After 6 weeks without waves, the coldest January in New England in 86 years and a major snow, ice & rain storm on Friday, everything came together on Saturday, February 7 for the 2004 RISK Winter Session.

About 50 paddlers and a few spectators from as far away as Virginia found their way to a remote, frozen beach in a far corner of Rhode Island and were greeted by 36°F water and 5-7' waves. What more can one ask for in the middle of a New England Winter!

Due to extreme tides on that day, the waves turned out to be somewhat unpredictable. At times they were peeling beautifully and at other times rides were cut short by heavy close outs. It's to the credit of the boaters attending that there were relatively few swims and those few were handled expertly. But boy, those rides were exciting.

A free lunch was served right on the beach and a wide variety of food ranging from chilies to hamburgers and grilled chicken, fried rice, Portuguese sausages and brownies, meant that everyone found something to their liking.

After lunch we had our raffle giveaway, where thanks to the generosity of our sponsors everyone in attendance walked away with a prize and a smile on their face.

2004 RISK Sponsors

In everyone's opinion the 2004 RISK Winter Session was a huge success and we would like to again thank all of our sponsors, helpers, paddlers and spectators.

For additional pictures of the 2004 RISK Winter Session, please visit:
http://stnphotography.com/risk/
http://www.pioneerpictures.com/surf/RISK/pix/

Banner photograph: © Sean T Noonan/www.stnphotography.com