Beyond The Waves

https://spark.adobe.com/page/qpcnj8K9yFHzk/

s-“After 7:21 am it will be coming back up.. and it will be interesting to see how the coast interacts with -like- how it’ll wrap around the point.. cause it’s really sharp south facing and-”

I interrupt him to slow down the pace.. I’m confused.

p-“Did you go this far when you were there last time?”

s-“Yeah.. but. I didn’t go all the way around, I want to go all the way around and back because the wind is coming out of the North NorthEast. Last time I went in, I camped for a couple hours where it comes to a point like right at the edge of the reef. Basically the part of the reef that isn’t in the water. I think the water on the reef will be too big to surf. The last time I was there, when we got there we could see the waves breaking under the full moon. We didn’t even need headlamps.”

As he updates the web page for surf reports that he just checked 20 minutes ago he blurts out wave heights, wind speeds and directions, jargon that non-surfers like me don’t fully understand.. As he shows me the coast line on Google Maps on his iPhone, it is evident that the amount of enthusiasm and passion for one thing is not of shortage. He zooms in to show me tiny details on an expanse of coast line, accurately depicting the waves movement and action. 

s- “I just want you to get nice shots of waves. Like, get nice shots of waves. If there an unbelievable wave breaking, focus on that. Even if i’m out in the water. It doesn’t matter. If there happens to be a nice wave and i’m right in front of it and theres nothing else taking priority, so be it. Who knows if thats gonna happen. I’m not worried if it doesn’t, like I really- I don’t want you to feel any pressure. I don’t really get to surf enough to be a good surfer.”

It seemed as if the pressure was on him. And it was, because he was the subject and I was the one with the gear to reproduce some imagery. We both understood that it was hard to say exactly if the conditions would be as expected, and if we would get what we were going for. Goal: Get some quality photos and video, find some quality waves, enjoy each others company. It’s safe to say that the expectations for me were high, but I have been in plenty situations where one thing I was expecting to experience had not happened. Such is life. 

p- “The numbers look pretty exciting, I’ve never looked at those reports before so I don’t know..”

s- “Yeah.. If you had, you’d be shitting bricks right now because that never happens. You don’t see that in New England. The buoy outside of Boston right now where my brothers and I used to go striper fishing is reading 22feet at 18seconds.. 22FEET at 18seconds..”

The excitement is clear. He puts images in my head about future aspirations with his brothers involving 13′ long surf boards, jet skis, and boats with a fucking sauna on it.. In order to get to some legendary surf spots, it takes some serious planning and determination. Also some good ol’ fashioned imagination. He recalls waves from the last time he was at the spot we were planning to be at..

s- “This though dude, -I’m so like-.. Literally the way I describe it, they were chocolate peelers dude. Glassy chocolate peelers. ‘Cause the way they were coming into the cove..”

Again he goes into detail about the oceans forces and how wind speeds and direction affect the waves motion and magnitude, where they will break and in what direction and so on.. Sometimes it feels like I am hearing the same thing over and over, but I realize that being able to determine these things based on a few weather reports has become second nature for him. He finds the coves, watches the reports, and determines when the perfect time will be for him to make his commute and get into the water. I can see the fire in his eyes as he pitches one idea after the other.