While Hurricane Irma barreled through the Caribbean, surfers in the Northeast enjoyed the one impossible-to-ignore upside of the devastating storm. Irma sent solid ground swell over a thousand miles, and while surfers in New York and New Jersey know the repercussions from these mega storms all too well, they couldn’t help but enjoy the beauty that Irma sent up the coast while tragically destroying lives to the south.
The day was one for the books. I met up with Alex DePhillipo and Andrew Gesler at 6:00 a.m., and most spots looked pretty crappy. We got breakfast and waited on the tides and within a couple hours, it was on. It’s crazy to think about how powerful Irma was. She was so far away and sending us these perfect, peaky waves. It’s hard to think of how destructive she was while we are hooting and hollering at each other from the lineup. We know all too well about the pain and suffering a major destructive storm brings. In a way, this edit is kind of where chaos meets tranquility. The clips are so mellow, and the light was so beautiful that day, I didn’t want to amp that up in any way. Just relax and enjoy watching some East Coast beauty. Our hearts and thoughts go out to all those affected by the storm. We’re thinking of you.
Featured Surfers: Clay Pollioni, Brendan Tighe, Tommy Ihnken, Andrew Gesler, Sam Hammer and Vic Alarcon
Filmed and Edited by: Etan Blatt
Music: September Song by Agnes Obel
