Logan Landry, Towing in Nova Scotia, Canada

Logan Landry’s car pulls up out front of good friend Ben Woodford’s house at 5am. His number plate reads “Nova Scotia: Canada’s Ocean Playground”. He waits for 15 minutes before impatiently pounding fist to horn. Still nothin’. He heads up to the house and bangs on Ben’s window for a couple more minutes. Finally Ben opens the door, looking like the town drunk in some early Irish novel. He’s been out all night and only crawled through the front door 20 minutes ago. Logan throws Ben onto the backseat, determined to see through his plans for early morning tow-ins. Ben passes out. Quickly.

They pull up at the launch ramp and Logan wakes Ben, slamming a Gatorade into his hand. They launch the ski and head out. Despite a breathtaking hangover, Ben’s driving is on-point, though a few times he comes very close to orally evacuating last night’s fun. Being hungover is just part of the session’s joy: it’s cold as hell, too. A coupla rules about the kinda kit you need for surfing mid-winter Nova Scotia:

1. Stitching ain’t enough. You must have glued seams. The more glue the better.

2. Your feet’ll freeze first. Buy the thickest booties you can find.

3. If the hood ain’t built in, don’t bother.

4. Backzip wetsuits aren’t warm enough. Yet.

Photog Scotty Sherin met the boys down there to fire off some shots. This little doozy may be a tow-punt, but ain’t it sweet? All spray and wintriness and scenery and bleak beauty. There’s something crisp about the cold. – Elliot Struck