Fickle & Firing: Puerto Rican Slabs Go Off (Photos)

Coming fresh off the heels of wet stint in Hawaii, ace photographer Ryan "Chachi" Craig hopped a plane for Puerto Rico and scored supreme conditions that lived up to PRs nickname as the 'Hawaii of the Caribbean'.

What was only a five-day trip proved to be action-packed as the NW corner of the island lit up and Chachi captured some gems while shooting from land, "I went over for a Quiksilver shoot the day after I got back for Hawaii and we scored a few days of really good swell. Since I was there for a specific job, I didn't bring my housing but was stoked to be there for the swell."

Notoriously fickle slabs came to life with just the right swell direction to unleash a barrel fest for local surfers like Dwight Pastrana and Mauro Diaz. "Mauro was super on it, he was out in the dark before first light. I got to the beach at sunrise and didn't even have time to set up my tripod before seeing him pull into a meaty one (below) before anyone else was even in the water."

"I really lucked out since it was such a short trip, everything came together for two days. A lot of the slabs in that region are highly fickle, the locals are obviously dialed and they hold it down too. You can't just blow in and snag set waves. It's not like Hawaii where the trades are often offshore, the variability is a lot higher in Puerto Rico. When it does line up though, it delivers like Hawaii."

Kobe Hughes was lucky enough to be on island for the swell and is a kind of surfer that knows how to make heavy waves look fun. Often riding self-shaped equipment, or something from cousin Ryan Burch, he was a welcome addition to the local crew and linked up with Chachi for a couple sick one as seen below.