My spiritual surfing home. It is where just about every wave I have ever surfed has been generated. (Barring one session on the Indian Ocean side in South Africa which was not great because I was put off the whole time by being more than a bit concerned about the Great Whites known to be under my board!) It is often considered the little brother to the larger Pacific, but waves surfed recently off the coast of Ireland, Portugal and France have shown to the world how heavy it can be.
New York itself was reminded of this shortly before my trip when Hurricane Sandy trashed just about everything in its path along the Eastern Seaboard. There is no real evidence of it left in the city that I have seen, but my plans to visit Liberty Island to see the statue there, and Ellis island where millions of immigrants got their first taste of the US have been curtailed because they are still cleaning up the mess left behind by the storm there. Took a boat trip around the islands though and got a few snaps of them both, and have at least managed to get on the water, even if the only wave I have seen is the bow wave off the front of the boat. Am a little concerned that my plans to hire some gear locally will have been hampered by Sandy destroying all the surf shacks where I might have hired some gear. I will know more once I get closer to the beaches.
