Bob Hastings From The Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce forwards this-
On The Travel Channel’s Website Bert Writes–
It is impossible to write about the Massachusetts episode and not focus on the Greasy Pole competition. I have never had a better time or been more welcomed into a community than in Gloucester, Massachusetts. At the same time, I have never been more embarrassed by one of my performances than I was that day on the Greasy Pole. I have no defense and I will not try to justify my weak-ass attempt at getting the flag. I will, however, point out a few things I think are important to acknowledge before we BOTH call me a wimp.
First and foremost, I am somewhat of a wimpy man. Case in point: I live in L.A. Not a lot of hardcore, real men move to L.A. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Joe Rogan. Having said that, my performance at the Greasy Pole should not highlight what a wimpy man I am, but rather highlight what real men I was surrounded by. These were dudes with big, fat, rough hands. Guys that when they slap you on the back after a joke, it hurts (or at least it did me). Guys that don’t rupture spleens or get knocked unconscious; I do.
Second, I was at least ten years older than anyone on the platform (not counting my director LANI who was on the platform and much older than me). If this show has given me anything it is the realization that with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes fear, which sometimes sadly results in weak-ass attempts at Greasy Pole flags.
Last, and certainly not least, there were plenty of people that day that didn’t do the competition, and for good reason. A thirty foot fall, off a greased-up pole, into ten feet of water is, to say the least, intense. I would like to think that had I gotten a chance to try it four more times (like I thought I would) I would have been charging it just as hard as the rest of them. But as I sit here in my hotel room watching “Maury,” I can’t honestly say I would have. Thankfully I have twelve months to build up my courage and my core because next year, I will be a GREASY POLE CHAMP!!!
Here is the video I took of Bert’s Greasy Pole walk from the beach
And here was Bert’s Trailer from the Pole-
Surfland (
Good Morning Gloucester 