The beach is a dynamic place, and has many faces. Like the seasons, it’s ever changing. The warm Gulf Stream meanders in and out, and even influences our weather.
A sure sign of the Gulf Stream is the presence of seaweed washed up on the beach. Sargassum is a free floating seaweed that drifts in island-like masses and goes with the current. It is an important habitat for various forms of marine life while at sea. It provides food and protection for juvenile fish and invertebrates.
When it washes up on the beach, it attracts birds and other creatures that feed around it.
During Summer and Fall, sargassum can drift up in huge rafts.Eventually it dries and decomposes. I’ve used it in my garden after it’s rinsed and composted.Last month while on a beach walk, I noticed another use for sargassum. I don’t know who the author of this message was, but considering the effort, I hope the answer was an emphatic “YES”.
It’s been a year since my lifelong friend, Robin, passed away, so I’ve been contemplating our relationship and good times. It’s hard to believe it’s over and done. We all have opportunities to love and enjoy life, and Robin certainly did. What a gift!
His worldly possessions have been dispersed as he wanted. Among the items he left me was a fairly large collection of photographs. He was many things, hunter-gatherer, prolific reader, jack of all trades and surfer. Most people don’t realize the amount of photography he produced.
I spent last winter going over thousands of photos he made since his early teens. Many of those images were inconsequential personal memories, but there are many that have merit.
Taken from the north jetty.
Of particular interest to me are Robin’s photographs contained in an album from his early days surfing at Indian River Inlet in Delaware. I didn’t know him then, but it’s about the time I learned to surf a 9’6” Bing there. It was a good wave and a good place for a young surfer to make friends and integrate into a new lifestyle.
These old Polaroid photographs taken in 1967 and ’68 are one-of-a-kind originals.
I think Robin is on the far right, the others are unidentified.
I don’t know where this Polaroid was taken, but it looks typical of rural Delaware. A 19 year old Robin stands between two unidentified friends while changing a flat tire.
A few years later, surfboards got a lot smaller. Robin took this snapshot of his team mates from Gemini Surf Shop out of Rehoboth Beach, perhaps about 1970. Dave Isaacs, Gary Revel, Jeff Ammons, Bryant Clark, Brent Clark, Skip Savage, Karl Gude and one unidentified. Who knows who he is?
When most people take a picture, they don’t realize they’re making a historical record. As a photographer, I didn’t intend the pictures I took many years ago become history. But in retrospect, I see a lot of value in old photographs, the older the better. If I had it to do all over again, I would opt to do much more shooting of people or things that I routinely took for granted.
This has been a year of some personal loss and heartbreak, and I’m glad to have it behind me.
There is so much to be thankful for. The Summer and Autumn have been exceptionally gorgeous, especially in light of the severe storms the past few years.
December has almost turned into winter, and things on the island have been relatively quiet preceding the holidays. Yet a few weeks ago on the 5th, I had a first glimpse of a snowy owl. They are generally rare to the region, but not unheard of.
The first reported sighting was weeks prior, and Cape Point saw a deluge of photographers and naturalists looking for the wayward creature. My reaction was to wonder, at what point will the onlookers be harassing the bird or distressing it in some way. Certainly one’s discretion to minimize impact is important.
I felt guilty about venturing to the point with so many other folks, but when the bridge access to Hatteras Island was shut down for repairs, the onslaught of birders was also shut down considerably.
With hardly any one else around, I was directed to a location where I saw a big white spot in the distance. Sure enough, there it was, perched on a piece of driftwood. I was able to get reasonably close with my 500 mm telephoto.
There was intermittent rain and light overcast, perfect for shooting a white bird in the wide open tundra of Cape Point.
Two weeks later I ventured out again with my long time friend Ray Matthews, and the owl was nowhere in sight. We surveyed the area with binoculars and discovered a falcon perched on a piece of wood. We advanced some, yet respectfully kept our distance.
It was a peregrine falcon, a frequent winter resident of Cape Point.
The Point is an amazing place. There’s always something interesting going on, and you never know what you’ll see or experience.
Nothing can pay tribute, to a surfer who has passed away, more than a ceremonial paddle out. It is surfing’s honorable sendoff. We put the word out to do this for Robin and didn’t know what kind of turn out to expect.
On October 5th at noon, participants began arriving at the Rodanthe Pier for an informal covered dish beach party. By about 1:00 there were well over 150 people on site to pay their respects. We began paddling out at 1:15. It looked like about 80 people, aged 8 and up, on surfboards, a few kayaks and boogie boards.
It was slick calm, warm and sunny, ideal conditions for Robin’s memorial.
The photographs shown here are a compilation of several contributing photographers:
Amberly Dyer, April Contestable, Bev Martin, Jim and Marcy Martin, Ben Tran, Denise and Mike Halminski
Kelly Schoolcraft and Russell Blackwood were on hand to pay their respects
So were Jay and Scooter.
There was plenty to eat, especially when Eric came in hoisting a bushel of steamed crabs.
Chandra Rutledge made three beautiful leis for the occasion.
Denise was my co-conspirator for this great event.
Beverly Bull gave me some bird of paradise flowers to throw out on the sea, along with Chandra’s orchid lei.
Our special guests were Robin’s cousins, Rob and Jean Marie from Delaware. They were accompanied by their spouses, Jeff (left) and Bev (center). There were many great stories shared by them.
Charlie and Betz Mullen had it made in the shade..
Jo and Buddy Brothers did too.
Eric Anglin was ready to go out.
Let the paddle out begin!
GoPro YouTube video: courtesy of Brett Butler
Richard Byrd was paddling Robin’s ten foot Gary Propper model vintage Hobie.
Eric and I thought it would be nice to extend the paddle out to the shipwreck and secure the lei to a buoy.
Selby Gaskins Jr. and crew watched from the pier.
Colin and Ben Tran witnessed their first Paddle Out.
Twelve year old Ben made this remarkable interpretation of the ceremony.
There were petals out on the water.
We paddled out to the wreck.
April had her old Dewey Weber.
Jon Brown brought out his Redman shaped Hatteras Glass.
Robin’s old buddy Benji Stansky watched from the pier.
Jan Deblieu, Susan West, Marcia Lyons and Beverly Bull celebrate on the end of the pier.
Allen Jones had his studio set up.
At eight years old, Mia Phillips made the entire paddle out to the shipwreck.
Eleven year old Johnny Contestable also made it out to the wreck.
Here I am with Robin’s favorite Natty Bo and writer Jan Deblieu.
There were shots to be had.
Allen Jones made this striking portrait of Robin with his “Propper” in 1998.
Robin had this photograph on his wall for as long as I’ve known him. It was taken at the north side of Indian River Inlet in 1967. He would have just graduated from high school.
In 1982, at the invitation from friend Jeff Ray, I made my first trip to Costa Rica. Jeff had been there lots of times and even owned a rustic thatched hut on a secluded beach. It was this introduction that had me returning numerous times thereafter. I loved the country, the surf and the diversity of nature. It was a photographer’s dream.
I went again in 1990. This time I was traveling with my brother and Robin. They had never been to Costa Rica before and I showed them places that I enjoyed on previous trips. We moved around for about a month, but spent the bulk of our time in one of my favorite spots, the left handed point break of Pavones.
Robin posed with our rental 4×4 at the Monteverde Cloud Forest.
We set up camp right at the point, and the cantina pit bull became our friend.
Once camped out next to the river mouth, we made ourselves quite at home. This was Easter dinner.
Tailgate party at the point, featuring Rob, Ron Centenario and Robin.
One afternoon my brother and I sat on the wall at the cantina and watched Robin buzz by toward the cove.
Then he walked up the rocky beach and joined us in the cantina
Robin was so amazed by the place that he went back there almost every year since. He got to know the locals and made many new friends. His final trip was 2010.
I went back in 1994 for some extensive hiking, but didn’t return after that. It was not until 2007 when Robin invited Denise and I to Costa Rica for a belated honeymoon. Through some friends, he arranged for us to stay in a beautiful house perched on the hillside of the rain forest at Punta Banco. It was a trip of a lifetime. We will never forget his consideration and love for us.
The view from our room was spectacular, and the beach exquisite.
During Summer and Fall, sargassum can drift up in huge rafts.
Eventually it dries and decomposes. I’ve used it in my garden after it’s rinsed and composted.
Last month while on a beach walk, I noticed another use for sargassum. 
I don’t know who the author of this message was, but considering the effort, I hope the answer was an emphatic “YES”.
