WHAT ZEV SAYS:
SHOOTING THE BULL WITH ICEBREAK WINNER ZEV GARTNER

By Mike Fish

ESM: So how was it surfing in the Red Bull Icebreak... finally?
ZG: It was super fun with an awesome vibe—at least once things got up and running. There was a bit of drama in the morning when the event organizers were trying to decide if and when to hold the contest. It was cold, windy, rainy, and generally miserable out. Eventually, they decided to hold a vote in order to let the surfers decide. There was a little discussion, with each faction presenting their case—very democratic-like—and the “let’s hold it” guys won. Embarrassingly, I voted against it.

ESM: What?... Why did you vote no?
ZG: Well, the New Hampshire qualifier was so good—it was really dramatic. And my thinking was if it was going to be a big-wave event, we should wait until the fall for a big hurricane swell. But we were parked at The Wall when we voted. So we didn’t know what it was going to be like at the Rocks.

ESM: Was there any head-butting during the voting process?
ZG: It was kind of a weird situation. On one hand, everyone knew the Jersey guys drove all night to get there, and on the other hand the organizers wanted better surf. I just didn’t know whether or not they were going to make us paddle out at The Wall. And I didn’t want to do that because it was complete shite. But once they ended up calling it, it was really fun.

ESM: What sets the Icebreak apart from other contests you’ve surfed in?
ZG: About 20 degrees of water temperature and two to four millimeters of rubber. And the surf was good—nowhere near as good as the New Hampshire qualifier, which was epic, but super fun by almost anyone’s standards.

ESM: How did you prepare mentally and physically for the grueling event?
ZG: Um, I watched a lot of surf videos. The surf was abysmal this winter.

ESM: Were you getting edgy as the three-month waiting period was drawing to a close?
ZG: Yeah, a bit. I was itching to get out of New England for a while—go on a surf trip or something. Anywhere warm. But I was afraid that if I decided to bail, I’d get bad luck and they’d hold the contest two days after I left.

ESM: But your luck turned out pretty good, eh?
ZG: Yup.

ESM: That hefty $4000 first-place check could certainly finance a few warm surf trips...
ZG: I’ve already taken a couple surf trips in the last couple years on “credit” from the IRS, so $2000 goes directly to Uncle Sam. Then there are the parking tickets. I think I pay the salary of several Somerville, MA, parking cops—at least. I’m thinking of saving the rest for a huge trip when I graduate, maybe an around-the-world ticket, or something of the sort. I still haven’t been to Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa.

ESM: How do you think the contest will evolve in the future?
ZG: I talked to Jack Fleming, one of the contest organizers, and he told me they have all kinds of semisecret spots scoped out for next year’s event, which should be cool. I really like that idea—not knowing where they’re going to hold it would make it more of a wild card.

ESM: There is almost an invisible line drawn to encase the New England surfing community somewhere below Rhode Island and above New York. What do you think the New Jersey guys brought to the event that couldn’t be found further north?
ZG: I was totally impressed with the Jersey guys’ surfing. I always surf the Rocks, and it was cool to see a few new faces in the lineup—especially when those guys were out there killing it. I know you don’t really think of Jersey as New England, but I think it definitely added to the contest.

ESM: How was the overall level of surfing?
ZG: I was blown away. Everyone was going all out. But the guys who came up from Jersey were completely KILLING IT! They were getting “oohs” and “aahs” on every wave. Kevin Morris and Andrew Gessler especially stood out to me. They were just taking the place apart.

ESM: Was there any drama as the final heat unfolded?
ZG: I knew I needed three solid waves to do well. So early on I just upped my wave count with medium ones, and then waited on the boil for set waves the rest of the heat. I ended up lucking into two or three good ones—the best of which was in the final minute. My last wave must have done it, because I was able to connect a bunch of turns almost to the beach. Regardless, every time I paddled back out, it seemed like the other guys were getting these nuggets that lined up nicely. So I wasn’t feeling too confident, even at the end.

ESM: What was a standout moment of the contest for you?
ZG: A ten-year-old asked for my autograph and then drew me a picture of a Powerpuff girl surfing. That was classic.

ESM: Tell us about Harvard life.
ZG: I’m a graduate student in the Department of Chemistry—but my work overlaps heavily with biology. I’ve been working the last four years to develop a system which will allow us to use the principles of evolution to discover new pharmaceuticals—essentially forcing potential drugs to evolve themselves, much like bacteria evolve to overcome stresses in their environments. Ultimately, it would dramatically enhance our ability to discover new therapies for various diseases.

ESM: Well, it certainly sounds like you have your hands and mind full. Are there any parallels between surfing and your science work in the lab?
ZG: Hmmm... basically anything I say here, I’m going to take shit for. As far as parallels go, I guess you could say that a passion for both is a prerequisite to being any good at either of them. Especially in New England where three-foot surf looks pretty uninviting when the wind is 25 knots out of the northeast and there’s two feet of snow on the ground. However, I’d say they’re pretty different for the most part—but complimentary in that one sort of takes the edge off the other. Lab work moves pretty slowly and the rewards come over the long term. By comparison, surfing is instant gratification.

SURFING WITHIN THE RANKS:
IS SHAWN GARRY'S THE MILITARY'S BEST EASTERN SURFER?

By Noah Garrett

Shawn Garry isn’t your ordinary “military man.” A DC1 in the U.S. Coast Guard (That’s Damage Control to you, son!) the 29-year-old has kept his dutiful commitment to serving his country for the last two years within the jurisdiction of the coast’s most dangerous nautical areas, “the Graveyard of the Atlantic”—North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Shawn’s actually been a guardsman for more than six years, being stationed at two other East Coast bases prior to settling, at least for now, at U.S. Coast Guard Group Cape Hatteras in Buxton, NC.

Adding to a cumbersome and sometimes stressful workload, Shawn also plays family man within the perimeter of his new Avon home with wife Emile and daughters Isabella, 4, and Ava, 17 months. As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, he also volunteers at the Buxton Fire Department and offers free surf lessons to the other 42 men, women, and families stationed within the small village community. With one of the Right Coast’s heaviest, most consistent breaks right outside his backyard, there’s no better place for a non-civilian surfer to do his tour of duty. Oh yeah, did we forget to mention that he’s a three-time East Coast Military Surfing Champion and was even featured as an ESM Who Da Guy back in 1996? (Can we pick ‘em or what?) We caught up with the Ocean City, MD-born waterman to talk about military life post-9-11, and how surfing within the military ranks can help promote a healthy and less-stressful lifestyle during one of the highest security alerts in U.S. history. In accordance with that, this interview was conducted in the presence of a commanding officer, Lt.j.g. Jason Ingram.

ESM: So, when did you decide to be all you can be?
SG: I was working as a waiter at the Cliffhouse Restaurant in San Francisco, CA, when this one day I saw a girl get sucked out into the bay during a tide change. While everyone watched what was going on, a Coast Guard helicopter dropped a basket into the water and saved this girl. That’s when I knew. And I figured that being in the Coast Guard would always mean being around the ocean.

ESM: How was boot camp? Any good stories?
SG: Being a surfer prepared me for boot camp because it gave me an edge over some of the other recruits. My training was in Cape May, NJ—which has great surf—especially on a north swell, and that did get me in trouble once when I got caught skylarking.

ESM: Skylarking? Uh, that’s bad, right?
SG: It’s basically when you get caught daydreaming. I remember staring out at the ocean one day and seeing perfect six to eight-foot swells, and the company commander caught me not paying attention. He put me through three nonstop hours of PT (physical training). I ended up winning the Most Physically Fit Award, though. But mentally, boot camp was torture because for eight weeks I couldn’t do anything but stare at the surf.

ESM: Was it worth it?
SG: Definitely. This is absolutely the service to be in if you’re a surfer. Military life has given me a lot more stability, and I really enjoy the discipline.

ESM: You enlisted before 9-11, what’s changed since?
SG: I’m not exactly sure that I’m allowed to say. My job is to oversee housing, facilities, and boat maintenance problems, with a specialty in welding. I guess, in general, I can say that the biggest change we’ve made here is that we’ve tightened security and closed the public beach access just north of the base. Our jobs haven’t changed much, but the workload has nearly doubled. [Ingram steps in to assist here.] As far as patrols, our support units go out and perform coastline patrols the same as always, but they’ve definitely increased in frequency.

ESM: Specifically, what are some of the special measures being used to increase homeland security?
SG & INGRAM: We can’t really answer that, but someone higher up can. We like to make sure that as many questions as possible are answered, so hang tight... [the two exit briefly] In a prepared statement provided a short time later on paper, the Coast Guard Public Affairs Office issued this response: On March 1st, the U.S. Coast Guard became part of the newly-created U.S. Department of Homeland Security... The Coast Guard remains a multi-mission, military, maritime service and we will continue to perform a wide range of security, safety, law enforcement and emergency response missions.

ESM: Wow, awesome answer! On another note, has increased security and heavier workloads affected your surf time any?
SG: Sure, but sometimes we get to take “surf lunches” where we combine the day’s physical training with our lunchbreak. Most times, though, I eat fast so I can stay in the water longer. Also, what’s really cool—if I could mention this here—is that I started giving surf lessons during my free time, so it gives me even more time in the water. I would say that 25-percent of the people now stationed here surf, and many are new surfers, so that’s cool.

ESM: Have you ever been surfing and pulled from the water for an emergency?
SG: I remember one time I was surfing and I had to run in and fix one of our boats. We don’t have super boats or anything, they’re just like everybody else’s. And they do break down. But they are our lifeline and must be running at top levels. That’s where I come in.

ESM: Speaking of top levels, can you shed some light on these surfing titles?
SG: Sure, whaddya want to know?

ESM: First of all, what and where are these contests?
SG: The East Coast Military Surfing Association holds annual championships in Virginia Beach, VA. It’s usually at the First Street Jetty, but we’re trying to get it moved down here this year. The competition is open to all active, reserve, retired, and veteran personnel in any service division—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard—and I’ve won my division three times—the Men’s division in 1999 and both Masters titles the last two years.

ESM: You’ve done other contests, what’s the difference?
SG: Winning in the military is a big deal. Let’s say you win an ESA contest within your home district and you go to work the next day and everyone’s all like, “Yeah [sigh], that’s cool.” It’s not like that in the service, especially here. In the military, you come into work the next day and everyone’s like “Right on! You da man!” It just means more, especially when you bring home the Commander’s Cup.

ESM: What’s the Commander’s Cup?
SG: That’s the top team prize, so to speak, within the Military Championships. Last year—and sorry, but I have to brag about this—Group got the most points and won the Cup, which is a four-foot-tall trophy that gets to stay here until the next year. It’s all about the bragging rights [laughs].

ESM: Speaking of bragging rights, we kicked some serious ass in the Middle East. What are some of your thoughts on Operation Iraqi Freedom?
SG: Wow, that’s a pretty deep question. Umm... I’d have to say that I back President Bush 100-percent in what he’s done and what he’s doing. It was essential for us to go over there so those folks can experience the freedoms that we take for granted everyday. Really, I just want to say thank you to everyone who did their part while over there.

ESM: How long do you plan to stay in the Coast Guard?
SG: I want to do 20 years, then get out and become a beach bum again. Basically, I’ll be 42 when I retire, and I’ll probably just open a taco stand or something... get back to the basics.