Michael Dunphy “The Bliss And The Storm” Today In New Smyrna, FL

Hurricane Matthew’s not all bad. And, our dear friend Michael Dunphy’s been making the most of the storm, following it up the coast. “For the most part it’s just a stormy mess,” he tells Stab, fresh out of the water, about two hours from the time this photo was taken. “Yesterday, in Miami was super sick. I’ve just been following the storm north. The winds are blowing 40 knots offshore; I almost got blown out to sea. It was pretty hectic,” he laughs. 

“It was really hyped up by the media,” he continues. “Everyone freaked out because there hasn’t been a storm that’s squared up against the coast like this in a few years. It was supposed to be a Cat 4; people were expecting the worst.” People expected Hurricane Sandy devastation, but the storm has been downgraded to a Cat 3. Which still’s stronger than anything that’s slammed into the States’ left coast, where at the moment, in Southern Califonia it’s 75 degrees, sunny and evening flags are dead. “North Florida’s gotten it pretty bad, damage wise. But down here it hasn’t been too bad.” 

Mr Dunphy didn’t just take a look. Photo: Nicola Lugo

“It’s wild, the storm moves so fast that you’ll be surfing and within an hour it’ll be gone,” he says. “You have to be on it. It’s cool to hunt it down and try to find where it’s going to hit next. It looks like it might flip back around, so I’m just chilling in Smyrna, waiting to see what happens.” 

“Shooting in these conditions is the best and the worst,” lensman Patrick Ruddy tells us. “It’s sick because you’re breaking the law, and sneaking onto the beaching during the “state of emergency”, on in Dunphy’s case earlier today, running past state officials and into the water. It’s shitty because you might get caught. But either way, it’s an adventure and a memory you’ll get to share the boys for years to come.”