This is just too good not to share. When I stumbled over the Lake Erie wave sailing video earlier this week it lead me to the web site of the Reef Warriors tribe. They dwell upon Lake Irie (mon). They windsurf, they kite, they Hobie, they SUP.
I suspect that if you can do it atop the water without a motor, they're on it. There also seems to be a rum cult (rum being their sacremental imbibation of choice.)
Learn their legends. Heck, they have seaweed monsters!
(Images of tribal iconography and sea creatures courtesy the permanent exhibit at the Museum of Seminatural History, donated by tribal elders.)
What is the wave etiquette in this situation? Women and children first?
As seen on The Horse's Mouth.
The Wolf returned to the water a few days ago, sufficiently recovered from a dinged knee. Peconic Jeff noted that this event took place on the auspicious day of a Wolf Moon. I asked Jeff (who knows about moons) when the Puffin Moon was, as I am desperate to get back on the water. Jeff did some research and said "I don't know...all I found for "Puffin Moon" was this:
(Wolf photo by Jeff Schultz. Puffin photo by Sally Van Natta, an impressive nature photographer. Check out her work on Flickr.)
This should cause Peconic Jeff to bug out. Wave clouds...hell yeah! Spotted on Facebook in a post by Ely, this image was taken in Alabama a day or two ago. From the Cloud Appreciation Society: "The breaking waveforms of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds are the result of shearing winds up at cloud level.
A particular type of turbulence can develop in a layer of cirrus cloud, which happens to form below an inversion ...between air currents of differing speeds and/or directions. Sea waves break as their bases are slowed down upon reaching shallow water and their crests surge ahead. Cloud waves break in the same way: when their crests are pushed ahead of their troughs by the difference in air currents"
(Top photo attributed to Skip Walker. Bottom photo courtesy Cloud Appreciation Society/Brian Wong)
This made my morning. Windsurfing friends Cecilia and Greg were home in Connecticut when Hurricane Irene came through. While they found the winds overly strong for sailing, the flooded streets seemed just fine for some family stand-up paddling.
OG Puffins Nancy and Bob (now in Florida) usually come through with my favorite card of the year, but I think we may have a Cecilia/Greg upset on our hands!
Even SUPping would be fine (hell yes it would be fine) though a nice 5.3 day with friendly shoulder-high waves at the Bowl would be particularly fine. Photo swiped from the always impressive watersport Santa collection at Le Horse's Mouth.
(warning: if you're looking for a serious blog post...even a semi serious post, this ain't the day to be on the Peconic Puffin.)
Rumors were flying on the Internet. Apparently unlocked by the SUP Cartwheel post, word was that the Wolf had tweaked his knee attempting a cartwheel on his stand up paddle board. I believed the rumors (I always do) but try as I might to wrangle details from the innuendo-mongers (Scott, CD, and Peconic Jeff) no information was forthcoming. Even Lord Vanderwolf played it coy, emailing me:
"Okay, here it is: Last Saturday Jeff and I SUPped at Ponquogue in one of the weirdest wave set ups..."
and trailed off leaving mystery in his wake.
I had to investigate.
P-Jeff had whispered in my ear about a secret gathering Friday night in the Wolf's den...the VanderDome. I was given directions and drove to the spot. In the inky blackness I did find a door on a strange building, and did finally find a collection of wind chimps, puffins, and ne'er do wells with beer, cheese and crackers gathered around a ceremonial fire.
I made an offering of Full Sail beer, was admitted into the ring (ne'er do wells included Hulse, Jeff, Ross, John Jr, Scott, and of course the Wolf) and finally got the story: Waves were coming from multiple directions at Ponquogue, and when two collided to create a giant apex poised to crash down on him, the Wolf jumped off his board...straight forward. The charging apex tossed the board upwards into the airborne Wolf's knee, and sent him spinning and bruised.
Ouch.
So CD is limping around as his demolished quad heals, I wonder when my ridiculous arm is going to let me get back to fun and games, and now Lord Vanderwolf can be seen with a single crutch nearby. Not a lot of water action here, folks!
(Wolf on crutches photo by CD. Fire by the editor.)
A nice channel for getting out, don't you think?
I was checking out various Google Maps images to see if anyone is sailing spots I know (a few years ago the usual suspects and I were caught rigging at Meschutt, and as of press time the Google shots of Napeague show two kiters and two windsurfers). Too much time on my hands, it would seem. Anyhow my I was caught by this apparent rip current in front of the Bridgehampton Surf Club, about 3/4 mile east of the Cut at Mecox. We use these things to get out through the break when SUPsurfing (and I'm the worst at spotting them...ask anyone!) but this one I see.
Good for SUP, no joke for a swimmer caught in one. Here is a link to NOAA's 101 about getting caught in a rip current and what to do (don't swim against the current, swim parallel to shore, don't panic, when you finally get clear of the outpulling water then head back to shore, and wave for help if you need it.)
I've met some windsurfers who've said they think stand up paddling would be boring after awhile. I point out to them that not only are they more nimble than canoes and kayaks on flat water, but they're loads of fun to surf in the waves.
"You can surf a SUP?"
Oh yeah.
This photo of Jon Ford enjoying Hurricane Maria swell was taken by Jeff Schultz. I took it from his Peconic Windsurfer Flickr page the moment I saw him post it in Facebook.
Year to year, storm to storm, many of our breaks on eastern Long Island move. It used to be that from Flying Point you'd look east to Clark Bar, the Cut and other waves. But now head west a few hundred yards...it's wonderful.
As I walked down the beach with my SUP board I saw George Pav all alone on a wave the length of a football field. He was going right. And going and going and going and going and going. Then paddled back out as I rushed to join him. For about an hour it was looooong rides in and an easy paddle out in well spaced sets. Then Jeff, the Wolf and Christian arrived, and the waves kept coming (though the water took on some chop while the waves lost their grand width.)
The next time I go to Flying Point I'm arriving two hours before low tide, hoping to catch the same grand rides we had Saturday.
(Christian takes a long ride. Photo by Jeff.)
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