I showed up at Lecounts Hollow Beach (McGuire Landing). It was dead low and the surf was well over head and barreling! Small lineups had formed on two peaks in the center and right. The rides looked great but some guys were taking a pounding! Young gun, Jackson Stockwell, and his crew were heading down and we spoke of his pending trip as part of his Mass Maritime classes on a merchant ship this spring. He was leaving soon! Jackson headed down as I waited with some others for the tide to fill in.

A lone brave surfer went down to get his. He didn’t last long. Before I could even get myself fully suited up, he came back up the hill with his board in two pieces. Snapped in the middle! He was still smiling so the ride must have been good! I asked if he was going to keep the board and he said yes and stuffed it back in his car after pulling out another small board. 

I love fixing boards and especially a challenge like one snapped in half. They can be good for signs and wall hangers for sure! Also the fins if left in can be good for uses on other boards. I was risking a board myself going down carrying my 8’2 rusty Desert Island board.  While confident I’d get rides, My fingers should be grasping my 7ft  Wilson that I left at home after just cleaning it up. I was lucky that just before heading down, I teamed up with one of the Cape premier surfers, Marc Griffin. 

Marc was carrying two boards down the hill, his longboard and a short. He chose his longboard to start and let him get a feel for the wave he said. We both found a channel to paddle out and were in the lineup searching for the right peaks. I would miss a few before finally making one of the smaller barrels going left and enjoying a good ride.  

Back out in the lineup, I could see Mark heading out of the water, obviously going to get his short board. I wished I had mine! I was definitely struggling with my Rusty today with the winds and the fat drops. My good friend Chick alway talks about learning how to use boards that you're not fighting to go down the different waves. This was the case for sure. I would search for another hour for the good rides, getting pounding like others and sometimes temporarily getting into the barrel before being jettisoned off my board into the avalanche of the surging surf! I got totally slammed in the head one time and got “Brain Freeze” for a few seconds. Not Good! 

To make it worse I could see Eddie D. taking photos at the top of the hill. I scrambled to catch one more wave and made it down the face only to fall backwards on the turn. Wiping out and almost ending my day. “Thank You Sir I’ll have Another” is all I could say!!! 

I catch one left and reach down into the barrel for just a second before getting totally blown down the face! Shit! I call it a day. At the top of the hill Eddie gives me shit about putting up spray on my wipeout! His best photos I’m sure will not be of me!

Minutes later another guy comes up the top of the hill and again a broken board. I ask him if he is going to keep it and laugh and says no looking at the mangled board. In seconds, I’m stuffing it into the back of the bronco.

Thank you . …. is all I’m saying!

Photos by Ken Merrill

The Sweet Nectar of Surf

Late December cold weather gets one looking for warmer climates and to me that means crossing the bridge to surf places like Little Compton and Newport where the water and the wind doesn't quite have the same bite that the Cape has.  On New Year’s Eve day, I caught sweet rides at South Beach but couldn't believe the condition of the parking lot which was strewn with rocks and boulders that the storm surge had thrown onto earlier this fall and winter.
Instead of parking further down the lot, I parked close to the entrance saving my older 2014 F-150 the trouble of risking any damage before trading her in a few days later for my Bronco. 
I loved my white F150 with cap and bed liner which made keeping things in the truck easy. She took great care of me the past few years and I have great memories of the surf life she provided. I hope the Bronco can do as well.

One of the Bronk’s first excursions was not to go surf but to get a Nectar Twin fin surfboard that was on Craigs for $100 just up the street from Narragansett beach. The board has sweet lines with airbrushed light green swaths with the Nectar logo in the middle. The bottom has four channels with airbrushed pin lines and another smaller Nectar Log on the bottom top.
A Fishtail with glassed on twin fins, this board is ready to rocket the surf.  I’ve sanded her down to get rid of some of the bad repairs and will reglass the spots that really need it and get her surf ready for this summer.

During this time period, I have picked up more boards than I thought possible and surfed some of the greatest rides for the years at beaches from Marconi, Newcombs, Lecounts, Nauset Light, and Second beach, Newport. What a sweet few weeks it's been with the Nectar of awesome waves keeping the Stoke alive while the Bronco is keeping pace and ready for the open space!

Bread and Butter Days! 

Catching waves with friends is one of the most enjoyable parts of surfing for me. So I was pumped to get a call on Friday morning from Dylan,  who I've surfed with over a dozen times both on Cape and off in RI and Nantasket. He's part of a small crew of guys from Falmouth that love chasing waves like me! 

We called and text several times and the buzz was that Marconi was going off! I hadn't surfed Marconi since sometime in the summer. First because of sharks and secondly because during the fall and winter that litle extra time it take to get there takes away from possible water time at Nauset Light! 

When my wife, Marie, and our dog, Dixie, pullled into the parking lot there were only a few cars and one guy was walking back his car with his board. I knew my crew was already down in the water and the word from guy coming out was that the surf was great. 

In minutes I had suited up and walked with Marie and Dixie to the front cliffhead and the staricase overlooking the ocean.  Head high plus waves were breaking mid-tide with only 3 surfers in the water. One lonely sup on the left side and my two guys, Dylan and a friend, paddling to get out  over the break on the right. 

Energized to surf with my buds, I quickly jumped into the waves - teling Dixie to wait - and hoping it wouldn't be to cold on the beach for Marie! I had my 9 ft Cannibal, which I had just rewaxed, and in no time I was out a channel between the waves and beyond the break and getting a feel for the ocean. 

I saw a good wall heading my way, quickly made my moves and bam! I was up and droppin down a head plus drop going left and just ripping the curl right through to the inside wall! Dylan and his friend paddled over quick to to get the action and both were quickly on their own waves rocketing to the shore. 

The session was on! The three of us proceed to catch every wave coming our way as we jockeyed outside the break  antenaes up on each good wave. There no doubt we are each trying out surf the other and at the same time make sure no one missed a wave.  

We own it! At one point Dylan and and I both charged for a big wave with him taking off right and me going left! Like Bread and Butter!  Then Dylan's friend Liam caught a bomb and we were all pumped! I caught two more wave before I finally saw Marie walking up the beach with Dixie. 

Dylan getting  dipped at Lecounts on his birthday!
photo courtesy Eddie D.

I  took off on my last wave toward the shore totally charged not just because of the waves I caught but the way we rode as a team and for a few magical moments gained a power over the ocean. I've felt this magic before surfing with my friend Everett as we surfed the biggest waves we could find some four or five years ago right there at Marconi beach and other spots around the Cape. 

I also remember even younger days when I ran Cross Country and our team ruled! My best friends and I would push ourselves so hard at practice that at meets we swept over teams. Our coach would say we were his "Bread and Butter" making every win look easy!   

There is a sense of additional strength and confidence we gain as a team as we saw just recently play out over the big screen of life. The magic, however, can easily turn tragic if the leader of the pack loses his way. How that power is chaneled needs to be focused on the succes of mankind not one kind of man.

Paddle out,
KTM

Dyland dropping left!
photo courtesy Eddie D.

Contact Ken at kenmerrill.cc@gmail.org

Never Give Up The Search!

This Morey-Pope Blue Machine was kept for many years by original owner Andrew McKinney when it first was delivered in 1967 to his  Surf City shop in Wellfleet. Some 40 years later, I was just finishing setting up my surfboard display at top of the hill at White Crest ( 4-Mile). That afternoon would be the Cape Cod Oldtimers Surf contest and I wanted to proudly display my boards after a few years of searching.  I've been collecting boards since 1986 when I first started surfing but the past few years I've been spurred on to find even more vintage boards. I had over 20 boards on display including  names like Hobie, Weber,  Gordon and Smith, some short boards, and a few popouts. 

As I was taking my first sips of Coors and relaxing, up comes an older gentleman, who  starts a conversation about boards. He tells me he loves my museum and that he used to be a shop owner years ago. He then boldly tells me he has a vintage board rarer then anything I have because it was  one of the first transitional boards which was made by Morey Pope and designed by Bob Cooper.  I asked if he was interested in selling it and he said yes and he actually had it out in the parking lot on his car. I said go get it! 

Just as he left, they called the first heat which was of course the Old Timers. My heat! In moments, I was headed down the hill to the beach below with my vintage rider for the event which was a Abercrombie and Fitch popout with a port hole in the nose. It would be hrs before I came back up the hill smashed from  Willys Wipeout punch and surf fever.  

The grills were lit and food and crowds of surfers were jostling about as we waited for Jasper's legendary owner Mike Haughton to give out the awards. There I saw the old gentleman standing with Kenny Collings, both a respected legendary surfer and vintage board collector, looking down at was just a marvelous looking blue colored surfboard with large black rubberized like pads covering several portions of the boards instead of slipdeck material. Very innovative for the time! 

Kenny starts shaking hands and walks off with the the board! I'm shocked and as it getting dark rush to start putting my own vintage boards into my truck back bed. The lot was empty when I pulled out my truck pilled with museum pieces and rain coming down. I was pissed! Kenny had stolen the board from under my nose as far as I was concerned but since I had already bought several boards from Kenny I also knew that he would likely sell it to me but for much more than what he paid. 

Months later, I attended the Newport Surfest 5 put on by Water Bros's Sid Abruzzi, one of the most iconic surf shop owners in New England! It was awesome! The boards were incredible! Just walking in we saw circles of amazing short boards stack on the ground and then inside a big tent vintage boards galore. Every maker and model was represented! I had known about the Surfest and knew I should have followed up and brought boards to show. What a fool I had been. Regardless, I walked the walk carefully examining different logos and styles and just falling in love with tons of boards! 

Afterwards, we watch the incredible skateboarders cranking down the ramp that had been built for the event. I was almost unable to walk away from the vintage cars with boards displayed next to them.  As we walked out, I knew I'd be buying more boards soon! 

It would be days later when I looked at online post displaying a picture of the best board of show. There was Kenny Collings standing in front of the crowd with the blue machine hoisted high in the air. Fuck! 

Kenny would also display the board at the Orleans Surf Film Festival later that fall. A few years later, I struck up a conversation while helping out at a local pantry with the an old man who looked familiar and would you know it was Andrew, who had originally owned the board. After some discussion I was able to get him to tell me how much Kenny paid him for the board - $1100! When Kenny final called, I initially held off but when it became a package deal on the second call for his prized Dewey and a Da Cat that he had sanded down for a repaint I could wait no longer. While it would take some 5 months to finally get the Blue Machine home to where I felt she always belonged, it was well worth the couple of side jobs painting and roofing to get her and the others (Dewey Weber, Greg Noll DaCat). 

Never ever give UP THE SEARCH!!!

KTM
Morey Pope Links
Davenport Blue Machine

SWaylocks forum Morey Pope

Pintrest Morey Pope

Shred Sledz Morey Pope

Shred Sledz 2 Morey Pope

Pintrest Morey Pope 2

Kyle Merrill  Oldtimers 2019

Kenny Merrill Oldtimers 2019