Surf Fire Island

New York invades AST Nicaragua (La Barra) Surf Camp

Otis — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:04:09 +0000

Escaping a dull spring on the east coast 4 New Yorkers frothing for some barrel time flew to Nicaragua to find some empty lefts that we had heard about through my friend Dave Hall who runs ASTadventures.com. The Puerto Sandino camp is located in central Nicaragua way off the beaten path and charts of most surfers who visit this Central American country.

The small fishing village of Puerto Sandino is just that, a community of locals who live a very simple life with hardly none of the amenities and comforts us gringos are accustomed to. When you see a bull sleeping halfway in the door of a shanty house with the family, you know your not in Kansas anymore. Places like this can scare the living shit out of you if you are not open to these things…you have to embrace it…you have to NOT feel sorry for the living conditions you see, otherwise you are missing the point.

The point is that these are real people… people who smile, laugh and live their lives proudly. There is definitely something to be said for being taken out of one’s comfort zone. It toughens you up, makes you appreciate what you’ve got. Makes you understand that our material culture has its flaws too. In a sense you are stepping back in time…and here time moves much slower than we are used to.

In Ortega's Nicaragua most people live on less than $2/day

The AST camp is strategically situated right in front of Punta Miramar, on a bluff overlooking three super fun breaks. The house has amazing views of the Pacific Ocean sunsets. The house is clean and well taken care of….(despite some birds and other creature taking residence in the roof.)

All meals were cooked for us by the local chef who made all of us such amazing local fare that we all felt like kings after each and every meal. The crew at the house made sure we had everything we needed throughout the week and we always felt safe and well looked after as a result. You can easily live in the “cocoon” of this camp and forget about the poverty that surrounds you…Our surf guide put us on the waves,which are tidal driven here and can turn on and off like a switch.

Looking up at the La Barra house AST

The waves, as one would hope, were the star of the show. La Barra, which is the sound a freight train makes as it chugs along the tracks, is a world class left that breaks for well over 300 yards and has multiple barrel sections. This wave is only accessible by boat and the AST boat has probably the best captain, Max, who put us on the wave and provided excellent local knowledge.

We fell in love with this wave immediately and had our best sessions there each day we went. While La Barra was definitely the main attraction, there is something to be said about having three different waves within walking distance of the camp. Just to the left is “chicken bowls” a fun punchy left that we scored all by ourselves each afternoon at high tide. Further up the beach in the opposite direction is Punta Miramar, a shelf left that was a bit tricky but fun and pipes, another reef point break that we got good one day.

yours truly soaking up La Barra

The AST Puerto Sandino camp is an all inclusive travel option. We were picked up and dropped off at the airport promptly and safely without any delays or issues. The food was amazing and the crew looked after our every need. I have been to and seen quite a few surf camps in the past few years and I would recommend this camp to anyone who is looking for a real, authentic surf experience.

If you are looking for a party and lots of non-surfing things to do (i.e. restaurants, nightlife) this is probably not the place for you (although the historic city of Leon is only 45 minutes away and has all that and some). Surfing and relaxing are the main things going on here at La Barra…and that was just fine with me. There were hardly no crowds to speak of which is rare these days…especially at a world class wave like La Barra. If you have any questions about traveling to this camp please feel free to contact me.

AST La Barra Nicaragua

NY hits Central Nicaragua

View photos at SmugMug

New York “winter” so far

Otis — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:51:37 +0000

This is a two month feature spanning December and January which usually are cold and stormy. Last year saw record snowfall, freezing temperatures and if I recall, not that many waves. What a difference a year makes! Some call it global warming, I prefer climate change, but either way it’s been a crazy “winter” here in NY…but we ain’t complaining….(not yet at least we still have February to get through.) Hope you all are enjoying 2012! Thanks for your viewership and support!

NY “winter” so far

View photos at SmugMug

A November To Remember!

Otis — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:41:38 +0000

November is transition time here in New York and that usually means waves. The air cools, days shorten and storms start brewing. This November featured a bunch of offshore storms that sent Hurricane like pulses up and down the east coast to start the month…amazingly we had temperatures in the upper 50′s and low 60′s coupled with light offshore winds! It was definetley a warm month that helped keep the crowds larger than normal….let’s see how that goes as the temps. drop and the water goes from chilly to Freezing….not that I’m looking foward to that! Enjoy the photos and see you on the beach.

View the entire album at Smugmug

View photos at SmugMug

Oktoberfest on Fire Island

Otis — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:57:58 +0000

October is almost always my favorite month here on Long Island. The beautiful skies, the migrating fish and birds and oh yeah great waves! This October didn’t feature hurricane swells (besides Ophelia) but we did see a crazy Noreaster that occured on the anniversary of the Perfect Storm. We also had a bunch of smaller fun days….the type of days that make Fire Island shine (think 3ft perfection). So here’s to October! Now its on to the cold months where only the diehards tread. Enjoy the Album and get the winter suits ready! Thanks again for all your support!

View the entire album at Smugmug

View photos at SmugMug

EasyCanvasPrints.Com

Otis — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:11:40 +0000

EASY CANVAS PRINTS

As most of you who frequent this website know it started as a daily surf report. Basically, Otis (my loyal best friend yellow Labrador) and I would head down to the beach every morning to shoot some photos of the wave conditions and I would post them.

I started shooting with a hand held video camera that also shot stills. The quality sucked and at that time I really didn’t care. To me a photo was a photo and besides I wasn’t trying to impress anyone with my photography skills…just how the waves looked. While I didn’t realize it at the time I was learning a new trade…very slowly. I eventually upgraded to a much better camera and began looking through the lens differently. While surfing the empty waves of New York will always be my number one passion I have to say surf photography is a close second. I continue to improve but am nowhere near being a professional….

Recently I was contacted by Easy Canvas Prints with an offer to have one of my photos printed on canvas in exchange for some advertising. I jumped at the opportunity but had reservations about how the photo would look on canvas. I decided to go with a surf shot that I took last spring. The waves were super fun that day (in the chest + range). I was shooting empty waves for a while when I saw some driftwood up in the dunes. I decided to try and get a shot of these peeling lefts with the driftwood giving the lineup some depth and perspective. When I saw it on my computer at home that evening I was very happy with the shot. The only problem was there was a ton of glare from the afternoon sun so I decided to turn it into a black and white photo. I received some great feedback from friends when I posted the shot.

I decided to use this photo partly because I love the photo and also because I was curious to see how well a black and white would look when put on canvas. I was afraid that it would be too dark and wouldn’t show the detail of the driftwood. Needless to say when the print arrived (much quicker than I thought and in a perfectly packed box) I was pleasantly surprised. The print looked great and lost none of the depth or quality of the original. The photo wraps around the border and the wave appears to peel endlessly…

Notice how the wave wraps around the border

The ordering process at easycanvasprints.com is very simple. Here it is in 5 steps:
1: Click “Start Designing Now.”
2: Choose your desired size canvas and desired wrap thickness.
3: Upload your photo of choice.
4. Choose the border style and optional color finishing or image retouching.
5: Add your canvas to the shopping cart and proceed to checkout.

: Canvas wrap

Hurricane Katia Lights Up Fire Island!

Otis — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:40:02 +0000

September is usually THE month for warm weather/water, Hurricane swells and offshore winds here in NY. What made this September different was that the World Tour came here to try and score these conditions we New Yorkers are so fond of. Amazingly (or right on schedule) Hurricane Katia came marching up the east coast far enough offshore to send us days worth of swell with Friday September 9th being the most epic day….a day that will be long remembered in Long Beach.

While I did my best to avoid the contest and focused on finding my own perfect waves away from the crowds, it was great to see the world learn that NY does get great waves….and we are only in September! This could be a great fall with the second half of the Hurricane season and the beginning of Nor’Easter season here. Gotta Love New York in the fall! View the entire album at Smugmug

View photos at SmugMug

May Day(s)!

Otis — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:29:21 +0000

A foggy start to the month ended with gorgeous weather…and the crowds appeared all at once it seemed! There were some fun waves when you could see through the fog and warmer water has everyone out of the winter suits and feeling much lighter! Here’s to May and the beginning of what is hopefully a wave filled, fun summer. SEE YOU ON THE BEACH!

View the entire album at smugmug

View photos at SmugMug

April Barrels on Fire Island

Otis — Wed, 04 May 2011 13:07:47 +0000

An April Fool’s Noreaster started off what turned out to be a solid month of surf here in New York. We also had a ton of fog and chilly days here on the south shore as well…but finally the weather has warmed and summer is right around the corner! Here are some of the stand-outs for the month. Props go out to Carl Rose who took some great shots of the April Fool’s swell. View the entire album here

View photos at SmugMug

TIDES OF MARCH

Otis — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:10:58 +0000

After a brutal New York winter March proved to be a welcomed change of season for Long Island surfers (despite winter-like weather for most of the month!) There were quite a few fun 2-4 ft days and a couple of larger swells, including a April Fool’s Noreaster! With spring finally starting to warm up the water and longer days there should be plenty of chances to score some fun surf before the flatness of summer kicks in. Go get some and enjoy the spring!

View photos at SmugMug

Long…Long Island Winter

Otis — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 21:50:21 +0000

What a cold, and often flat winter we had here on Long Island. Despite some huge storms and record blizzards charging through the area we basically got skunked this winter…as did most of the East Coast for that matter! There were a few memorable moments sprinkled in though and our trip to the Outer Banks in late February has some great surf as well. Here’s to some warmer weather and hopefully a wave filled spring!
View the entire album here

View photos at SmugMug