New York Waves
The most beautiful lines of poetry contain no words at all.
After a long day in the water I often feel and see the movement of the ocean when I close my eyes to sleep. There are many activities which I remember after the fact, but surfing is the only one which I feel for hours after the session has ended. Even now, when I shut my eyes I can see and feel the rise and fall of the ocean as if it were part of me and I part of it.
“If in doubt, paddle out”
This evening pictured at left was the epitome of what draws me back to the waves. We must have driven around for 5 hours checking multiple spots with no waves prior to this shot. Then, just before we threw in the towel, we made one final pass down the beach and Benno said “if we see a set in the next 30 seconds we’re getting in.” And we did. Then the ocean came alive for an hour before the sun went down and the sky lit up as it rarely does making its own effort to help us enjoy every last second of that evening. Enjoyment would be putting it mildly. I caught one shoulder high lefthand runner into the sunset that is forever etched into the deepest corner of my brain. All it takes is one.
Field Notes.
The “Poor to Fair” days certainly out number the “Good to Epic” ones by a large margin out east, but that keeps it interesting. The beach breaks also occasionally turn on for surprise sessions unpredicted by the surf forecasting apps which can result in epic evenings with few other surfers in the water.
The beach breaks of New York present challenges from both surfing and photography perspectives, and perhaps that’s what makes the good waves & shots more meaningful and memorable. Also, the bacon egg and cheese from Sean’s place in Southampton is a nice consolation on mornings when you’re up early and the waves don’t deliver.