The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Need For Speed = Need For Weed(fin)? LI Windfest update #315

The East Coast Windsurfing Festival is less than a week away, and you should be at least a little excited by now.     Hecksher has been having a great late Spring, and odds are we'll have good condiitions for the event.

Just today someone asked the editors about the potential need for a weed fin at Hecksher.   The spot is well known for being weedy in August, but how about early June?  So far reports are that no such finnage is necessary, but if you own a weed fin it wouldn't hurt to bring it (or to borrow one from a friend.)

If your luck is anything like mine, if you bring a weed fin then you won't need it (so I'll be packing two.)

See you next Saturday!

Vela Aruba Will Probably Be Saved

We just got off the phone with Tony Kardol, who runs Vela Aruba.    He says that the Marriot no longer wants to kick Vela out of its prime spot on the beach.  Even better, the Marriot wants to build it a new building for sails and boards that better faces the sailing area to the north.   And they want to better promote windsurfing to their guests. 
 

All the Marriot wants is for the flood of email from windsurfers to stop.   Well done, everybody!

As we wrote yesterday, the Marriot had planned to boot the center off the beach, which would have meant an end to the biggest and best equipped windsurfing center in Aruba.   Apparently the Marriot's management didn't have a complete appreciation for the significance of what Vela brings to the area, and now that they do, they want to support it.

We'll be checking back with Tony and Vela in a few weeks, but so far things are looking good!

Ponytail Windicator

"You know it's windy when a wet ponytail goes horizontal!"

(Quote, ponytail, and blazing reach by Jill Marr.   Jill adds that as a windicator, her ponytail wet requires an apparent windspeed of 30 knots to achieve such verticalization.)

Photo by Bill Doutney.

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Will Have Mucho Trophies

(This just in...excerpts from an exclusive interview by the Peconic Puffin with East Coast Windsurfing Festival organizer Mike Burns.)


Peconic Puffin:  Will the East Coast Windsurfing Festival be fun??
Mike Burns:  Yes.

Peconic Puffin:  Will there be good wind?
Mike Burns:  Most likely.

Peconic Puffin:   Will there be trophies?
Mike Burns:  For sure!  we've got not just 4 or 5 trophies to give away, we've got close to 40.  That's right, almost 40 trophies to give away.  I could go on and on with naming all the awards but it would start sounding like a bad outtake from Forest Gump.  We've got freestyle trophies, racing trophies, gps trophies, women's trophies, kids trophies, masters trophies, trophy soup, trophy gumbo.  You get the idea.  Anyway, tell people that if they compete, the odds are actually in their favor of getting something.

Peconic Puffin:  Do you think I will win a trophy?
Mike Burns:  Probably not.

(The East Coast Windsurfing Festival Festival takes place Jun 7-8 at Hecksher State Park.  How about directions?  Here is a link to directions from the Long Island Expressway.   The parking lot is Field #7.)

Monday Rigfest

I wasn't even going to sail today...family and friends required that I be elsewhere.   

But driving the van I stopped by Bayview Oaks (in North Sea, on the Little Peconic) to say hi to some friends, and when whitecaps appeared and Slo pulled a board out of his garage, I thought "why not?" and rigged the 7.0.

After a few runs I needed to rig down to 6.2.

Three runs on the 6.2 and I knew I needed the 5.5.

Stupidly I had left the 5.5 home, and so rigged a 5.0 thinking "I'll take it out on the big board."

I was on the little board with it soon enough.   Overpowered.

The wind just kept coming up.   When I left I was pretty sure 4.0 was the call.

(Graphic from iWindsurf:  the wind was building fast.)

Slightly North of Long Island? Check Out The Hudson River Rats

Ned Crossley hit me with this link for the Hudson River Windsurfers web site.

If you're a windsurfer in the area, check them out because they (according to the site:)

• sponsor two learn-to-windsurf days each summer at Kingston Point Beach.
• We organize windsurfing trips to East Coast locations including Cape Hatteras, Lakes Bay, Cape Cod, and others.
• A printed newsletter is mailed several times per year to all members.
• We maintain a members-only email list (reflector) on Yahoo! Groups.
• We maintain a members-only wiki with links to Hudson River tides and currents, a list of upcoming club events, a photo gallery, list of stuff for sale, member directory, trip reports, and more.
• HVW was instrumental in organizing and raising funds for the recent installation of three iWindsurf wind meters on the Hudson River.

And just like the Peconic Puffin, they have a map of windsurfing sites .    Check it all out!

A Quick Session to Launch Memorial Day Weekend

Jeff was ambitious the night before the day's session.   "I hope to be on the water by 8," he proclaimed. 

We got on the phone by 8, at least.  

It was a beautiful sunny day, wind NW-WNW.  It's practically June but we haven't really been able to windsurf comfortably without a drysuit until today, so if it's only blowing 18 who cares?

It was just three of us, with Jeff and I on 6.2's, while John The Efficient Van der Wolf was on a 5.something.  We worked the sand bar at low tide for an hour or so, then as the wind started to drop Jeff and I hugged the shoreline for some flatwater old-school freestyle, while the Wolf derigged and went back to work.    So we played with various 360's and push tacks and such, and when the wind really started to drop we went for that ridiculous-to-look-at-but-fun-to-do Gecko Flaka.

Soon the wind was getting to sketchy even for Gecko Flaka-ing, so we decided to end our session in a flurry of dumb by sailing right into the middle of the inlet and attempting tricks (what the tricks were doesn't matter...what matters is we fell.)   Thou shalt not fall in the inlet at Sebonac Inlet, or the tide will either deposit you in the middle of the Peconic (if it's outgoing) or suck you through and leave you somewhere in the middle of Bullhead Bay (if the tide is incoming.)

So we fell during the incoming tide.   I managed to waterstart and get out of there just barely, clearing the sand spit that marks salvation by about five feet.    As I pumped the sail and railed the board and did everything I could to coax my butt out of there, I heard Jeff's voice somewhere behind me shout "I'm going in!"

He got out, eventually.



(Jeff explores the wonders of beautiful Bullhead Bay.   In the left foreground is the tricky inlet, and we mean tricky.  About six feet from the shore the inlet is dredged to overhead depth, so the windsurfer who wants to land on the inlet beach must run their board right up to the sand, and then step forward aggressively to get a foot down, or else they and their gear end up taking a ride.   This is why we usually launch from the beach fifty yards to the west.)

The Swap Meet Is Saturday, Dog!

Be there or be square.  Don't miss out.  Windsurfing Hamptons (631-283-9463) is the place.   Buy my Naish wave board (84 liters 2001) cheap!     Sell and buy lots of good stuff, meet new people.  Clear out or fill up your garage.

Directions:

From NYC:

• Take the Long Island Expressway (495) east to exit 70 south (County Road 111 Manorville).
• Follow CR 111 south to end. 
• At end it forces you onto Sunrise Hwy (RT27) east.
• Follow RT27 past exit 66 (North Road Shinnecock). 
• RT27 will merge into North Highway CD39
• When 27 changes from highway to road (with 2 lanes in each direction), Windsurfing Hamptons will be 1 mile further on your right.

From east of the shop:

• You know where the shop is, dog.

(Don't like being called "dog"?  Please substitute the words "noble windsurfer" whereever "dog" appears.  Thank you for your cooperation.)

Need A Place To Stay? Need Wind? East Coast Windsurfing Festival Update #261

You need five things to have a great time at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival.  "Five" you say? (I say?)  Five is a weird number...marketers like to list three, and book authors seven ("The Seven ____ For Success" etc.)   Anyhow, the five things you need to have a great time at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival are:

1.  A great parking spot (we've got one for you.)
2.  Windsurfing gear (you bring that.)
3.  A great attitude (you bring that.)
4.  A place to stay nearby (if you don't one that we have suggestions below).
5.  Wind (Mike has the word.)

Re #4 (a place to stay) if you aren't ocal and don't have friends or falmily to impose on, here is a link in the area.  (The prices may have changed, but it's a great place to start.)  Also, if you are in the "as long as it has a roof, gimme cheap!" category, check out this special recommendation:  The Sayville Motor Lodge.  The Puffin has been told "you get what you pay for" so caveat emptor.

About the wind:  Hecksher has been setting up for classic conditions.  Mike Burns (event co-organizer, not to mention a guy who sails Hecksher nine time a week) has the word:

"If you're thinking about going to the windsurfing festival, Heckscher has been in full swing.  The water is warming up nicely, but more important it's been blowing like crazy.  Monday there was a large crowd at Heckscher to catch the 20 to 35 mph winds.  Pete Dekay of Windsport Magazine stopped by in the morning to see what all the hype was about.  After a few spocks and loops he proclaimed Heckscher the perfect spot for an event, tell me something I don't already know!  Pete had to head back home to Canada around noon when it was blowing 4.7.  Right after he left, the wind kicked up a few notches to a solid 3.7.  While it's typically not 3.7 at Heckscher (although this was my fourth 3.7 day since the end of April), I'm on my 4.7 and 5.3 more days than I can count.  Yes my fellow wind stalkers, Heckscher is in full swing and has been getting plenty of practice blowing its wind for the event."

Two Bolts Or Not Two Bolts...That Should Not Be The Question

A friend had his rig and board separate in the impact zone recently, which got me thinking about my longstanding choice in mast feet and how it would be a good topic for the Peconic Puffin to tackle (or muck up.)   Let us sing the praises of the two-bolt mastfoot, which I believe to be superior to the one bolt mastfoot without exception or qualification.   There have been plenty of debates on the topic (and as a gearhead I have followed them all) but I believe there is a clear answer that is right for everybody.  (I must be a jerk to believe that, yes?  So if you're playing at home, please reply with why I'm wrong ASAP so I can learn something.) 

Anyhow here is my reasoning:

1.  (The big one.)  A two-bolt uni is far less likely to separate from the board than a one bolt.   The first time I saw rig separation I was a mile from shore, sailing about 100 yards behind a friend in 4.0 conditions in heavy chop.   All of a sudden he was sinking...I thought "what a lull!" (He was on a sinker).  But actually his board had shot out from beneath him when his mastfoot slipped out of the track.   A gust picked up his board and tossed it 50 feet downwind, from where it proceeded to continue away from him.   Fortunately I was there to sail to his board and stop its escape.    Most single bolt slip-outs can be blamed on the sailor (didn't tighten the mastfoot enough, didn't wash out sand that was holding the foot in place giving the illusion of a tight fit etc) but...do you want to blame or do you want to keep your rig attached to your board?  There is also the rare breakage of the mast track nut (I had an industry rep once tell me "it never happens".  I told him my story of the nut from my WSH mast foot cracking in half (happily I was on the beach.)   With two bolts, if you've somehow failed to tighten the thing and one of the bolts somehow manages to slide out your rig will still be attached, and you'll notice the flopping long before its possible for the second nut to slide out.

2.  You don't have to remove the mast foot in order to roof rack or bag the board.   Just pop out the uni joint and leave your mast foot where it's presumably dialed in for the board.   Speaking of which,

3.  The two-bolt mast foot does not limit your useful mast track range.   How can I say this when the two-bolters most definitely limit the extreme forward and backward range?   Here's how:  I was lucky enough to have a conversation with Peter Thommen, master board builder (Bjorn Dunkerbeck's board builder in Bjorn's heyday) about mast tracks and the proper position to set the foot of a mast track.   Thommen said that mast tracks offer way more range than anyone should use, that they are as long as they are because they need a long mast track so there's enough material to attach the thing strongly to the board.   He said for any given windsurfer on a given board there's only about 3 cm range of mast track adjustment that benefits the board and rider no matter what sail is used on it, and that board designers center the mast track around that ideal area for an average sized windsurfer.    I found this a revelation at the time.   Thommen continued "so if you ever are out on the water and find the board seems to be sailing in perfect balance, mark that spot, and never move the uni more than 3 cm in any direction from it."        If he's right (and having played with this for years since that conversation I believe he is) then all any of us need is about an inch and a half of range.   Unless you find that you own a board that is only dialed in when the mast foot is jammed all the way forward (or all the way back) for one sail (in which case if this theory is true then all your sails should be rigged way forward or way back on that board) there's no reason to need all that range.   For myself, I own two boards that I sail a lot of sails on ("Candy 77"...a 77 liter freestyle wave, I sail from 3.4 to 5.5, and "Calamity Too" a 109 liter freestyle board that I've sailed 5.0-7.0) I've been able to dial in with two bolt mast tracks.

4.  If you own several boards, you can own many mast feet bases but fewer unis.   We have 6 boards total (all with two bolt bases) but half as many unis.   The newest uni is reserved for wave sailing, the oldest for nonplaning freestyle in the creek, and a "middle" uni for any non-wave sailing (if the Mrs. and I are sailing together she gets the wave uni because NOTHING IS TOO GOOD FOR MY WIFE!)

I know two people who were rescued by boats a mile from shore due to rig separation...they could not swim fast enough to catch their boards as they blew downwind.   That will always underscore for me the best reason to choose two bolts over one.

(Photo:  A Chinook two-bolt mast base.   This one features a rubber U-joint.  I prefer the tendon...some other folks opt for the mechanical joint.)

Better Windsurfing Through Meditation?

ABK invites its students to bring whatever they need to make learning as easy as possible.   Pens and paper, a comfortable chair for lectures, whatever works for you to enhance your mental concentration and insight.   Students often rise to the occasion.

(One student came uniquely equipped to center his mind at the ABK clinic on Friday.)

Jill Marr Superstar

Continuing the windsurfing photos theme, check out this excellent shot of Long Island windsurferess Jill Marr (who, word has it, will be in this weekend's ABK clinic at Napeague as part of her Mother's Day loot.)

The full photo is being used by Isthmus Sailboards, for whom the image of Jill smoking across Bonaire's Lac Bay underscores Isthmus' windsurfing passion, knowledge, and service.   Me, I think she's getting ready to jibe.

The first 100 people who bring a copy of this blog post to the ABK clinic will get an autograph from Jill.

(The image above can be seen on the Isthmus web site.) 

A Beautiful Windsurfing Photo

The title is "Ten Knots".

See it in all it's glory here.

Photo by Garry.

Pointed out to the Peconic Puffin by the blog "Messing About In Sailboats".   

It Was Honking At Napeague Too, Of Course

While many of us were using Napeague as a shortcut to Gardiners Bay during Monday's epic conditions, there was ample shredding going on in Napeague proper as well. 

Excluding a substantial  wind shadow down by the antenna to the southeast, the bay was crazy windy! Meanwhile 60 miles to the east the Yahoo mob was tearing it up at C.I.B. where the legendary Mysto wave was in full effect.   Would have loved to have been in two places at once... There's an ABK windsurfing clinic at Napeague starting on Friday (featuring a special appearance by Windsport's Pete DeKay) who remembers a Long Island clinic that had 30+knot winds. Imagine trying to learn to tack in 30 knots...yikes!

(Top:  When it's blowing 30+ even Napeague has ramps.
Middle: Ethan Doutney holds on through a gust, while...
Bottom:  brother Patrick succumbs.   When it's gusting to 40, everybody gets dunked!  Photos by Bill Doutney.)

Days of High Wind Sailing, Part Two: Jeff's Jump and Land of the Giants

With a forecast of big east winds, I thought we might retreat to the inner Peconic Bays for some controlled sailing in 30+knots.   But the people I sail with are crazy.   The plan was to drive 25 miles east of the Peconic, where the wind would be (wait for it...) stronger!  Of course!  What was I thinking?   

The place was packed.  "I am not happy with the parking arrangements" said Bill B.    Spoilers of Bill's parking included the Johns (CPU, Hulse, Ford, the Wolf) Bills (Fisherman and Lerner) and the odd Scott, Radek, Bruce, Peconic Jeff and so on.   When Jon Ford said he was rigging a 3.7 I knew I was in for quite a day.   Rigged my smallest wing (3.4) and went to the races.

On the inside it was a mess outbound though there were waves to ride inbound.  Past the red buoy, though, and it was (in the words of the Wolf) "the land of the giants!"   Eight to ten foot swell that fortunately broke gently.   Mountains of water moving through...when it gets big at Gardiners I often feel like I'm in a scene from The Perfect Storm...tres dramatique!    Maneuvering on those swells in 40 knot gusts is no mean feat.

But the story of the day was Jeff's jump.  "Did you see Jeff's jump?" I was asked?   I had missed his best one.   "High, lots of hang time, and a nice clean landing," is how Scott described it.   It sounded great.    Later Jeff described it thusly:

"It all happens so fast that it's hard to remember the details.  But I was charging the big waves like a bat out of hell and kicking the board up in the air in front of me."    

Well Jeff, you impressed the crowd!