Summary

In Chapter 9, Basso Profundo: Madeira, 1994-2003, Finnegan describes his years in New York. Finnegan now lived with Caroline, to whom he was married, in New York. His life as a journalist in war-torn countries meant that he did not surf often, while Caroline worked as a defense attorney. However, he rekindled his relationship with surfing through a surfer he met in Montauk named Peter Spacek. in his forties, Finnegan returned to using a longboard, riding the wave of the longboard revival (longboards require less strength and agility). A surf magazine editor had given Finnegan Peter's name, as Peter was an illustrator who might be able to illustrate a piece on chasing a hurricane swell up the East Coast. Peter showed Finnegan pictures of a great surf spot in Madeira, in the Atlantic Ocean.

In 1994, Finnegan and Peter made their first trip to Madeira, along...