Wondering what the hell you're looking at? Yeah us too.
When the water got so cold in Nantucket (an island off the
Massachusetts coast) the surface all but froze over completely, leaving
just about enough liquid to pump out these flawless little slush tubes.
"When I pulled up to the beach I could see the horizon just looked strange," recalls photographer local Jonathan Nimerfroh. "Fromthe top off the dunes I saw that beginning about 300 yards away from the shoreline the ocean was starting to freeze."
Since the surface of the sea was frozen slush, the wind didn't change the shape.
According to Jonathan, this day in Nantucket, didn't see temperatures exceed 19 degrees Fahrenheit, that's about minus 7 Celsius. "The wind was howling from the southwest which would typically make rough or choppy conditions. Not so good for surfing," he explains." But since the surface of the sea was frozen slush, the wind didn't change the shape." The result were these fantasy, creamy, ice pits. "Most waves were around 2ft with some larger sets slushing through around 3ft. What an experience to be absolutely freezing on the beach watching these roll in while I mind-surfed them. I wonder if a shaper can make me a special designed slurfboard?"
Sadly, it seems these slush tubes have a small window of opportunity in which they do their thing. "The next day I drove up to see if they melted, but beginning that same 300 yards away from shore the water had frozen solid and there were no waves at all," recollects Jonathan. "I've been asking all the fishermen and surfers I know if they've ever seen such a thing and they've all reported that this is a first, a result of it being the coldest winter we've had in 81 years, I guess."
There were no takers hardy enough this day at Nantucket, but we'd love to see someone give it a crack. Who fancies the ultimate ice cream headache inducing tube? Empty of course.
All photos by Jonathan Nimerfroh.
