Florida Glass

Rider & Words: Brian Finch, Paul Cooper, Logan Newman, Rob Carney
Photos: Logan Newman
Location: Florida
Date: Thursday 16th June, 2022

It’s a pretty universal trait amongst wave riders that, when a friend visits from out of town, you want them to know just how good your neck of the woods can be. However, trying to match Paul Cooper’s home breaks in Oahu with the patchy reliability of Florida’s east coast could have been a stretch. Except it wasn’t. Not this time at least…

Brian Finch

This was the first day the NE winds took a break after a week of battering our beaches. I had my buddy Paul Cooper from Oahu in town for a few days and the conditions were far less than I had bragged about! However, this morning was clean and pumping for North Florida, some sets were overhead and had more punch than usual. Paul and I met up with local foiler and FFB rider Rob Carney and photographer Logan Newman for a sunrise shoot. In honor of Paul being in town we all threw on foot straps and went ramp hunting! Most of the waves were unloading on the sandbar but we were able to track down some juicy ramps and some smooth wave faces before the tide dropped out entirely. The sunrise was amazing and Logan nailed some great shots! Stoked to have this session in the memory banks.

Logan Newman

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Alarm clock blaring, coffee dripping and swell filling in as the tide backs out. I roll out of bed, grab my camera and call up the crew to confirm the session is still a go. Sure enough, everyone was frothing and ready to paddle out. After two solid weeks of strong cross shore winds we were all excited to hop in the water with glassy offshore conditions. The Florida foil gods tapped in to help us show Paul Cooper that the east coast serves up the type of fun that he is accustomed to in Hawaii… at least, that’s what we want everyone to think!

After talking shop and sipping coffee in the parking lot we all geared up and got in the water. In between getting hammered by the sets throwing over the sand bar, I was able to capture some photos of these boys putting on a total air show for the lens.

Rob Carney

From surfing in Florida as a kid, some of my most memorable sessions have been from early hurricane season swells. Typically, we can get a good run of storm-produced surf in the spring and again in the fall once the Bermuda high pressure gives way to storms in the Atlantic. The few days prior presented some less than ideal conditions but I knew our patience would be rewarded. We decided to make the call the night before and show up to the beach right at sunrise. Just a half-mile south at the Jacksonville Beach pier you could see hundreds of surfers battling for every wave while we had a peak all to ourselves. Foiling has been an amazing tool that allows you to escape the crowds and increase your wave count ten-fold. Also doesn’t hurt to have a talented photographer like Logan in the crew to capture these memorable sessions…

Paul Cooper

This was my first time heading east for anything foil related. A power nap after my 10-hour work flight was enough to make the drive up to Jax from Orlando. After getting the inside scoop I made the pit stop of all pit stops at Buc-ees. Loaded up on pulled pork sandwiches and fudge, and I was ready to experience some of the best foil waves in the country…

Challenging was an understatement. Hurricane swell combined with the worst direction winds that were just strong enough to suck but not enough to do anything with. After two days of these conditions, the winds finally got calm and on my last day the stoke was back. So much fun. Miles of peaks all with perfect ramp sections. As if the day couldn’t have gotten any better, I had the best brisket I’ve ever eaten with ice cold beers at a BBQ. Florida, you amazed me. I’ll be back.  

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