The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Almost Run Over by The Wolf

Christian emailed me at 8AM:  Nice little waves at Ponquogue...he and Jeff were going in to SUPsurf.   I got there at 9 to find those two + the Wolf enjoying a generous smattering of thigh high waves.  "Snack waves," the Wolf dubbed them, and they were playful.   They'd pop up anywhere...there was no particular spot to catch them.  The waves would turn left and right...I don't mean break left or right, but change their orientation to the short left and right.  And every once in awhile you'd get a nice long left that would keep you busy for quite awhile, with zero penalty for surfing all the way in.

Yeah yeah you say the headline says I was almost run over by the Wolf!   It's true.   Five years ago the Wolf and I collided whilst wavesailing at Ponquogue.   At the time I was sure it was my fault but the collective opinion was that You Gotta Watch Out for The Wolf.    Today it happened in slow motion:   I was down in the water, the Wolf took off on a wave heading right at me, Jeff was behind the Wolf watching him bear down on me, and the Wolf stared at me as he came closer and closer and closer.  My eyes went wide, Jeff was laughing, and at the moment of truth I estimate the distance between the Wolf's board and my neck was approximately 10 inches.

"Did he go over you or around you?" Jeff shouted.

"Around, I think!"  I was sure I was going to be hit.  I don't know how he missed me.

A fine little sesh otherwise!

 

The Swap Meet is on Saturday

The swap is on Saturday.   The weather might look marginal, but the goods are meant to get wet.  Water sports!

Begins 9AM.  Contact Hampton Watersports for details 631-283-9463 (283-WIND)

We need a new spot for the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

Damage from Hurricane Sandy (and delays in getting Federal funding to repair Heckscher Park) rule out Field 7 (Joe's Beach) for the sixth annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival.   The organizers need an idea for an alternate site, and right now they don't have one.

If you do, please reply here, or post them in the Yahoo LI Windsurfing Forum.   Otherwise we may take 2013 off (and miss all the great racing and freestyle and SUP and board tossing and funification).

Help if you can.

 

 

 

 

Swap Meet Coming

Windsurfers, SUPpers (what, you don't have one yet?), watermen, sell me your gear.  Whether 'tis nobler to hang from a boom or dangle from a kite, it's time to part ways with old stuff and buy slightly newer stuff that you need (you need more gear.)  So here it comes:

What:  Windsurfing/Kiteboarding/SUP swap meet

Where:  Hampton Watersports (1688 County Road 39 Southampton, NY 11968, 631-283-WIND, hamptonwatersports.com)

When:  Saturday May 11th, 9A-4P

Meet old waterfriends, make new ones, oogle lots of gear, buy and sell some!

Thrice Denied

Don't even read this.  There is a sliver of good in it, but as a water weekend, this last one stunk.  Saturday morning it was blowing NW 4.7, but by the time Christian, Peconic Jeff and I got on the water at Sebonac, a 7.5 was called for.   And the biggest we had were 5.8-6.2.   Le Bust #1.  

A few hours later text messages were flying.  The waves at Ponquogue were said to be wonderful and clean...SUP heaven!    Drive to Ponquogue to find a dozen surfers sitting in front of a decent but narrow wave, perhaps five feet.   We went out, spent time on the shoulder, and caught a few okay rides, and of course it's always nice just to be out there, but mostly it was a lot of paddling for naught.  Le Bust #2.

Sunday afternoon the wind was called for due South.  Scott called for a Mattituck session (later moved to South Jamesport) but I had time limitations, so instead of driving All The Way to the North Fork I went to Shinnecock Shores to join Christian, figuring I'd trade more dramatic conditions for an hour less of round trip driving.      This was an error.  Classic Spring mixdown problem:  Closer to the cold ocean, the warm southerly couldn't get down to the water, hence Christian was planing in the gusts on an 8.5, whilst on the North Fork the warmer Peconic had Scott howling "tspickinUUUUUUP!" and no doubt had a fine sesh.  

I don't know how Jeff netted out...hopefully he caught is somewhere.   iWindsurf's meter says it didn't blow on the South Fork until 6P, at which time I was on the LIE westbound.

Looozah.

East Coast Rising

I just watched this on Frank's blog, and wanted to share it.  Hurricane Sandy's aftermath, as seen by surfers.   This is not a surfing video.

Stormin' Holiday Card

In 2011 it was hard to beat the McCall's holiday card.  Taking advantage of the hurricane of the year (Irene) Greg and Cecilia managed an excellent SUP family photo (SUPing down the street in front of their home.)   The Peconic Puffin featured their card in a post, and Greg later told me that he didn't know what they'd do for an encore...how to get back in the Puffin for 2012?

Another hurricane, another card.  The waters rose higher in Chateau McC this year, and the repair work needed was great, but if anyone could find a silver lining and holiday cheer (and a Puffinworthy card) out of the mess, t'was Greg & Cecilia (and Casey and Lexie).   So it is with great honor that we present the two time winner of the Peconic Puffin Storm Inspired Holiday Card of the Year Award!

Feliz Navidad!

Let us quote Bill Barber, who took a break from nine straight days of sailing, surfing and kiting in Puerto Rico to send this message to Puffin HQ:

"Feliz Navidad to da Puffin nation and all windchimps!"

Couldn't have said it better.

(Once again we present an image from our favorite holiday card, which says "original design by Roz Davis". Thanks Roz!)

 

 

Blame Laird! Anti-SUP Rage in Peconica!

As a SUP Bozo, I was greatly entertained a few years ago when Bill Barber showed up with his "no SUP Bozo" sticker pictured (above left.)   Bill is amusing in his grumpiness (aren't we all?) and besides, it's a funny sticker!  And Bill went on to explain that SUPing does not automatically a bozo make (you must behave badly on the water.)  The best part of the entire episode was when people went ballistic following a blog post about the sticker in the Puffin, so when Bill showed up with his latest bit-o' SUP-mocking art, I immediately snapped some photos.

Blame Laird!

Return to SUPsurfing! Ponquogue rewards

I hadn't been in the ocean since October 1.  So the first time I fell off the board, wobbling like a newbie on flat water, the smell of salt water and sunblock going up my nose...it made me happy.  Peconic Jeff and I launched just west of Ponquogue (where the new good break is) to play with long friendly waves, 5-7 feet generously spaced.   No dues to pay unless you kooked (which of course...)   About five surfers, two guys in kayaks, Jeff, me, and an unknown SUPper had it all to ourselves.   I caught a 6-foot color-by-number wave that gave me a long playful right that I handled much better than I had any right to expect or deserve.   Note to the wave gods:   I ask for nothing bigger or better.  More of those will do fine, please.

A Thanksgiving wave!

As confidence built I began late dropping into the biggest waves.  A glorious left (Jeff later queried "what the heck were you thinking") led me to try it again.   I was promptly dropped seven feet into crunchville, and then trolled like a cheap fishing lure underwater for awhile, spinning and spinning until I managed to get up for air, a teense shaken.   I needed that lesson twice before I stopped kooking.

Jeff had a fine day too, so fine that half an hour after we agreed to take the next wave in, he was still charging it.

Digging George Pav

Or should it be George Pav digging? 

Don't worry, I won't write that I dig this photo (though I do, which is why I'm concocting a post around it.)  This was taken by Jeff Schultz at the helipad a week and a half ago.  The Wolf, Christian, Jeff and I were considering paddling but concerned about the headwinds (we ended up on 6.2's sailing Tiana Bay) and as Christian noted, the munchola factor.  In the end we went bay sailing.  

Still, admire George for trying to get on this thing, and Jeff's fine photo!

This weekend warrior thing is working out

SUPsurfing on Saturday, windsurfing on Sunday.  Again.    The ol' M-F work thing will be just fine if the weekends keep going like this.

Saturday at the Helipad the 4-foot sets kept coming and coming.   Christian, Jeff, and the Wolf as a late arrival had a long fine session...mostly lefts but the occasional right.   So many left were there that Jeff declared "I'm going goofy!" to frontside ride them.  So of course I had to do it as well.  I didn't fall, but otherwise it was not pretty.     Afterwards we explored the new weather station at the helipad, which appear to shoot laser beams off the clouds to judge their height.  Four cameras on the thing, but maddeningly the surf and bay views are essentially worthless for Us.

Sunday was going to be more SUPing, but after 20 minutes in the Wolfmobile watching Joe Natalie, George Pav et al getting blown off of wave after wave by the offshore breeze (as well as one wave that Christian described as "possibly double overhead") we took our leave and went to Tiana Bay.  Like last week I was on a 6.2 and 99 liters, accompanied by CD, Jeff, and Christian.  I was first on last off of us, and only got a little more than an hour, but after a major workout Saturday that was just fine.  In the parking lot Bill Barber arrived, to tell tales of teenagers marring his morning surf session ("I have socks in my drawer older than you!" he admonished the youngsters) and then gave me five minutes on why I need to take the channel out through breaking waves.   I know I'm supposed to do this, but I am channel blind the way some people are color blind.

Maybe this will be the year I spot the channels.   In the meantime, keep this weekends coming.

Best Waves I've Seen In Years

 

I was tricked into SUP surfing.   Peconic Jeff put me on a board with a paddle three years, when the ocean was serving up day after day of clean, well-defined sets, color by numbers waves...all of a sudden there was a wonderful alternative to windsurfing for days without whitecaps.   I bought a board, had a great year and a half, and then conditions went away.   We still got waves, but they've been messy, peaky, hard (I'm not very good at this) and anyone near me has heard me bitch mightily about the shortcomings of waves these days, and my hankering for Conditions of Olde.

Sunday I got 'em.

Glorious sets, 4-6 feet (then 5-7 feet) at Flying Point.  Myself, the Wolf, Joe Natalie, Jonathan, Scott cackling a chimply soundtrack in his kayak, Bill Barber (fresh back from Barcelona, on vaig gaudir molt dels museus) and the trickster Jeff went, went right, went steeply down the faces in a moderate off-shore breeze.  Glorious.  Jeff had his paddle-mounted GoPro fired up, and a great time was had by all.  Between Saturday's windsurfing and Sunday's SUPfest, it was a perfect weekend.  M-F would be so much nicer if all S-S went like this.

Thank you wind and water gods!

(video by Jeff...we'll both swear that we were on this wave for half a minute.)

Swap Meet Saturday

Windsurfing swap meet.  Kiteboarding swap meet (if you must).  Stand up paddling swap meet.  Swap swap swap.  This Saturday September 15th at Hampton Watersports.  Now that the wind is back (thank you!) you need more gear!  Sell your existing stuff and find something better!   Find beginner gear for your friend (or yourself).  Find expert gear with just a few scratches for a fraction of the cost new.  Find something, and clear out your garage to make room (for more windsurfing gear.)  Things to know:

-If you're selling, best to drop off your stuff this week, or bring it Saturday morning early (the swap starts at 9A.)

-If your gear sells, you get 100% store credit or 80% cash.  I myself have never understood the people who take cash...if you don't find something you want that day (used or new) you're going to need something sometime.  We're windsurfers, and s*** breaks!

-If you're looking for good carbon (masts and booms) arrive early.   That stuff gets scarfed up quick.

-SUP boards and beginner windsurfing gear...the same is true.

-Store employees and volunteers (like yours truly) will help you sort through everything there to find the equipment that best fits your needs and budget.

-There are usually some closeout sales on new gear in the store.

-If you are a newbie (or a new gear only freak) FYI: Swap meets are fun! 

Hope to see you there (early...then I hope to sail or SUP with you in the afternoon.)

 

River Surfing Video (you gotta see this)

All you need is current and rubber. Idaho river surfing!