The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Strangest Fin Seen In 25 Years…Could It Work?

This skeg was spotted by Jeff out at Montauk a few days ago. It’s called the Turbo Tunnel Fin, and there are surfers who say the thing does many wonderful things…helps maintain speed through turns, improves nose riding, provides lots of drive and so on.

So of course I’m wondering what this design would do for a windsurfer. And if I should plug one into my SUP board (not that I’m remotely good enough to be able to evaluate SUP fin performance.)

Back when I started windsurfing there used to be some experimental or otherwise unusual fins advertised in the back of windsurfing magazine. I remember a fin with small holes running through the fin (to “channel water to prevent cavitation,”) a asymmetrical fin that would change shape depending on the reach it was on, an aluminum fin and so on. But this is the freakiest thing I’ve seen since the football fin, but unlike the football fin, it seems to have some fans.

(Top photo by Peconic Jeff.  Bottom photo from the Turbo Tunnel web site.

Redemption In The Waves (in three parts)

When last I reported from the SUP surfing front (my front, anyways) I could be heard whining mightily about what a bad time I was having, the amount of skin missing from my body, and various bits of property and self respect lost to the ocean. Then came last Friday.

Early morning Jon Ford said "meet me at the Cut for an early sesh". Out we paddled at 8AM, heading east into light breeze and minor about a quarter mile until we came to a very nice break. Five to Six foot waves were plentiful and tightly spaced, and twice we had sets of eight footers come through. The first set of 8's landed on our heads (we laughed) but the second set we rode.   I watched Jon do the steepest drop I've seen in my young wave career...the tail of his board was visible above his shoulder, and his face was that of someone who'd just jumped out of a window.  Two waves later I caught the best Left of my life and the best wave of my summer.   I was made whole.

After 90 good minutes of waves it was time to go, and I was so happy with the sesh that I didn't particularly mind getting creamed exiting the water (I timed my exit between beach breakers perfectly...almost.)

Then late in the afternoon I got the call to head to Road L.  Two sessions in one day?!  Yeah!   So I met the Wolf and Peconic Jeff and Jon (again) and George Pav and CD (who was switching back and forth between SUP and longboard with his son) and others on the water for some extremely clean four footers (with the occasional head-high set to catch your attention).   It was a playground.

After 90 good minutes of waves it was time to go.   Standing on the beach talking with Jeff for ten minutes, the ache in my arms started to subside, and then he said "you can't go now...there are still waves."  

So back I went.  Wave playground, yessirree.   After 90 good minutes of waves I was feeling beyond good.  I was back!

(Photos by Jeff.  Top:  The editor, happy again on a clean friendly bit o' Road L's playful swell.   Bottom:  There was the occasional head-high set.)

 

The Ocean: Knotsmith

Waves tied the knot above in my leash line in all of 20 seconds while I floundered in a riptide at the Cut.  That is a lot of threading and twisting for a twelve foot line...pretty cool marlinspike, methinks!  Photo by Remy.

Full report on a three-session SUP day coming as soon as I can get my hands on Peconic Jeff's photos.

Everyone Has A Good Time SUPsurfing Tiana (Except Me)

"C'mon, it was a great day!"

Not for me.

"You're glad you were here!"

Nope.

"Every day in the water is a good day!"

I don't know about that.

The truth is I did in fact have a good time at Tiana on Sunday...for about 45 minutes.   There were plenty of six foot sets coming in (with the occasional meaty seven plusser that would get everyone howling) and it seemed like a great day was upon us.   But then the inside got choppy and the current fought to keep you in the impact zone, and I am the worst in the world at finding the channel to get back out.  90% of the time I just don't see it.    So after the first glorious 45 minutes, the rest of the day looked like my spending 30 minutes struggling to get back out (and getting pummeled) for every wave I caught.   An inventory of things I lost in the impact zone:

Skin on both knees

Skin on forearms

My hat

Remaining shreds of self respect.

At some point during the day I did catch one memorable ride, sharing a long left with Jeff, but mostly the day left me feeling grumpy.   I'll look back and laugh about it just as soon as I get back out there and have a decent time.   Meanwhile, an inventory of people who either had a good time or whose irrepressible joy was greater than mine includes:

Scott

The Wolf

Peconic Jeff

Peter

Christian

CD

CD's daughter, seen surfing a head high + wave and being ho-hum about it on the beach

CD's wife, whose gift of fried chicken revived me after my Atlantic beatdown.  

SUP Surfing Is No Fun At All

Jon Ford of Hampton Watersports struggling to have a half-decent time in the waves at Tiana. Hey if you're reading this Sunday morning come meet us at Tiana...we're headed there for more of the same right now... (Photo swiped from Peconic Jeff's expanding Flickr album "Summer of SUP-2010".

Sunday Wave Outlook: Sweet

Sunday's forecast for wind may stink, but if you take the uni off your SUP board and grab a paddle, outstanding surfing may await you.  Swell Info is calling for clean, shoulder high and bigger.  My fingers are crossed.

(Photo of me kooking about at Road L Friday by Peconic Jeff. Yes, THAT Peconic Jeff, from whom we've had no photos in a long time. He's been too busy getting good at SUPsurfing. Also at the sesh: Scott, the Wolf, Jon Ford and Peter.)

Three Men and a Wave

I had several titles for this post, most of which deal with how the intersection of a friendly wave and human foolishness can result in a ding.  Let's try them all!

1.  Three Men and a Wave.

Surfing etiquette exists, but I know nearly none of it, so I usually SUP on the edges of whatever break we're at to avoid egregious offenses.   But on this fine day at Road L I found myself  on more than one occasion in close company with other surfers and SUPers who don't know me well enough to know I know nothing.   In the photo above, por ejemplo, I now know that it was encumbent on me to clear out ("closest to the curl gets the wave" I've been told.  Makes sense to me.  Now.)  I didn't know it then, and so the longboarded had to jump off his board to avoid colliding with the SUPer in the middle.  Oops, and apologies!

2.  A Beautiful Day at Road L.

This is an exception to the wave+dumb=ding title.  What a beautiful day!  Check out Peconic Jeff and the Wolf soaking it in:

 

3.  Have A Slice of Humble Fin.

(Title cribbed from P-Jeff's Flickr post.)   The image says it all.

4.  Putting the Eye in Impact.

Photographer Remy McFadden takes one for her art.  The wave hit the camera, the camera hit her eye.   Eye, as in "I"  "I in Impact."  Get it?  Doh!

(Surf photography by Remy McFadden, who I didn't run over despite the shot below.  Dinged Jeff and Remy photos by the editor.)

My Bitchin' Backside Turn...Not

I was so excited about the top photo when I opened it. Then I opened the next shot.
(Photographer Remy McFadden lamented that I didn't have this sequence when I ran the "When the fall is all you have..." post.)

Want to Try Stand Up Paddling? There's a Demo on Saturday

(and if you're able to catch dawn patrol on Thursday, the surf forecast is good first thing in the AM!)

Hampton Watersports has a SUP demo on for this Saturday.  If you have any interest in stand up paddling but haven't yet tried it, here's your chance.   For myself I first tried SUPing just to pass some time, but fell in love with it in the ocean fast!   Also fun on flat water...lakes, rivers, bays, large swimming pools.  Here's the press release copy from Hampton Watersports:

Thinking about trying stand up paddle boarding??

Wondering which board is right for you?

Craving a fun and exciting day at the beach?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then this is the event for you!  We will be holding a free Starboard stand up paddle board demo.on Saturday, June 19th from 10am to 2pm at the end of Cold Spring Rd. in Southampton.  The event is completely free and will be open to anyone who would like to try any of the boards in Starboard's stand up paddle board line.

Call the shop at 631 283-9463 for more details, or visit their website, or just show up!

Is It a Wave or Isn't It?

Sometimes its wavy, sometimes it's flat, and sometimes the swell just doesn't want to play ball.  Earlier this week the swell was weird at Cryder.  Waves would pop up, start to jack, then sit back down, move left or right and pop up somewhere else.   It was like playing Surf-A-Mole.   I spent a whole lot of energy paddling like mad to get on waves that weren't, and in the end caught perhaps two good rides.  The Wolf and Jon got more (as usual).   I left frustrated, which was new for me. Humiliated and/or humbled are my bread and butter. Oh well, better waves next time!

(Top:  Will it or won't it?  The Wolf atop a maybe wave.  Bottom:  Jon got one.  Photos by Remy McFadden.)

Head-High Waves (for Rabbits): Microwave SUP Sesh

What do you do when the ocean is so gnarly that you can’t get out?   If it’s windy we sail the inner bays.  If it’s not windy, we SUP surf the waves that come through an inlet.   I had never done this before, but Jon and the Wolf said it would be fun, so I pulled up on the east side of Shinnecock Inlet.   The guys were already out and riding the, um, waves.   They were hooting and carving turns (on what I could not see) so I put on a wetsuit and paddled out.

When I got to the lineup I found the guys carefully jockeying for position to catch waves that were maybe a foot high.   This is what I came out for?  But hey I was already wet so I tried to catch a wave.   And failed.   And tried again and again and again.   Fail, fail, fail.   Jon and John gave me some tips, which got me onto a wave that I promptly fell off of a few seconds later, finding myself in thigh-deep water. 

Standing in the shallows watching the dogged pursuit of foot-high waves, I thought “these are surfing conditions for rabbits.   This is a scene they cut from Watership Down:

Pipkin:  “I hop on the board and do what?

Blackberry:  “Wait for a wave to come, then paddle with your paws.  Then you surf!”

Pipkin:  “I don’t think rabbits are supposed to surf.  I’m frightened.”

Fiver:  “I think it will be okay, Pipkin.   El-Ahrairah would have surfed if he needed to.”

Bigwig: “Get on the damn board and surf!”

Those rabbits had pluck, if somewhat limited intellects.   But I’m not a rabbit, I’m a Puffin being humiliated by ankle high waves!    So I tried a few more times, positioned myself like Jon suggested, and finally caught one.  The ride was in fact entertaining.    So I go and catch another.   I’m starting to get the hang of it…like miniture golf I have to scale down my movements while staying precise.  

The microwave gods saw that I was becoming comfortable, and so arranged for a new humiliation:  There it was, a thigh-high bomber approaching to wipe me out.   In my ignorance I was excited…a legitimate small wave…so I let it come to me, paddled up to speed…and pearled!   I was OVERWHELMED by the beast!   It was all about proportion, like in Moneyball where Michael Lewis hails pitcher Jamie Moyers’ 60 mph curveball, which lulls batters so much that he can then blow them away with an 80 mph fastball.    It sounds ridiculous, but that’s what happens.

And that’s what was happening to me.   Humbled by the smallest waves I’d ever tried to surf, I learned the value of being in exactly the right spot.   I hope some of this translates into my next session, on waters where rabbits fear to tread (I mean surf.)

*****

1.   Apologies to Richard Adams (author of Watership Down), and Michael Lewis (whose work I did not mangle; still, he was probably hoping that his name would never be mentioned in these unhallowed URLS.)

2.   It should be mentioned that Jon Ford had surfed in magnificent head-high waves (for humans) at Cryder the day before.   He’s the antithesis of a wave snob.

We’re done with drysuits, but 3/2 doesn’t cut it. SUP session at Cryder

All in all it was a good day:  No wind forecast, no waves neither, but their was waist to shoulder high swell at Cryder where Jon Ford and I went to SUP.   In the bright sun and near 70’s air temps my drysuit had been put away, and I thought I’d try skipping my leaking 5/3 and surf with a 3/2, plus a neoprene shirt and hood to insure maximum comfort.

Not even close.

Fortunately/unfortunately I didn’t fall for a good ten minutes after hitting the water.   My first dunking in  the 52 degree Atlantic was alarming.   I was about five degrees warmer than Get Out Of The Water Immediately, or in other words Conditions Were Great Except When I Fell.

Jon caught lots of good waves, and I rode half a dozen winners plus a dozen not-so-bads.    But the cold water was punishing with every fall, and after an hour or so I paddled over to Jon to tell him that I thought I’d wrap up the sesh after a few more waves.    The first time I tried to say this I found my lips didn’t work so well.  So my second attempt I changed the line to one more wave.   Then when I tried to get back up standing and fell three times in a row (my balance shot) I thought “I’m like one of those hypothermic people who don’t realize they’re compromised” and decided to get my chilled butt off the water whilst I could still fake clear-headedness.

Next time out I’ll be back in a semidry.  Even my leaky eight year old 5/3 would be better.  But perhaps I’ll go shopping for some proper new neoprene.

Reminder: Windsurfing/Kiteboarding/Stand Up Paddle Swap Meet this Saturday

I'm going to miss it, but you shouldn't if you need to buy or sell gear.   And by "gear" we mean windsurfing equipment, kiteboarding equipment, stand up paddling equipment...things to get wet on.   Saturday March 8th at Long Island's Hampton Watersports (which forever and anon before was Windsurfing Hamptons.)

If you've raced at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival in recent years, you know that an ancient longboard that might otherwise be classified as dump fodder can, if conditions are light, be a fearsome competitive ride (I sail a board that was made before footstraps were invented, and I came in Third in 2008.)   So you may want to take advantage of the swap to pick one up cheap.  One man's junk is another man's lean mean racin' machine!   Be ready for June...

Days without Gloves

Good times of late, and the touch of boom and paddle to bare hands.

A morning session Friday on the Little Peconic, Christian and I sailing from Towd Point.  6.2, big boards, sunny and, well…nice.   Nothing special, just your basic fine time windsurfing.

Saturday SUPsurfing at Cooper Beach with the Wolf, Peconic Jeff and Jon Ford (CD came too, but broke his wetsuit zipper and didn’t bring a backup.  “Chimpidity!” CD called it (also nobody called Scott…that’s a big Oops!)  Anyhow the forecast was for flat water, but somehow we found wide sweet endless thigh to chest high waves, well mannered and friendly.    I told the Wolf that I felt like an eight year old I was having so much fun.  He hooted in reply…no further explanation was required.

Sunday we got greedy and returned to Cooper.   It looked good from shore, but once we’d paddled out (we= CD Wolf and mois) we found ourselves in endless closeouts.  CD bailed first (“I’m here for fun, and if there’s no fun I’m not here”) while Mr. vanderWolf and I required more punishment before we accepted rejection.

But still, the water was warmer than its been in months, and what’s better to do than splash around in the waves?

Time to box the gloves until December.

How Long Does A Deep Thigh Bruise Take to Heal?

Mine took five weeks.

I post this because I found precious little information when I sought it for myself.  Lots of "time will tell" and "it depends on the severity of your ding, your overall health, physical therapy and RICE treatments" etc that never got to something that read "four to six weeks" for example.

So here is one puffin's tale:

-Got slammed in the thigh by my SUP board (whilst getting worked by a closed out wave).
-Was able to continue SUPing (following five minutes of swearing) but after the drive home found walking difficult.
-Major swelling around the impact zone (of my thigh) later that day.
-After several days of semi-limping, developed bruising everywhere BUT where the board hit.
-Tried windsurfing two weeks later...I could not jump the board, and found myself limping again the day after.
-About the time my bruises cleared (five weeks) tried another session.  I was 90% good, which is fine by me.
-I still have a bump at the impact site, and it's still sore, but it continues to slowly improve.

So if you've googled the question (HLDADTBTTH?) I hope this one example is of use to you.  YMMV.

(The thigh, 2.5 weeks after getting slammed.)