Lester Priday preparing to go out on foggy Friday afternoon in Legends shortboard. Lester is our North East Region Director from the Great Lakes/Autralia.

Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C 2007:

The fog rolled in and Lester went out into the cloudy ocean and nearly disappered while surfing in this heat.

Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007P:

This image shows the fog that we had during the contest on Friday.


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

Steve was our only ESA Great Lakes Distict Canadian competitor in both longboard and shortboard divisions. He surfed longboard after high tide and the waves were micro and breaking on shore. He surfed later in shortboard in the fog.

Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

This is the surf that sometimes a competitive surfer encounters. The surf in a contest may be crazy overhead, excellent and pealing glimmerglass, mushy and wind blown, small and bearly ridable.

This ride occured just after high tide on Friday at the ESA NE Regional. The wave does not represent the height or how good it can get at The Wall which has been ridden since circa 1960. There was a northeaster storm recently throwing logs and heavy boulders over the wall. The points are the places that get ridden in these conditions.


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

It was good to see one of our local competitors from the ESA Great Lakes District-East Lakes showing up and representing us. Steve did not have the best conditions to surf in nor did he advance in his heat but he had a good time at the event.

Here Steve Whitfield from the GTA area stands in front of the "The Wall" in Hampshire, N.H. in May 2007 before his heat starts in the Eastern Surfing Association Northeast Region Surf Championships.

Thanks for coming out Steve and giving it a college try.

The fellow in the white hat is Tom McClaren from New Jersey who holds the ESA position of Chairman of the Competition Board of Governors.


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

If there was energy or a ride to be found these guys found a way to make it look easy and fun

I believe this is possible Joe Grottola from Southern New Jersey Distict
and one of the finest surfers from the East Coast. He surfs short and
long like a pro. He has these magical rides and just seams to tare up
every surf contest he is ever in. He is the ESA Southern New Jersey
Director. He always is in the top three in every contest he surfs in.


Joe sent us a check that I never used during our campaign to "Save The Bridge"
in Hamilton, Ontario. He has never surfed here but he is a class surfer and cares
about surfing deeply and sincerely. It's something he was raised in by his family.


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

This is the beach marshal's area where surfers report in and receive their competition rash guards. They don the rash guards here and doff them when here when their event is over. The board that Steve is next to has hooks on it and that is where the competition rash guards are kept.

Around Steve are some other exceptional surfers from the east coast. That's Tom Leonik in the shades. He is a Legend's division surfer who rides on the advanced level.


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

A storm was on the way from the lakes and the sky began to darken when I shot this photograph at "The Wall."


Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007:

Three people have died in the past from lightening strikes where we were having the surf contest. We put the competition on hold for an hour and sought shelter. I was told to get everyone off the wall and away from the competition scaffold area. There is rebar steel in this massive concrete wall and it's wide open. A couple of our staff members ignored this warning until they heard the deafening close thunder clap near by.


I was on the porch with ESA Executive Director Debbie Hodges when this photograph was taken. I think that all the electricity in the air had an effect on my hair. At least what's left of it.


Photograph by Viktor- Copyright C May 2007 Magilla Schaus:

The ESA judges must take a judging coarse to qualify to be an ESA judge
in Regional and Final competitions. They are paid for their services and are some of the best in doing this important job.

Here we see a study of them at work during the ESA Northeast Region Surf Championships. It's all business up there when the event is taking place. They have the highest qualifications for this job and are regularly reviewed for their performance levels.

Photograph by Magilla Schaus Copyright C May 2007: