Aw yes, Memorial Day Weekend.  In New Hampshire it magically turned from disgusting weeks of rain and 60 degree temps to full-on 80, sunny, and humid with some fun surf just in time to keep the traveling tourists sane and stoked at the beginning of summer.  We stopped by Salisbury Beach for the inaugural stop of the newly-formed Atlantic Paddle Battle, which will be a 6-stop race series this summer with a $5,000 cash purse.  This is a great new event started by our friends at Zapstix Surf Shop and will give a fun venue for surfers to get in the water when the waves are quiet this summer.

The men’s Open Class heads out into the brutal cross-wind to start the buoy-to-buoy race.

Zapstix’s Mike ‘Zappy’ Paugh with Paddle Battle MC Marc Angelillo.

SGT Systems Manager Lucas Moore even got a chance to crush it in the shorebreak on a borrowed SUP… bloom!

By Sunday the sun had come out and the whole crew was in the water on a gorgeous Sunday for a triple session in the fun waist-chest surf.

Head SASS Argentina coach Andrew Burns is in town and even made his cameo on this firing right-hander – yeah Burns!

B2B Director Bob Witty about to get pitted on an enormous NH firing beachbreak shacktown bomb.

Our roommate John “The Vaninator” Griffin, having made a recent transition to full-time shortboarding, is now killing it.  Johnny was beyond stoked to have gotten a few shots, especially this Slater-esque bottom turn on this pumping 14th Street slab.

Johnny showing the depth of his new-found talent, going backside on another double-overhead bombing pit.  It’s summer so as long as you get the board down the wave, it’s hard not to have fun!  We’ll be (hopefully) enjoying a few dozen more of these uber-fun sessions before we swing down to Argentina to go back to winter – let us know if you want to swing through for a session!  Booties and gloves are basically off, 3/2’s are on, babes are everywhere – it’s summer!