Cristobal? Or Crystal Ball? As the first jets out to sea, it’s clear we could use the latter to gauge exactly what’s going on with storms this season. The good news is hindsight’s 20/20; click here for some broadly-focused Bertha coverage.

SurfKDH.com is holding galleries from the whole Bertha swell by 2M and others. They also posted that last weekend’s “Let’s Hear it For Martin” benefit at Mexicali Brewz raised more than $4k to stick in Mr. Fucci’s ears.

Paul Kane sent word that the East Coast premiere of “Archy” – a documentary about
legendary surfer Matt Archbold – is July 24 at The Jewish Mother. Starts at 8pm.

Jason Andre’s fresh back from a trip to Panama and on stage playing gigs. First stop is July 23 at the Connection Café to help the city of Wilmington end homelessness. Then, July 27. he’ll be part of the Wallace Church Jubilee. Both start at 6pm.

Fans of Drew Brophy’s art will get a chance to meet the inkmaster himself when he hits the East Coast this week for his “Paint Your World” summer tour, featuring demos, hands-on workshops and a screening of his new DVD. Catch him in SC at North Myrtle Beach’s Surf City on July 25, Surf City in Wrightsville Beach on July 26 and Xtreme Surf in Myrtle Beach on August 1.

The annual Outer Banks Paddle Race goes off July 26 at the Ocean Bay access in Kill Devil Hills (across from the Stop N Shop.) Beach registrations begin at 9am. Races start at 10am. Prizes for first through third places. And be sure to buy raffle tickets from area members for a shot at heaps of cool gear – including a brand new WRV longboard by Jesse Fernandez.

The annual Buddy Pelletier Surf Contest strikes Oceana Pier in Atlantic Beach, NC, July 26-27. Click here for more.

South Carolina’s Extreme surf shop and Embryo Surf Co. State Park surf-off on July 26 just north of the pier. Click here for more.

And Georgia ESA’s contest number 5 is set for July 26 at 9am.

On July 29, Charleston Surfrider holds another round of Beach Cleanups at Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach. Both start at 5:30pm.

And Aug. 1 is the deadline for entering the Fifth Annual S.C. Governor’s Cup of Surfing (formerly the South Carolina State Surfing Championships), scheduled for Aug. 9- 10 at the Washout on Folly Beach. (Please make checks payable to SSC/ESA and send to: SSC/ESA P.O. Box 740, Folly Beach, S.C. 29439, or leave at any local surf shop. ) There will be an optional early check in at the Surf Bar, 103 W. Cooper Street, Folly Beach, at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 8, where local surfer and videographer Josh Ambrite will show his new surf movie Black Bean Soup during check in. Liquid Shredder is once again sponsoring a special S.C. Governor¹s Cupm highlight, the Push `n Surf Division. This division is for novice, young surfers who need a little help out in the surf. You may register for the Push `n Surf Division on the beach the day of the contest, but space is limited to the first 30 kids.

VB’s Clay Dills recently had a dark electric blue 5’10” Hobie Zipper stolen in the Pendleton Parking lot. Apparently there are only two like it on the whole coast. He’s offering a huge reward. email him if you have any info.

Congrats to Chris and Cammie Makibben for being named Co-Directors of the Maryland ESA. Now the bad news: due to time and scheduling conflicts they were forced to cancel both the K-Coast Grom Beginner's Bash on July 26 and the Quiet Storm Wahine Surf-Off on August 2. Fortunately, Quiet Storm has taken on the Sponsorship of the upcoming Maryland State Surfing Championships on Aug. 9. (Get your entry form now.) And congrats to the following champs of the 14th Annual Malibu’s Classic, who won against more than 225 competitors from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and Florida: Parker Marshall (Super Grom Bodyboard); Jack Fager (Super Grom Shortboard); Ian Tilghman (Open Shortboard); Sam Deeley (Menehune Shortboard); Emily Ruppert (Girls Shortboard); Seth Conboy (Boys Shortboard); Dillon Harrington (Jr. Men Shortboard); Kelly Powell (Jr. Women Shortboard); Vince Boulanger (Men Shortboard); Kelly Willison (Women Shortboard); Ted Smith (Masters Shortboard/Men’s Longboard): Bonnie Preziosi (Ladies Shortboard); Keith White (Sr. Men Shortboard); Chris Tilghman (Grand Masters/Legends Longboard); Bill Helmuth (Legends Shortboard): Bryant Hungerford (Grand Legends Shortboard): Jake Buchler (Open Bodyboard): Zachary Mitchell (Menehune Bodyboard): Brady Dashiell (Menehune Longboard); Spencer Ashton (Jr. Longboard): Rachel Harrell (Women’s Longboard); Beth Deeley (Ladies Longboard); and Chris Vaxmonsky (Masters Longboard).

Congrats to Tony Silvagni for making the Longboarding final at the US Open in Huntington; be sure to cheer him on this coming weekend.

And, finally , it’s official: the 12th Annual East Coast Wahine Championships — the largest women’s surfing contest on the right coast — is on for August 16 -17, drawing nearly 200 wahines from Maine to Puerto Rico, bringing friends and family for a weekend of camaraderie and competition. This year, the ECWC will host an Open Shortboard division for surfers to test their skills in an all-ages category. Entry forms are available at EastCoastWahines.com

Our friends at Phix Doctor are mailing FREE Disposable Ding Repair Kits to all US residents. All you pay is $1.95 S&H. Go to www.phixdoctor.com to order yours today.

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You're dying to share some news with Local Knowledge, right? Who's ripping? Who's getting married? Who just got back from a killer surf trip? Don't be scared: Email the editor.

Have technical, report or camera-related questions? Email tech support. TRKY’s in-house rock star and drummer for the Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, has turned rock dreams into reality. He rocked it with Led Zeppelin earlier this month and then this last week banged his turkey skins at the VH1’s Rock Honors: The Who at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion. Hawkins and the rest of the Foos covered The Who’s “Bargain” in the rock tribute with Hawkins singing a few verses himself. Check out the head banging by clicking here.

Surfline recently launched a new community section where organizations like surf teams, surf shops, brands, and clubs can easily build and manage a community page on Surfline to better communicate with their audiences, promote their events, and generally get more exposure on Surfline. There’s a back-end admin system that is really easy to use so you can upload photos and videos, create event schedules, have a latest news section, set up a blog, upload an ad banner at the top to brand the page, and change the background colors. A community page is also an easy way for people to interact by uploading their own photos/videos, posting blog questions, etc. For more info or if you are interested in setting up a community page on Surfline for your organization, please send an email to Baylee@surfline.com.

Want to win a Dakine double travel bag? Enter to win by filling out a short survey about surf travel here.

A support group for recovering teens is in need of new or used surfboards. Contact kjsmithkj@gmail.com and help them recapture the love for life though surfing.

If you shop on Amazon.com, be sure to visit www.5percentblue.com first and 5% of your total purchases will go to Surfrider…

Jack Johnson got together with Rob Machado recently for a specia