The League

Winter Surfer

by David Ryan · January 20, 2013

David Ryan

David Ryan is a boat builder and USCG licensed master captain. He is the owner of Sailing Montauk and skipper of Montauk''s charter sailing catamaran MON TIKI You can follow him on Twitter @CaptDavidRyan

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Tod Kelly says:

January 20, 2013 at 6:12 pm

Brrrr.Report
- David Ryan in reply to Tod Kelly says:
  
  January 20, 2013 at 6:31 pm
  
  Historical sea surface temperature plot for NOAA buoy 44025:
  
  http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/view_climplot.php?station=44025&meas=stReport
  - Tod Kelly in reply to David Ryan says:
    
    January 20, 2013 at 7:53 pm
    
    I say again: brrrr.Report
Roger says:

January 20, 2013 at 8:04 pm

Awesome pic!

I got a chance to get in a couple of hours of surfing this AM too. Of course it was in the mid sixties and sunny in SoCal (Encinitas) and the water was mid fifties. I cannot even imagine surfing the north Atlantic in the winter.Report
- David Ryan in reply to Roger says:
  
  January 20, 2013 at 8:55 pm
  
  I bought my first hooded 5/3 Thanksgiving weekend of 1996. By the end of January ’97 my wife and I were married and we had a bid in on the house where we live today. Never would have considered buying a house in Montauk — except that with a 5/3 you could surf year ’round.
  
  I blew out my booties and gloves around the same time I spent the Winter on INTEMPERANCE in the Caribbean. 83 degree water will spoil you. When I got back I was in no hurry to buy new ones.
  
  But a couple days ago I was down at Ditch. It was clear and cold, with just a hint of an offshore breaze and a clean waist-high line. Two people were out, but were hapless. Wave after wave was rolling through, gentle and unridden. Yesterday I went down to Air & Speed and got new boots and gloves.Report
  - Roger in reply to David Ryan says:
    
    January 21, 2013 at 4:51 pm
    
    We’ve been getting a ground swell from North of Japan. Hiked down the cliffs to Black’s beach today. Gorgeous day. But I had forgotten it was a holiday. Big crowds and long lulls.
    
    Half the fun is just being out there though.Report
James Hanley says:

January 20, 2013 at 9:51 pm

You really know how to frame a photograph. Great visual balance, dynamic lines, and rich color. Me likey.Report
- David Ryan in reply to James Hanley says:
  
  January 20, 2013 at 11:47 pm
  
  Thanks, James. 🙂
  
  We’re doing a rebuild of the SailingMontauk.com site, and my wife and I have been studying travel and tourism sites. A lot of the ones we like use very exaggerated horizontal aspect ratio photography. These sorts of “wide-screen” shots are good for scenic images, but don’t fit so well into the aspect ratio of a magazine, so we’re not accustomed to seeing this sort of framing.
  
  They do seem to work well in a browser window, so I’ve been experimenting with 16:9, 2:1, 2.35:1 (cinemascope), and even 3:1. Combined with a wide lens, the exaggerated perspective (that’s what makes the dynamic lines) and a sight-line that stays near the horizon (not too much sky or too much foreground) does a pretty good job of capturing the emotional feeling of “Wow, this place is gorgeous!” that you get when you’re at a gorgeous place at a nice time of day.Report
- Glyph in reply to James Hanley says:
  
  January 21, 2013 at 1:20 pm
  
  Seconded, that is a beautiful photo.Report