Latest Update: September 2, 2001 by Ben Marcus

12:45 ALASKA TIME SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 DINING ROOM AT NAUTILUS FOODS.

MONEY
Cookies for the lads: $5.00

Guess what we had for dinner here at Nautilus Foods. Come on, guess. Don't be shy. That's rightƒ.. salmon! It was fresh and it was good. I think they cooked one of the fish that I had cleaned, because it really tasted good. Fish and mashed potatoes and green beans. The Young Turks had to be careful which green beans they ate, because one of the pots had pork in it. The Young Turks drink alcohol and they don't pray five times a day, but they will absolutely not eat pork. Kind of like Mormons. They'll bend the rules in some ways, but not in others.

Salmon for dinner and then we got to work. Powering through thousands of salmon for hour after hour, listening to 70s super rock, thinking good and bad things, before knocking off at 12:53 in the morning. And here I am, watching a Total Gym infomercial, ready for sleep, but I want to work on a few things.

I want to do some e-mail interviews with Pat O'Neill, Rabbit Bartholomew and Rosaldo Cavalcanti for the various projects I'm working on. I'll fire a couple of questions, they can answer then at their leisure, thoughtfully, and then I'll respond to their responses. It beats long phone calls and transcribing tapes. Hope they're into it.

I guess I'll work all day tomorrow with a few library breaks to check e-mail and do some work. I imagine they'll have a full day of fish tomorrow going into the night.

On Sunday I'm taking two of the Young Turks to Anchorage. They're paying for gas, and I want to get out of Valdez for a day or two. Their flight doesn't leave until midnight so we'll have time to check out the tidal bore and get my stuff from Scott Liska. He's going to be out at Montagu Island for the Montagu Cup, but hopefully his wife will be there.

That's about it. Going to hack on the Santa Cruz story and the BORED! proposal and other stuff until I can't keep my eyes open, then I'm going to hit the sack.

21:25 ALASKA TIME SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2001 DINING ROOM AT NAUTILUS FOODS

MONEY Just loaned Gus $20

This was an inconsistent day: I processed for an hour this morning, then took off and spent the day in the library, working on this and that.

Came back at 18:00 for dinner and got hollered at by the Boss Feller. I worked for two hours, then left to give a ride to a girl here who had broken her foot. Called Perry Miller and Chris Gallagher about the Tidal Bore. Today Shawn Alladio committed to be here, which is great. Now I need someone for her to rescue. And I don't even have a photographer yet.

This is all so confusing, and I'm trying to set up a TV show. Shit. Oh well.

Tom Wright of the Boreriders Club in England sent me some good information about the Severn Bore, which I weaved into the synopsis. I sent an e-mail to some people who ride the Bay of Fundy bore, and also a couple of French guys who know the Dordogne Mascaret well.

Rosaldo is going to help me with the Amazon, and I don't know what I'll do about Sarawak and China. It'll have to be a mystery, I guess.

Watching ïIt Could Happen to You" with the French chef and his wife, and a lady who is writing a screenplay and commiserated with my loss of the Final Draft disc.

I guess I'll work tonight until it's over, get some sleep and then hit the road with a couple of the Young Turks. Going to drive to Anchorage, get all my Patagonia swag, check out the Tidal Bore, drop those guys at the airport and then head back to Valdez, by Monday. Maybe I'll let the Turks drive and sleep in the front seat. I need sleep. Not sleeping enough. Not good.

I copied an entire poem by Victor Hugo today, in French, because somewhere in there he mentions his daughter being killed on the Seine. My French is okay, but I'm going to ask the French Chef to find the juicy bit, to include in the pitch.

Within a week or so I should have enough information compiled to complete the whole proposal, then I can send it around to a bunch of people who won't read it, and say "No thanks."

12:46 ALASKA TIME SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2001 TV ROOM OF NAUTILUS FOODS

Funny, this is the day I was supposed to fly to Kamchatka. If things had gone according to plan, I would be at Magadan Airlines right now with a bunch of hooligans, getting ready to fly into the unknown.

Instead, I reek of fish guts and slime, and I'm about to get a couple of hours sleep before driving a couple of Young Turks all the way to Anchorage.

For a while there, right after dinner, I thought we might leave tonight. The Turks had been paid and weren't working any more and I said if they wanted to go, we could leave right away. They considered it and the Boss Fella yelled at me a bit for not putting in enough hours. But the Turks said they weren't ready, so it was time to Cut Fish.

But it all worked out. We did a couple hours of red salmon which were nice and firm and easy to handle. Now I'm watching a bit of TV upstairs, the last place I saw my DVDs.

I miss my DVDs. I want my DVDs.

Time to hit the sack. Me feet are wet and I smell of fish.

Ike is sleeping in the van. I don't think I fed him enough today. He's a good cat, and not at all stuck up. I'm watching some USA TV movie about crazed cats and cheating husbands and such.

Tonight I told a woman in the dining room about Strangers in the Internet, after an AFI program showed a clip of Stranger on a Train. I should write that thing. It's good stuff.

13:56 ALASKA TIME SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2001 A PHONE BOOTH AT THE ALYESKA PRINCE HOTEL

MONEY Gas from Valdez to here. $50 (reimbursable)

I'm very tired, and I'm in the phone booth of a very fancy hotel near Girdwood, Alaska. This a is a very, very fancy hotel, the Alyeska Prince, which means they have data connections on all the pay phones and that is a lovely thing indeed. The Turks atre outside sleeping in the car. They are very tired, too. They have been working non-stop in a nasty fish-processing plant since July, putting in lots of over time and sleeping in tents in the rain. I think they are glad to be going back to Turkey.

This morning they woke me up at 6:30 and again at 7:00 and I finally got up and got moving. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately, and that is not a healthy thing. I drove groggily out of Valdez and had to stop and take a nap at Glenallen, because I was so out of it. Bulent was sleeping behind me on blankets and boxes, and the other guy, Emit? Was in the passenger's seat. I was hoping to get to Anchorage in time for the 15:30 tidal bore at Girdwood, but I was so groggy I didn't think we would make it. I couldn't remember how long it took to get to Anchorage from Valdez, although it's about 300 miles.

At one point Bulent got out and let Ike out, but I lured Ike back with catfood and we got underway. Bulent drove for a while, while I tried to sleep on boxes and blankets. Ouch.

But we made it. Got into Anchorage around 2:00. Got to Girdwood around 3:30 and found out the tide isn't until 5:15. With time to kill, here I am.

The AOL 800 number isn't working for some reason. I just checked e-mail then left when I thought the tidal bore was imminent, then realized the computer clock is on California time.

Now I'm back in here, listening the to piano woman sing Carol King songs an answering e-mails. There are some guys in England who are keen on the whole BORED! idea. I hope one of them has a BBC connection.

Shawn Alladio is coming up and wants me to find a Yamaha dealer. Eric Nelson and Curt Myers are coming up and want to know about accommodation.

Time for another mass e-mail.

I'll write it here, while the connection gets connected.

Shawn Alladio

Mark Alfaro

Colin Brown

Curt Myers

Eric Nelson

And to whomever else it may concern,

Here's the deal. I'm at the Alyeska Prince Hotel right now, waiting for the "Three Star" tidal bore at 17:15. I drove down to Anchorage today to take two Turkish guys to the airport and check out the bore again. This place is spectacular, and the tidal range is bizarre. When you see it, you'll know what I mean.

hawn Alladio, Mark Alfaro, Curt Myers and Eric Nelson are all coming. I met a Santa Cruz dude in Valdez who is amped and having equipment sent up. I am also working on Brad Gerlach, Chris Gallagher and anyone that Rusty or O'Neill wants to send up.

Guinness World Records won't be covering it for TV, but they still haven't said "no" to sending an official adjudicator.

ABC Alaska is still going to cover it, and they will feature it on their show after Monday Night Football on the 17th.

Not sure about CNN.

The Surfer's Journal wants to do a piece on the Alaska Tidal Bore, and I may be able to sell the photos and images to other magazines around the world.

I don't have a photographer yet. Working on Jeff Divine or William Sharp or Rob Gilley.

Here's the ideal situation.

THE PERFECT BORES

There are "Three Star" bore tides at 14:30 and 15:30 on September 14 and 15. I don't know how much practice everyone is going to need, but these would be days for figuring out how and where to launch the WaveRunner, to see if Shawn will be able to go in front of the wave and back over the top again, and give the surfers a chance to see this thing and figure out a strategy.

There is a "Four Star' bore tide at 16:30 on Sunday afternoon, and then a "Five Star" bore tide at 17:18 PM on Monday. The Five Star is a whopper, and in some ways not as good as a smaller bore, because the tides are very low and there isn't much water in front of the bore. I'm a little worried about that. Will there be enough water to turn a surfboard, or a WaveRunner? We shall see.

There are three and four-star bores running up until the 21st, but I don't know if people will want to stay that long.

ARRIVE ON THE 14TH OR THE 15TH

Ideally, people would all get here on the morning of the 14th. I know that's a change, but the more practice on this, the better. ABC Alaska will be shooting the attempts on Sunday and Monday, so two days of warm-up wouldn't hurt.

If you are coming on the 15th, try to come in the morning, and try to coordinate with each other. I can pick people up, but it's a waste of time and money to drive back and forth from Girdwood to Anchorage all day long.

When you make a plan, announce it to everyone on this list, and maybe it can be coordinated.

GETTING A PWC

Shawn Alladio is going to be doing Water Patrol, which is very nice of her, but I have to find here a ski. I'm going to contact Yamaha in Anchorage to see if they'll loan her a ride. She is going to be very, very useful when it comes to riding this thing, and recovering from mistakes. You'll see. Just need to figure out a place where she can launch.

SURFBOARDS AND WETSUITS.

Bring a quiver of both. I have no idea what kind of board will work best on the bore. It's a unique deal. Most likely a fast little hotdog board, because you're going to have to work this thing to stay with it.

I have my Patagonia longboard here if anyone wants to try that.

I'd bring gloves and booties and hoods and the best rubber you have. The water is thick with glacial silt, and it must be somewhat cold.

SURFING THE THING

You'll just have to figure it out. Hope it's worth it. Most likely you will ride the white-water line at Bird Point and then Shawn will take everyone down to the First Parking Lot, where the continuous wave begins. I measured it again today. It's two miles from First Parking Lot to Third Parking Lot, so your legs are going to really hurt by the time you are done, if you make it all the way. That's 10 minutes of riding a reform at 12 MPH.

ACCOMODATION

The Alyeska Prince might not work. I'm looking into other places. Camping is an option, but it would be nice to be warm.

Look up "Girdwood" and "Portage" online if you get a chance.

COVERAGE

ABC Alaska is going to cover it and put it on after Monday Night Football all over Alaska. So, interviews with the talent.

Also, Surfer's Journal wants to do pages. Still looking for a photographer.

Gilley? Sharp? Divine?

19:43 ALASKA TIME SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2001 PARKING LOT AT DIMON BOULEVARD KINKOS

My car reeks of gasoline again and it's giving me a headache. It's raining, in Alaska, and I'm in the parking lot of the Dimond Boulevard Kinkos with the Young Turks. We are all dead tired. I was nodding off while driving down the hill from Scott Liska's. I'd like to sleep in the van but the gasoline smell is over-powering. I'm going to do some work on the laptop station at Kinkos, then go get some dinner and then take these guys to the airport.

The Young Turks liked the Tidal Bore. They thought it was worth it. This was only a "Three Star" so it didn't have a lot of oomph behind it, but it was still an exciting thing to see. The wave had some power in parts of it and I saw some perfect, one-foot lefts spinning off this sandbar and that. I think there is a correlation between "Stars" and points on the Richter scale. A "Three Star" bore is a little more impressive than a 3.0 earthquake, and I think there is an order of magnitude like a Richter scale, because a "Five Star" tidal bore has some power.

Anyway, drove all the way from Valdez to Anchorage, made it to the Tidal Bore with tome to spare. Two of the Young Turks liked it and I fired off a bunch more e-mails to everyone involved.

This was a response to Shawn Alladio.

Ben,

I can take a 6-8' wave front or back and overtake it depending upon the equipment I am using...not a problem.........I'm not too concerned about that just lining up my boat...I'll be in a law enforcement class on Tuesday till Saturday til I can verify my Waverunner contact.............need a good boat, I've already ordered a custom rescue board...FYI

Shawnie

SHAWN

THIS WILL BE A WEIRD LITTLE CHALLENGE FOR YOU. THE VOLUME OF WATER ISN'T ALL THAT GREAT, BUT IT'S JUST MOVING FUNNY, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

TODAY THERE WAS PLENTY OF WATER IN FRONT OF THE WAVE AND YOU WOULD HAVE HAD NO TROUBLE GOING OVER, IN FRONT OF AND BEHIND IT.

A FIVE STAR DAY IS GOING TO BE A LITTLE DIFFERENT MATTER.

ALSO, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO DRAG THREE OR FOUR GUYS FROM BIRD POINT ABOUT A HALF-MILE UP THE CHANNEL TO WHERE THE WAVE STARTS AGAIN? YOU MIGHT HAVE TO TAKE THEM ALL AT ONCE, WITH THEIR BOARDS...

STILL LOOKING FOR WHERE TO PUT IN AND TAKE OUT.

THE TIDAL RANGE IN THIS PLACE IS BERSERK. DONT WANT TO GET A TRAILER STUCK IN THE MUD, APPARENTLY ONE WOMAN DIED HERE, ON HER HONEYMOON WHEN SHE WENT OUT ONTO THE FLATS ON AN ATV AND GOT STUCK-ON THE ATV. THEY PUT AN AIR HOSE TO HER WHEN THE TIDE CAME IN AND SHE DROWNED.

ANOTHER WOMAN WAS NEARLY RIPPED IN HALF WHEN THEY TRIED TO GET HER OUT WITH A HELICOPTER.

FUN FUN FUN

YOU GUYS ARE GOING TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN FIGURING THIS BUGGER OUT.

YOU'LL SEE.

THE TURKS GOT ALL JAZZED WHEN THEY SAW IT.

I'LL LOOK INTO THE SKI SITUATION.

BEN

Now it's 21:24 and I'm in Kinkos. The gas can stunk up my car again so I put it on the roof. Safely, I hope.

Team Turkey wants to get moving. I'll take them to the airport, sleep somewhere tonight and head back to Valdez.

Looks like the Tidal Bore thing is going to work. After that, I don't know.