Robert Payne

The basic premise of Gasparilla is really quite simple. Close off two adjoining streets, parade a bunch of pirates down one of them, and invite people to come out and party on the other one. Sounds easy enough, but the reality is Gasparilla is a logistical bear that Tampa Bay has been trying to [...]

Dropped a little Gulf Coast angst this week with some fun waves here in the Tampa Bay area. El Nino, aka The Little Boy, keeps kicking up those high winds that ultimately lead to rideable surf. This particular day consisted of super glassy peelers breaking under beautiful, warm, sunny skies. As you will see [...]

Nature hasn’t produced much in the way of waves since I got this little camera. But this weekend at least gave me a chance to test it and work out any potential kinks. One thing for sure: I’m going to need some Rain-X to take care of those unwanted water spots on the housing. [...]

Yes, I’ve been dreaming of them. So when I received Wend’s Friday Photo newsletter focused on powder, I figured I should submit one of my own photographs in the contest. It is really quite easy, and a great use of Flickr to encourage reader participation and build brand awareness. Plus, you have a chance at [...]

 
New York
The great thing about Gotham City is that you are guaranteed to experience something new even if you’re revisiting a familiar spot. Fortunately on this trip, I had the chance to retrace some steps as well as draw upon local friends (1 & 2) for new experiences. Of course, there are so many different [...]

There are few things in life better than an early morning surf session.

A little rocking, but only after…

Sailing
Surfing
Fishing

A lot has changed since Kennedy was president. To think he never had the chance to slurp down a Starbucks non-fat latte while chattering on a 3G cell phone connection and streaming YouTube videos over WiFi is a shame. He may have helped us get to the Moon, but the idea that a human [...]

Just a few hours south of Tampa, Florida is North Captiva Island.
View North Captiva in a larger map
It gets the name from both its captive beauty, and the fact that it served as a prison for female “captives” held for ransom by pirates.

Accessible only by boat or private plan, this half-mile wide island [...]

Boom…Boom…Boom.
I awoke to the dull but persistent sound of freight containers being offloaded at the Port of Charleston’s Wando Terminal. “That’s the sound of money,” I had once heard someone say. It was 6am and time to rise for a saltwater fishing charter with Captain Peter H. Brown. I’d been looking forward to the [...]