I can remember the last Hurricane Gert. My buddy Jacko and I were surfing Gert's waves at the wall. It was a special session because Jack's mother's name is Gert. Clearly, we had to surf her waves. And we did and man was that fun. This particular Gert was equally as fun but only down south. Thanks to the long arm of Cape Cod we were blocked by any southern swells trying to hit our shoreline. You either went south or you went north to catch the swell.



I sat around texting my friends asking where they might be. But being typical surfers, they turned a blind eye to me and went surfing without me. I'm not complaining...wait yes I am. These guys know what I do and how I do it. They also know that it would benefit them to let me know where they are surfing. Why? Because my photos and videos feeds their insatiable appetite for fame. Or semi fame. Trust me, they all want to have their pics taken. Same with video. But this time around they all had some kind of brain freeze.

They became surfers without a cause (or rather, a brain).



The only pics they got, were cell phone pics from one of their buddies. Cell phone pics. Like this one (above). While I had fully charged batteries, and all of my gear waiting to go. And, where they all ended up surfing, would have been ideal for some water pics as well.

The water was so warm down south. But alas my friends, my text messages and PM's fell of deaf ears and blind eyes.

They didn't answer any of my text messages for two days.

And look, it would be one thing if they haven't surfed in a while. Most of them had just gotten back from a 10 day Mexico trip that yielded some insane waves. And this was just a couple of weeks ago. So they shouldn't have been jonesing that bad. So what to do? Well, I ended up shooting at home in less than desirable conditions. Certainly no where near the size they got down south. Which only added to my frustration.

But with every dark cloud there's always a silver lining.



And this was no different. I ended up shooting some of the local groms who tend to get lost in the shuffle. And those kids were so stoked that I was taking the time to shoot them. They looked at it as if I was doing them a favor. Truth be told, they were doing me the favor by reminding me what surfing is all about. These kids were stoked out of their minds. And I was there to capture their excitement. And later, my wife Cory joined me as we continued to shoot right through the tide.



Cory shot stills and I shot video. But hold on now, the biggest surprise and treat came not from any of the groms but rather from one of the local women. Natasha Rafferty paddled out and got some cool little waves. For some reason Natasha was not on my radar when it came to looking for and shooting local women surfers for my upcoming movie. I ended up getting a couple of decent rides of hers that earned her a place in my movie.



Now as far as the surfers who blew me off? Hell that's easy. I won't be shooting them the next swell. And that my friends is gonna hurt their tender little egos. What's the old saying? "Payback is a bitch!" (wink wink).



Check out the second name from the last one. "Vince" That was (is) my nickname for many years. If we ever get a Hurricane Vince or a Hurricane Ralph? I don't know what I'd do. Maybe retire for good? Or shoot the hell out of the swell and make another movie.

The movie below will now also feature Natasha Rafferty.
COMING LATE SUMMER!

(Above) We always seem to miss Peter Rizzo. Not this time.
August 17th, 2017 Photos by Cory Fatello
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery

Today- Hurricane GERT Down South August 16th, 2017
Photos by Crowley Gentile

(Above) They told me the water was warm and the waves were glassy and overhead. August 16th, 2017 Photos by Crowley Gentile
*Click on the photo above to see the whole gallery