Come on in, the water's warm! Well, maybe too warm. An undersea volcano is building a new island in Tonga.


http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...1_18348447.jpg
"An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga, sending plumes of steam, ash and smoke up to 100 meters into the air, on March 18, 2009, off the coast of Nuku'Alofa, Tonga. (Dana Stephenson/Getty Images)"



http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...4_18348431.jpg
Second in a series of undersea volcano eruption photos off the coast of Tonga, taken March 18th by photographer Dana Stephenson. (Dana Stephenson/Getty Images) #


http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...6_18348433.jpg
"Fourth in a series of undersea volcano eruption photos off the coast of Tonga, taken March 18th by photographer Dana Stephenson. (Dana Stephenson/Getty Images) #"



http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...0_18347717.jpg
"An undersea volcano erupts off the coast of Tonga on March 18, 2009. (Dana Stephenson/Getty Images) #"
or, this is what happens when you really piss off the cookie monster

All these photos and a ton more great ones at:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/200...ear_tonga.html

Adam Koch took these excellent shots of Daryl Drown ripping it up at the Superfly Open in Utah recently.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album388/1_AK_3802.jpg



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album388/2_AK_3820.jpg



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album388/3_AK_3510.jpg



Great riding Daryl and excellent job capturing the action Adam! Daryl won the big air contest and came in fourth in the bordercross after crashing his kite. And ... on skies, snowboarders watch out! Way to go guys.

more at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=8021


a d a m k o c h
p h o t o g r a p h y

mobile;
310.760.2100
office; 970.247.1241
portfolio; www.adamkochphotography.com

On Mar 17, 2009, at 1:23 PM, Daryl Drown wrote:

btw, you should checkout Adam's website, looks like his kiting expertise has extended into photography ...

www.adamkochphotography.com

Our own AJ Watson, a moderator of the Bahamian Forum, out of Nassau Town is an artist, in his own way and time too. He just had a show on New Providence, acrylic on canvas. I understand it sold out. Way to go AJ! No end of inspiration in the islands that he travels. Must do some incredible kiteboard graphics too.

Here's a look at his unique style ...

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...68_1337973.jpg



http://photos-e.ll.facebook.com/phot...20_2722161.jpg


http://photos-b.ll.facebook.com/phot...17_7881915.jpg



http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/phot...22_4509823.jpg



http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/phot...623_772233.jpg


http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-...91_3380502.jpg


I asked if he was considering going to a limited run of lithos. He said no way, paint or nothing. Think there is going to be some growing demand for his work. Have questions, commissions, etc. you can contact AJ at: ect xshore@gmail.com

You can see more of his work at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...3&id=607641759


and, I did a write up a while back on AJ, his wife's family that goes back in the Bahamas several centuries, movie spots, riding areas around NP and more at:
http://fksa.org/showthread.php?t=4147

yeah, more land!!!!
 

more land!!!! awesome.

Yes, reef and waves to go with in time as well. Never been to Tonga, would like to check it out someday. Have you been in those parts Adam? Pretty amazing images they captured. Just saw "Knowing" over the weekend. Accents these natural events in a different way somehow. Science fiction, go figure.

What size kite do you rig to kite that?? Wind forcast..... 0 to 500MPH with occasonal gusts of 700 MPH.
A kite made from bullet proof kevlar might help

Another look at the Abacos and some late season wind ...


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/GC_P5260237.jpg
Great Guana Cay near Nippers, wind and sea running



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/HT_riding_001.jpg
Cruising north along Elbow Cay towards Hope Town



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/GC_IMG_2903.jpg
Way down south at Little Harbour on the island of Abaco. Nice waves and iron shore here just outside the hurricane hole harbor.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/HT_IMG_2681.jpg
A look at the back towards Marsh Harbor



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/HT_IMG_2648_001.jpg
Cemetery Beach opposite the lighthouse in Hope Town



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/HT_IMG_2476_001.jpg
Sun is fading but the wind is still on



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album392/EC_LH.jpg
The light at Hope Town

Checking out more at Boston.com at the "The Big Picture" ...


http://cache.boston.com/universal/si..._04/surf13.jpg
"South Africa's Grant 'Twiggy' Baker rides a wave to win the 2008 Big Wave Africa surfing event held at Dungeons Reef off Cape Town's Hout Bay, July 26, 2008. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)" Wouldn't call this guy "Twiggy?" That is one intense wave.



http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...8_04/surf2.jpg
"Pat O'Connell cruises down a wave during the Stand-up Paddle Surf Challenge at the U.S. Open of Surfing on Sunday, July 27, 2008, in Huntington Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Sean DuFrene)"



http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...8_04/surf4.jpg
"Anthony Tashnick of the U.S. gets airborne during the 2008 Big Wave Africa surfing event held at Dungeons Reef off Cape Town's Hout Bay, July 26, 2008. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)" Foam fight?




http://cache.boston.com/universal/si...8_04/surf9.jpg
"British Kiteboard World Champion Aaron Hadlow gets air on his kiteboard off a Tarifa beach in southern Spain, on July 5, 2008, during the Kiteboard Word Championship 2008. (JOSE LUIS ROCA/AFP/Getty Images)"




http://cache.boston.com/universal/si..._04/surf15.jpg
"Workers clean up blue-green algae from the sea as windsurfers sail behind, at Qingdao, the host city for sailing events at the 2008 Olympic Games, in eastern China's Shandong province Tuesday June 24, 2008. The Qingdao government organized 400 boats and 3000 people to help remove the algae after Olympics organizers ordered a cleanup. Experts say the algae, which has clogged the coastline of the Olympic city, is a result of climate change and recent heavy rains in southern China, according to the Xinhua news agency. (AP Photo/EyePress)" I heard that stuff tastes better with soy sauce?



http://cache.boston.com/universal/si..._04/surf23.jpg
"Hawaiian Mark Healey takes a fall during the 2008 Big Wave Africa surfing event held at Dungeons Reef off Cape Town's Hout Bay, July 26, 2008. (REUTERS/Mike Hutchings)" Adds meaning to the term "dropping in."


More at:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/200...the_waves.html

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/Small_Hope_Bay.jpg
It has been a couple of years but I got to thinking about Andros, just north of Fresh Creek along the Tongue of the Ocean in the Bahamas. Small Hope Bay Lodge has been a diving destination for decades. With clear viz. wall dives, blue holes, shark dives and more. It is also a pretty good kiting venue too and only about 55 minutes east of Florida. The land of three toed chickcharnies, sea duppys and AUTEC?


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/Fresh_Creek.jpg
Here are some random shots from around the area. Here is an old lighthouse at the mouth of Fresh Creek. There is a barrier reef miles out bordering the drop off creating all this sheltered calmer water on the inside.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/SHB_Andros.jpg
Small Hope Bay is a quiet but comfortable place. A good place to go to decompress and grab some quality water time be it above and/or below. These were shot in a calm period in July. The wind goes off and frequently too throughout the winter and spring I'm told. Flat water on the inside and waves ... not sure about waves. Maybe on the barrier reef.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/day_starts.jpg
Dick Birch started this place for diving in 1960. Can you imagine what the islands were like then? Even has a nudist blind of palm thatch on the water?



http://www.smallhope.com/GIF/45DoubleHoseDivers.464.gif
The early days (photo from smallhope.com). Hey can't be that old, I used to have one of those backpacks!




http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/...s_VR.sized.jpg




http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/Wreck.jpg
There's a tug wreck a mile or so offshore. Understand the captain sort of flipped out and had to be removed from the grounded vessel years back.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album399/SHB_07.jpg
Check it out sometime, for a change of pace.