September 2, 2008, 4:00 pm : Quick Perspectives on Montauk
Filed Under: Imagery, News, SurfingDiscussion: C[0]mments
I hope you have all seen the post below. Was my message too obscure? Let’s hear some noise on this one, everyone has been clamoring over just where is this ridiculous, ogreish beast being hidden. If you want to know more details post up a comment with your email address. It won’t be shown, but that way we can communicate over email. I’ll share a good story with you. For now get some glimpses of the surfy side of Montauk, truly one of the more picturesque places you can find - Ed.
View of the coves that are utterly surfable, but best on heavy winter swells. This shot shows the reefs in the vicinity of Camp Hero. They used to be hush-hush, but now you can virtually park overlooking them. Pity
Swells marching in to the bluffs, not quite surfable below; but its probably peeling somewhere!
Micro peelers somewhere in Montauk
August 30, 2008, 11:12 pm : Montauk Monster - Where’s The Beast Hiding?
Filed Under: UncategorizedDiscussion: C[0]mments
Okay folks, this is a short and to the point post going up since this whole Montauk Monster phenomenon has hit a fever pitch on the hoax scale, with many theories sprouting up. Is it a beast or badly decayed animal? Raccoon? Pit Bull dismissed by its owner in NYC and somehow ending up washing up at Ditch Plains in Montauk? Or perhaps a chupacabra somehow migrating and decomposing its way to Montauk’s idyllic beaches from some Central or South American nation?
Yes, I am cutting my “Montauk Weirdness” series short. Well, sort of…I’ll still fill you in on the rest of the weirdness I’ve personally encountered (including stumbling upon this same sort of dead beast deep within Camp Hero in 1993) in the very near future, but…
I just may know where this carcass is at this very minute…
Quick backstory: As a writer, I have come across several types of interesting characters, ranging from famous to infamous, loony to legendary. Sparing unnecessary detail, I once had the opportunity to speak with a longtime Montauk local who surfs and is quite protective of his and his family’s affairs.
Again, sparing unnecessary detail, while letting you know that I have a strong suspicion that I know where this beast be hidden, I will let you, the humble reader figure this out via some helpful links (hint: the devil is in the details. The clue should be obvious, and get ready for a Montauk Monster pièce de résistance coming to a NY art gallery sometime soon). Ready? Here goes:
http://www.hamptons.com/detail.ihtml?id=2766&apid=5791&sid=7&cid=122&arc=1
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/08/dining/08fish.html?pagewanted=1&8dpc&_r=1
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/18/sunday/main3518239.shtml
http://eastendfishprints.com/index.html
Get it?
August 29, 2008, 2:45 pm : Montauk Weirdness - Part 2
Filed Under: Events, Imagery, NewsDiscussion: C[0]mments
Picking up where I left off after a long hiatus (or wandering around Europe with no internet access), this installment of Montauk mayhem recounts one of the major conspiracy theories surrounding Camp Hero. As mentioned in my previous post, Camp Hero is a large tract of land fronting the Atlantic Ocean just west of the Montauk Lighthouse that has served various strategic (and possibly nefarious) purposes for the US Military.
The first claim that circulated out of the military operations dates back to 1943, and an experiment referred to as The Philadelphia Experiment (“official” US Military report here). This experiment was believed to use electromagnetic radiation and gravity to render US Naval ship USS Eldridge, including crew, invisible, then teleported from Philadelphia to Norfolk, VA.
The Montauk Project claims to have continued the efforts of the Philadelphia Experiment in the early 1950’s. It wasn’t until 1968 that equipment supposedly used in the experiments, including a SAGE radar installation, was moved to Camp Hero and installed.
Camp Hero Sage Radar Installation
The US Government declared Camp Hero closed in 1969, dedicating the land as a wildlife refuge/park, seemingly to avert the idea that the NSA and the Office of Naval Intelligence had developed a deep underground miltary base. Despite this, Camp Hero remained completely closed to the public until 1987. To this day the buildings that housed the radar and underground space remain closed.
The two staunchest supporters of the Montauk Project, Al Bielek and Duncan Cameron, claim to have jumped from the deck of the USS Eldridge as it traveled through hyperspace in 1943 and ended up at Camp Hero in 1983.
Stay tuned for Montauk Weirdness - Part 3, coming tomorrow, where I will detail my (somewhat illegal) wanderings through Camp Hero back in the ’90’s, chronicle the tales of Bielek and Cameron and bring you more weirdness from mystical Montauk.
August 5, 2008, 9:53 pm : Montauk Monster - Latest in a Long History of East End Weirdness
Filed Under: NewsDiscussion: C[1]mments
Editors note- This is the first of a series chronicling the varied strange and obtuse occurrences that have taken place in Montauk. As someone who grew up surfing there and exploring every inch of the place, I’ll reveal through personal experience, some interesting things about this place that will help you draw your own conclusion. I will make no definitive claims that any particular story is anything more than sensationalism.
By now most people have heard or read about the Montauk Monster, the unidentified and inexplicable beast that was stumbled upon by three Montauk residents, allegedly photographed and reviewed by biological experts who could not provide a definitive answer as to what this thing was.
This tale is not unprecedented for Montauk; it’s just the latest in a long line of questionable and possibly dubious stories that at the very least give this picturesque place an air of the preturnatural. That’s right, before the world became enamored with this bizarre creature, several other noteworthy tales have drifted out of this place people refer to as “The End”.
First some interesting facts, in short order: Lots of stars and characters have graced these shores. The Rolling Stones frequented the place for two consecutive summers, hanging at Andy Warhol’s palatial domicile on the bluffs, writing at least one album while there, and befriending some of the locals. This is when they wrote the song “Memory Motel”.
Super heroes @ Memory Motel (the pic is a story unto itself)
Dick Cavett lost his historic house on the bluffs east of Ditch Plains to a fire, then rebuilt it and is now selling. Bon Vivant Peter Beard still calls Montauk home today.
Montauk-based fishing captain Frank Mundus owns the world record for the largest White Shark caught on rod and reel, and is generally considered to be the model for the character “Quint” in the movie Jaws.
The U.S. Armed forces bought a majority of the property east of Montauk Village, using it for various purposes, including quarantining soldiers returning from the Spanish American war; placing 16 inch guns at Camp Hero to protect New York Shipping Lanes. Later, a large radar dish was installed, its exact purpose never truly identified.
Coming in the next post on this topic I will delve into the weird and wild of Montauk, but I’ll state this now: The Montauk Monster is REAL. You’ll know why I believe this to be so if you hang in there til the end. You will also get some clues as to where the Montauk Monster is hidden. Witch hunt anyone?