Ok reporters, lurkers, locals, and kooks pop quiz: the #1 rule on stokereport is what? Yes: "Don't be a dick."
There are a few local Dicks in that ARE worth learning about and maybe even worth emulating. Mark Gray lays out the lore of 'Uncle' Dick Keating in 4 acts. Worth a read for the local history, connections with surfing history, and old pics with some familiar landmarks. The story starts like this...
"There is still no shortage of romance, adventure, or legend along the rugged and seemingly untamed coast of Central and Northern California. Though the rumrunners have disappeared from the foggy coves and windblown capes, there's still a vista to inspire around every curve in the road, and a thrill in every tack to weather. A power inhabits this land of mountains and sea, and even the casual visitor cannot fail to be moved. The bearing of those who live, work, and play along this shore will be shaped as inevitably as grains of sand are pushed into dunes on the beach. Some will cower to the fog and wind, cursing the cold and the unfairness of the elements. For others though, they see only nature moving sure and proud." Read on!
This originally appeared in The Surfer's Jornal, Volume 10, Number 4
http://www.surfersjournal.com/issues/715
