When Two Storms Mate

I love it when Tropical Storms mate.

You know, like what Hurricane Leslie and Hurricane Michael did this week. They mated (sort of). The two storms were so close together out in the Atlantic, that they fell in love, and well, had spawned off a series of head high swells that are still coming to our shores. And lest you think this is something new, it is not.

I remember back in 1989, when Hurricane Gabrielle and Hurricane Felix mated. Man that was one swell to remember. We had some of the best waves ever here in New England during that swell period.

And before this coming week is over we could have some days that would rival those storms of the past. I know a lot of you younger surfers are all excited over this new Tropical swell. It is exciting stuff if this is all new to you. Hell, it's exciting to all of us. The older surfers may not not be as excited on the outside as you younger guys, but we are just as happy.

Tropical Storms and Hurricanes can bring smiles to all surfers.

Though this is also a week of sadness. It is the anniversary of September 11th, 2001. And while many of you younger surfers may not remember that day as clear as the older surfers, it is a time to reflect on that dark day and the dark days that followed 9-11-01.

The irony of this Hurricane Swell of Leslie and Michael, and the Hurricane that was directly offshore during 9-11-01 is not lost on a lot of us. On September 11th, 2001, Hurricane Erin was spinning off the coast under bright blue skies sending perfect waves to our New England coastline.

[First photo] Think there was good surf on 9-11?

It was an amazing morning of surf. Perfect overhead surf hitting every reef, pointbreak, and sandbar in New England. Hell, the swell from Erin was hitting the entire East Coast. It had the makings of a perfect swell and perfect day all around. But that hairy asshole in the next column along with his partners in crime had other plans.

To kill as many innocent Americans as possible.

[Second photo] One of those killed was Bob Hayes. Married with two children. Bob was the first surfer to ever buy one of my surf movies. "99 to 90" was just released on VHS and Bob was the first to order one. He was a great guy. I got to know Bob during my "Catch A Wave For Gus" surf campaign in 2000-2001. He was a great guy, and I am sure that if you were to ask anyone who knew him, they would all tell you the same.

Bob Hayes was on Flt 11 out of Boston's Logan airport that morning heading to the West Coast for a business trip. Bob who was an avid surfer had to have seen the surf that morning as his plane lifted off from Logan and banked out and over the Atlantic. He saw the surf. Imagine being a surfer and seeing those waves...I guess it's sort of poignant now to think that one of the last things Bob saw in this life was perfect surf.

It's hard to believe that Surfers were affected by that dark day in our nation's history. But Bob was one of a handful of surfers who had ties here to New England.

Another local surfer with direct ties to 9-11-01 is the Veltsos family. They were related to Tommy Peccorelli [third photo].

Tommy Peccorelli was the only brother of then local Surfer Angela Veltsos. Tommy was on the same plane at Bob Hayes. Flt 11 out of Boston's Logan Airport. Local Surfers Michael Veltsos who was then married to Angela and his sons who were all surfers remember that day like it was yesterday.

Some of you know Jared Veltsos. He works at Zapstix.

Tommy was Jared's uncle. Try and fathom what those dark days felt like for all of them. And because we are a community, it was hard on all of us as well. To have close ties with that dark day is something we will never forget.

The days, months, and years that followed have not been easy.

There are 57 names engraved on the monument in front the American Legion Post 35 in Hampton. Each September 11th, we honor and remember those who have fought and died in the Global War On Terrorism from New Hampshire since that terrible day... 9-11-01.

This Tuesday, we will remember and reflect on New Hampshire's fallen again. We made a promise to the families that first year, and that promise is, we will never forget the sacrifices of their loved ones, nor would we forget their own personal sacrifices. We kept that promise.

If any of you are around on Tuesday September 11th, 2012 at 6PM on High Street in Hampton, NH we will have a somber observance. And yes, we are doing this service no matter what the Surf is doing. There are some things that just matter more than getting wet. This is one of those.

Now for Some Of My Weekly Global Observances:

The Democratic convention has ended this week and it too was filled with all kinds of Political Hogwash and false promises. And like I said last week, you just have to answer this simple question. Are you REALLY better off today than you were 4 years ago? If you are, well good for you. If you are like most of us, and can't honestly say that, you need to remember that in November and vote accordingly.

Yay! The NFL season started this week. And YAY (again) because our local boys the New England Patriots won their game opener against the Titans in Tennessee. Heck, they killed them. It was great. I love watching New England teams kick ass in any sport. But I especially love it when the Patriots are doing the ass kicking! Sunday our boys looked great.