The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Strange Finnage...There's More!

After starting a discussion about the turbo tunnel fin in the Aussie windsurfing forum Seabreeze some people posted shots of these fins.    The tubed windsurfing fins and split fins are taken from finmaker Deboichet's website.  I don't know the provenance of the unusual wooden surfboard setup.   Meanwhile discussions about the turbo fin seem to conclude that the fin is good on longboards for noseriding, but creates way too much drag for windsurfing.    So I'm thinking "what about putting one on a windsurfing board and sailing it fin first?"   Bizzarro freestyle possibilities?

Who Windsurfed Into North Sea Harbor Last Sunday?

I was out practicing light wind freestyle in Davis Creek Sunday when I thought I saw the top of a windsurfing sail over the dunes towards the Little Peconic Bay.    It would peak in and out between the dune but I never got a good look.    Then I saw it clearly (blue-green modern sail...looked like a 7.5) pass behind the Towd Point bridge entering North Sea Harbor.  An unknown windsurfer in the belly of Peconic Puffindom!    I wasn't in a position to get to NSH and take a look, but am certainly curious as to who it was.  So if it was you, please leave a comment!   Otherwise remain a mystery, and the Puffins will keep an eye out for you...

By the way, that's the first time I've seen a windsurfer navigate the inlet.   Hope you (he/she) caught the tide right on the way back out.

(Don't know where North Sea Harbor is?   It, along with 50+ more windsurfing locations, can be found on the Long Island Windsurfing Map.)

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.

Jeff Sneaks In Some Down The Line SUP Sailing

Don't fault yourself if you missed Peconic Jeff's blog entry about his mighty SUP wavesailing session...he is, um, sparing in his blogging activity (better to check out his excellent photo site, but even there the offerings have been thin lately).   It turns out that Jeff caught an excellent SUP surf sailing sesh at Road L on Saturday, which he hogged for himself whilst the rest of the regular gang only dreamed about such things.  Read about it on Jeff's Windsurfing The East End.

Earlier in the day (Saturday) The Wolf and Peter and I caught some 4-6 foot SUP action at Tiana, which was pretty darn good.   I kooked the van packing and forgot my leash, but managed by borrowing the mini leash off of Remy's boogie board and attaching a windsurfing uphaul to get some length.     

Mast Stick In The Soup (Good Photo!)

I'm grooving on this photo.   That's OBX Bill of the mighty Bill's OBX Beach Life blog, bending it most interestingly while throwing a goiter.   Bill tells the Puffin "Yea, the mast is in the soup, and I believe the mast/sail flutter is caused by the loose leech and lighter wind/rig momentum on the inside during the sesh."   I originally thought the mast might be in the sand, as it sure looks shallow to me, but his OBXness says no.

There many more photos worth taking a look at in Bill's post.   The above shot is by Keith McCulloch.

Long Island Windsurfing on TV: Royal Pains

Tonight on USA, if you should turn on the dippy "Royal Pains" (which follows the exploits of a doctor serving the uber-rich in in the Hamptons) you can catch some of the Long Island fleet in the background (catch a few seconds in the video promo.)

In order to capture the Hamptons watersports scene, the producers decided to shoot at West Neck.  Go figure.  Actually West Neck is a beautiful spot (site of last October's Fall Regatta) and has lots of features that made it more amenable for a day of shooting than, say, Ponquogue or Napeague (I know these things.)

Windsurfers on hand adding spice, color, and general windsurfing excitement?  Kevin O'Shea reports the crew included Steve Domjan, Jill Marr, Buddha Mike, Dan, Christina Clement, Joanne, and K-Dog himself. 

The show airs tonight at 10 Eastern.

Not A Great First Half For Wind

Racer Ted recently posed the question in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfers Group if this Spring was especially poor for wind, or if this is what we get in New York (Ted's a recent arrival from Chi-town.)   More specifically, Ted asks about sailing days beginning in March (sissypants doesn't care to jibe around icebergs with the rest of us.)   I knew this had been a disappointing year so far, but a check of my own session records underlined it.

Here are my windsurfing day numbers from the last four years, March 1 through June 30:

2007:  36
2008:  28
2009:  32
2010:  16

2010:  So far a real pooper!   But as someone said, "thank god for surfing!"

If only I was any good at it. 

My Wife's Latest Speed Sailing Accessory: New Booties

Ladies love their new shoes.  My wife Sally grabbed some brand new Pro Limit booties (the "Global Series") fresh from the windsurfing store and took them for their maiden stompage at Napeague last Sunday, as a gang of us (Lili, Wilson, Dana, Andy, Sally and I) made the most of an afternoon thermal.   The wind was light (me on a borrowed 6.9…thank you Wilson!) but we were mostly planing ,  and after the session Sally couldn’t stop raving to me about her new booties. “I’m much more sensitive to the board than in my old booties, and I was able to make subtle adjustments for speed. Did you see me on the reach during the five seconds when I was keeping up with Dana?”

Dana, if you’ve never sailed with her, is fast. To keep up with her is to sail fast (and if you want to sail as fast as her, you’d best do it from behind. If she sees you matching her speed, she usually puts the hammer down and goes even faster. ) Sally attributes her taste of the Sisterhood of Speed to sensitivity gained from her new booties.   The next morning she was hounding me about the wind forecast…when can she get back out there and rip? 

(Sally's new booties, sans Sally, who was unavailable to model as of press time.)

Buddha Mike's New Windsurfing Art

Stonecarver Michael Jamieson is exploring new ways to combine windsurfing and stone. "Sunset Sesh" is ink on polished rainbow sandstone, with a limestone frame.  See how the grain in the stone looks like water, sky, clouds, and an island?  Sweet.

"In My Dreams" is also ink on polished rainbow sandstone, with bluestone, hudson river driftwood, and seashell frame.   I dream of boosting that kind of air myself.  Nice jump, Mike!

("Buddha Mike" Jamieson still brings the Buddhas (and other carved beauties) to Long Island windsurfing events.  Who is doing your statuary?

Photos of the art by Buddha Mike.  Photo of Buddha Mike with Buddha at the East Coast Windsurfing  Festival by the editor.)


 
 
 
THIS SPACE LEFT BLANK 'CAUSE IT WOULD BE A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO FILL IT WITH ANYTHING WORTHWHILE

A Great Poster, A Great Event: Techno 293 Nationals

That's a beauty (the poster).

That's a beauty (the event).

Both the Notice of Race and the registration form can be found on the web site.  Event organizer Nevin Sayre wants you to know the following:

"1/  Racing for the Gold Fleet begins Aug 3 with final check-in 1100-1200, Skipper's Meeting 1300, and first possible start 1330 per the Notice of Race (www.vhyc.org).  The Silver Fleet is welcome to practice Aug 3, but their official racing is Aug 4 & 5 only.  Note that at the US National Championships there are U19, U17, U15, and U13 age groups.

2/ The Silver Fleet for beginning racers is an important part of this event.  It is a great opportunity for new windsurfers to improve their skills quickly in a series of very short courses and to learn from our upcoming hot shots.  Several sailors have graduated from Silver to Gold Fleet in the last couple of years. If you can get upwind, you are qualified for the Silver Fleet.

3/  We have limited housing in private homes on a first come, first serve basis.  We can't promise to put up parents.  Additional accommodations is listed on the NOR.  

4/  If you are reserving a charter board ($75) please contact me directly at nsayre@aol.com.   The charter includes board, fin, straps, and UJ.  Charter boards are available for purchase following the event.

5/  This event is part of the U.S. Sailing Junior Olympic series.

 Happy windsurfing,

Nevin Sayre"

Windsurfing in Extreme Heat? Try the Ice Cream Test

When air temps are above 90. a scoop of ice cream placed on the head of a windsurfer can provide a number of beneficent effects:

-the cooling and refreshing effects encourage precise rigging of the sail you were going to junk rig,

-the stigma of falling off your board in light summer winds is mitigated by the prospect of relief from the milky sugar drip into your eyes,

-it provides a humorous reminder of what falling in winter waters was like, and will be again.

The original Ice Cream Test was used to emphasize the fact that lesser windsurfers (such as myself) do not need napkins with our mid-session lunch.  The falls take care of everything.

Board Movement and A Drunken Sailor

Pitch?  Yaw?  Roll? Surge?    It's the stuff of fuselages, hulls, and even our boards (I think only boards pearl, but that's another story.)

Anyhow it's come to pass that the greatest illustrator in the waterblog universe (better even than James)...the mighty Christina of Bowsprite...has created a visual guide to this nautical terminology using drunk seamen to convey distinctions in how watercraft be shuffling around.   Don't waste a moment thinking about whether or not it's worth your time, just go.  Surge, in fact!

Fin Flex Ain't No Joke, Homes

Check out this clip that was posted on The Beach Telegraph.   Yeah it's a formula fin, but if it's bending like this, you know more humble skegs are giving it up to a lesser degree.   I had been a flex skeptic...now I believe.  I Believe!

Reason to Hate Mike Burns #104: Behind the Back Duck Tack

Mike Burns just makes me sick.    He’s cruel and merciless and drives me nuts.  Okay he’s one of the ten nicest guys on the planet, but still…

This latest I Hate Mike Burns bender started when I read on his web site that he was working on a new move, a description of which includes the words  “behind the back duck tack”.

A move that “includes” a behind the back duck tack.   It includes it. It’s not that Mike is working on a behind the back duck tack.  It’s that a behind the back duck tack is a component of the latest trick he’s perfecting.

I hate him I hate him I hate him I hate him.

But that didn’t stop us at the Peconic Puffin from asking him what the heck he’s doing!    Mike tells the Puffin:

“The move I’m working on is called the Culo.  The behind the back duck tack is the easy part.  It's actually just a duck tack that you don't switch your feet for.”

And he went on.    I hate him I hate him I hate him.   Then he gave me some tips for the basic duck tack, so okay I don’t hate him as much.   

Here’s a link to Mike Burns’ post and video of the Culo.      The Culo "includes" a back to back duck tack, which according to Mike is "the easy part".

(There are lots of reasons to hate Long Island's finest freestyle windsurfer.  Above is a photo by Bill Doutney catching Mike giving us another one.)

When The Fall Is All There's Left, It Matters A Great Deal

This photo of me (taken by Bill Doutney at the end of a freestyle heat at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival) has proven to be quite popular.   That is satisfying, because I work on my falls.  "If you can't stick the move, at least stick the fall," I say!  "Put more style in freestyle," I say!   I'll say most anything to shift the conversation from my blown moves, true, but I do like to depart the board with distinction.  From The Lion in Winter:

Prince Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool... as if the way one fell down mattered.

Prince Richard: When the fall is all there is, it matters.

(The West Wing tweaked it to 'When the fall's all that's left, it matters a great deal' which I prefer.)

My basic guidelines for falling are to make eye contact with your audience, smile, and if the first two are impossible on account of your head being underwater, do something with your feet.   It matters.

(Top photo by Mr. Doutney, bottom photo by Remy McFadden.)