HURRICANE EARL + LONG BEACH, NY = NORTHEAST HEAVEN Phlogging The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season With Tom Dugan And Dick “Mez” Meseroll Words and photos by Tom Dugan
So I’m sitting on a
bench on the Long Beach, NY, boardwalk taking some lineup photos when I hear
someone say to me, “What are you doing taking photos at my beach?” Oh boy, more
freaking localism. I turn to tell the guy that I’m just here to snap some shots
of the locals, and when I do I see the smiling face of Unsound Surf Shop
Co-Owner/ ESM Senior Photographer
Mike “Nellie” Nelson just doing what they do in New York: busting chops.
Boy was I relieved
it was not some asshole really pissed off at this guy from Florida on a weekend
pass in New York to shoot Hurricane Earl. Nellie is the man in Long Beach, and
he knows when and where to shoot. All the boys were mostly out of the water and
off for some pizza, but he said he would call me later to let me know where the
next session would be going down. After a few more lineup shots —
including the one you will see here of Sean Killarney taking the top off of a
wave — I headed for some lunch myself.
After lunch, I was
taking more scenic shots when my cell rang with Nellie telling me there was
some new talent to shoot and where to go. It was strange, but I was right at
the street where he was telling me to meet them. Finding a parking spot was
another story, but once I did I hightailed it down to the beach. It was “all-time”
with only a few surfers out, but about 50 people on the dunes watching the
growing surf. One by one the talent made its way down to the beach, and it
was on.
Local grom Balaram
Stack was getting some bombs and had the beach crowd hooting, but visiting New
Jersey surfer Sam Hammer was the man. Sam got in and out of more tubes than
anyone that afternoon, and his knowledge of the barrel was a sight to behold.
He sat deep and just waited for the good ones.
Now taking photos
is my passion, but watching Sammy get all those tubes made me really want to
surf, just because you could tell how much fun he was having and how much I was
not having. Although I was stoked to be getting the shots… finally... after
being in New York for over a week.
The funny thing is
none of this would have happened if my plane had not been cancelled due to
Hurricane Earl. Not since Hurricane Bob in 1991 has Long Island been hit by a
hurricane. But Earl was predicted to hit later in the day, so services were
cancelled, including planes and trains. I was planning on splitting at around 1:00
p.m. to catch my flight back to Florida, until I got the call that the flight
was cancelled. And I was never so happy at missing a flight home as I was that
day, since it meant I would be there for the afternoon session.
We brought in the
lawn furniture where I was staying in preparation of the high winds expected
later in the day, and as predicted, the waves did peak as the day went on. The
winds got a bit strong, but were in our favor as it was mostly offshore all day
long. Thanks Nellie for turning me on to the “spot,” and thanks Hurricane Earl
for the swell. Let’s do it again real soon…
Check back Wednesday, September 8th for another installment of www.EasternSurf.com's Phlogging The 2010 Atlantic Hurricane Season With Tom Dugan And Dick “Mez” Meseroll
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