Fight for life at the beach and I've got pics!
 

Due to all the Hurricane action the surfing in Florida has been awesome lately so yesterday I went to Ponce Inlet which is south of Daytona Beach where the waves would be best.

The conditions were extreme but the waves were about as good as it gets. A time when lack of knowledge and experience could literally mean the difference between life and death. Just the day before a man and his son had been swimming in the inlet and were swept eight miles out to sea before being miraculously rescued some twelve hours later.
http://www.wesh.com/news/17413645/detail.html

The day before that two surfers were bit by sharks.

I stood out on the rock jetty with my camera for most of the afternoon without having to take a step and captured the action as everyone tried their best to harness the oceans energy. Here's just a sample of what I saw.

This pic show the location and setup
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/31.jpg

The surf was up and the surfers took full advantage almost flying down the line
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/28.jpg

This guy had the boat to handle the swells but I'd hate to have his gas bill. Might as well be farting fifties.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/40.jpg

There is a strong outgoing rip along the rocks and the surfers use it to quickly make it out to the breaking waves.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/33.jpg

If they time it wrong a big wave like this could wash them into the rocks. Experience tells them when to go.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/34.jpg

This girl and her friend were in over their heads and didn't make the paddle ending up washed into the rocks instead.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/35.jpg

Days like today everyone is on alert and some guys quickly jumped the rail and pulled them out to safety. Luckily, she and her friend escaped serious injury.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/36.jpg

Some surfers like this guy skip the paddling out and instead walk to the end of the jetty with their boards and jump off into the waves. Again, knowledge and experience is key...
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/37.jpg

....but he had neither and was swept back in the rocks shortly after jumping in. He had to be carried off on a stretcher with his legs bandaged. I took advantage of the situation and pulled his girlfriend to the side to see if she wanted to do a solo site.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/38.jpg

For those that know, the rewards were great and surfers left their mark in the epic Hurricane surf
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/15.jpg

While the surf had their full attention many had forgot about their cars parked on the beach and the stronger than normal tidal surge
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/02.jpg

While they were catching hell on the other side this girl found some peace and solitude as she angled for dinner.
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/03.jpg

A nice Red Fish lost his struggle for life and and will now feed a family of four
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/39.jpg

It was an amazing day watching everyone push the limits and not always succeeding but when they did it was picture perfect
http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/30.jpg

cool pics.

Great pics mate, thanks for sharing

haha.. that surge with the trucks was pretty funny

Nice pics, and I like your captions. Thanks for posting. :)

Thats some awesome shit there:)

Got pics of the dudes girl friend?

Im not reading all that shit, but did someone die or come close to it? Or is that picture of a guy with the scraped leg the "fight for life"?

Awesome images

Very cool pics .. I love the beach ..

Not everyday you catch Britney Spears fishing.

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/03.jpg

Just the one of her above walking with him in the black top.
The rest of the time she was running around screaming for the beach patrol :Oh crap

i live in daytona and was surfing ponce yesterday. what time were you there?

hahahahaha thats my buddy chris in the backgroung of this pic with the red jersey on

Reading all of what? It was PICTURES with captions....

That's like somebody handing me the book, "The Little Engine That Could" and me saying , "I'm not reading all that shit"..

Great looking pix.

Got there around 12:30 and left about 6:00

Took a lot of surf shots. What were you wearing and what board and I'll see if I got
any of you.

Fuck!!! lol i was hoping you did, but i left a little after 11. I got there at 8. It was even better on sat.

where do you live?

sweet... looks fun... & dangerous! LOL!

Awesome ladies :) WOOOOO Duuuuuuddddeeeee

The bald guy looks like one of the Slater brothers.

great pics and descriptions :thumbsup

actually if you wouldnt mind, could i look at the surfing ones? i probably know a few of them.

Orlando.

Sucks not to live on the coast but I drive all over the state so I had to pick a central location. Wed I'll be hitting the gulf coast for Hurricane Ike.

Here's a few shots of Shea Lopez and Amy from yesterday.

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/26.jpg

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/12.jpg

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/21.jpg

Cool pictures man, been there a few times myself.

I HAVE to get some work done so I'm free to go after Ike early Wed. After I finish my commitments I'll try and hook you up before I leave.

With a quick scan I did see a few of your buddy. These shots were more about the lineup though.

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/17.jpg

http://www.thewoop.com/public_html/promo/ponce/18.jpg

Great pics.. nice waves and people...

great pics! cant wait for summer here :)

Hey dickhead, next time contact me to come along!!!

Very nice!

that would be awsome, thanks man :thumbsup

Great waves. This guys lucky.

great pics. :thumbsup

point break 2 nice shots epic day

:thumbsup

Looks like a fun day

awsome pics man, took the time to read the captions to.
Must admit i do fucking love surfer chic's man

great looking pics...

great pics and commentary :thumbsup

Actually two people almost did die yesterday there.. a 12 year old kid and his father were swept out to sea and had to tread water for 15 hours till they were found.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/08/coa...cue/index.html

edit: duh, just saw you mentioned it in your first post.