The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

2013 East Coast Windsurfing Festival: Sandy'd.

Joe's Beach at Heckscher took too much damage for an event to be possible next month.  Here's the word from Mike Burns:

"Hello to all the East Coast Windsurfing Festival racers, freestylers, paddlers, tossers, spectators, formula guys, schloggers, crashers, splashers, bobbers, buoys, officials, judges, and sponsors.  

It's with great sadness that we have to officially postpone the 2013 East Coast Windsurfing Festival at Heckscher State Park until 2014 :-(  

Unfortunately due to damage that the park took during Hurricane Sandy our usual windsurfing launch at Field 7 is currently unavailable for use.  Since our usual beach will not be ready, the event has do be canceled for this year.  

Don't worry though, it just gives you more time to prepare yourself for the 2014 ECWF!!!  We'll be back in full force for 2014 with all the fun of the past years and then some!  I'd like to thank you all for the support for the event over the years and we're really looking forward to holding more events in the near future!!

So get training, go hunting for that light wind monster that someone inevitably has laying under a pile of lumber in their back yard, and get your game on for the return of the ECWF 2014!  

See you at the beach,

Mike Burns"

Now I'm even MORE bummed that I missed the 2012 Festival.  Must start preparing for '14...

 

Rum Lords Wavesailing Video

I love Cape Hatteras, and so I go every year. Except I've missed the last three years. I must correct this. Ever correct though are the Reef Warriors, who thrash water and rum with equal fervor. The video above is found on their site. Not for the faint of liver...rum was harmed during the makings, they warn!

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)

ABK Clinic @ Tiana...you need to sign up soon!

Andy Brandt and his merry crew of instructors are coming to Tiana next week (May 17-19) for three days of magnificent windsurfing instruction and fun.   It's coming down to crunch time, meaning if you sign up now (and wait until the last minute) you may get shut out.  ABK is strict about the ratio of students to instructors, and at some point in the next few days Andy will put a cap on the overall clinic size.  So sign up ASAP!

Mistakes you don't want to make include:

*Waiting for the wind forecast to decide if you want to go.  I've made this mistake, and regretted it.  It goes wrong three ways:  The forecast is wrong (the clinic gets better conditions than forecast,) the clinic is fantastic even on light wind days (and you have to listen to your friends rave about this, and see them sailing better all summer) and you miss the fun (and have to listen to the same friends go on about it.

*Assume that Andy will let you join at the last minute, even if the clinic is full.  I haven't made this mistake, but I've watched people's faces fall in disappointment as they stood there (Napeague) cash in hand, gear on cars, and be told they can't join.

*Trust the ABK web site when it says there are plenty of spaces available.  I love ABK, but the web site is not always running at the same speed as the clinics.

So sign up for the ABK clinic.  It's going to be a great clinic at Tiana (which doesn't have the name cache of Napeague, but in opinion is better for more wind directions, easier in terms of parking and managing your gear, more convenient for Saturday night dinner, etc etc etc.   As Scott says (or sings):  "Oh, Tiana!"

(Photo:  Don't get stuck inside your boom...ABK will help you prevent this.  Unless you're a freestyler and want to do tricks...ABK will help you do this.  Photo borrowed from ABK Boardsports.

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.

 

 

 

 

Mast Bend

As seen on World of Windsurf on Facebook.

Sweet Session at Ponquogue

I missed it Monday.   But Jeff and Scott did not.  Peconic Jeff reports:

"Sweet session this afternoon at Ponquogue! Scott & I full powered on 4.7, 3-6' waves, sunny, perfectly sideshore, big airs and one frontside wave ride with 4 bottom/top-turns. About 30 seconds before the Wolf & Bill Barber* showed up, I launched into a giant back loop crash. Felt like I was in the air for a good 3-4 seconds. Not bad for my first wave sailing sesh of the year.

* - Bill thought we were talking out of our ass about the condtions. Maybe not up to Puerto Rican standards, but still sweet for desperate Long Islanders!"

Oh man.  Damn damn damn.  I mean, good for them, but I MISSED IT!  Damn.  

One data point of interest is Jeff's capture of iWindsurf's Mecox meter for the day.  Check it out.  18-20 ENE at Mecox in the Spring should mean Ponquogue is windy!

 

ABK Returns to Tiana (Spring Windsurfing Clinic!)

"Oh, Tiana!" Scott sings, though he's usually waxing lyrical about the ocean launch.   But the user friendly and convenient Tiana Bay launch will be the site of ABK Boardsports windsurfing clinics this year, May 17-19.  Tiana has many advantages for a Long Island windsurfing clinic:

-Lots of shallow water,

-Sailable in every wind direction,

-Loads of parking,

-15 minute drive to the windsurfing shop if you need something,

-40 minutes closer (if you're coming from west) than Napeague.  Napeague was (and is) an excellent spot to windsurf, but I'm excited for ABK's triumphant return to their old Long Island clinic spot.

If you've never windsurfed before, this is the place for you.  Want to learn to sail in the footstraps?  Waterstart?   Plane through a jibe?  Vulcan?  Loop?  Et Set Er Ah?!?!?  This is the place.

So sign up ASAP (don't get shut out...it's happened, as  long time ABKers know).  Here's a link for more info.  ear, May 17-19.  Just make sure you're there.  Andy Brandt and his mighty crew are coming...

(Top:  Andy throws a shuv it.  I need to learn those.  Bottom:  You missed the Bonaire clinics?  No worries...they're bringing their simulators to Tiana.  Work out your technique dry on the beach, test it and get coached on the water.  Photos borrowed from Andy's Facebook page.)

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!

Bonaire Freestyle Gods Documentary coming to New York

While on a windsurfing vacation in Aruba in 1997 I first heard about "the Bonaire kids", a collection of young (and very young) locals one island over who were windsurfing on antiquated gear, many of whom were fantastic windsurfers, and some of whom were astonishingly good tricksters.  We now know the names of some of those kids:  Kiri.  Taty. Tonky.  Etc.  Review the PWA Freestyle rankings.  THOSE Bonaire kids.

The story of windsurfing in Bonaire is an amazing tale, and a documentary about it years in the making, entitled Children of the Wind, will soon be screened in New York City on April 21.

Click here to buy tickets.   If you can't make the NYC date, consider the Newport Beach Film Festival.  It's an amazing story.

 

Roll Cloud

Roll cloud.  That's what Jeff says it is, and he should know, being a meteorologist.  We'd ask him more about meteors, but as an editorial matter we see more roll clouds while windsurfing than meteors.   Photo by the Wolf.

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.

Friday Morning Outlook

emailed to Peconic Jeff, the Wolf, Scott and the greater Wind Chimp/Puffin collective:

Sat:  NW winds 15 to 20 kt...becoming W 10 to 15 kt in the afternoon. Gusts up to 25 kt early. Seas 2 to 3 ft.

Sun:  S winds 10 to 15 kt...increasing to 15 to 20 kt in the afternoon. Seas 2 to 4 ft.

Sat AM Meschutt?  Sun PM South Jamesport (or Tiana Bay)?

What say ye, men of wind?

Sally In The Straps

Back in February we reported on Sally's new wetsuit.  One of the quotes that ended up on the cutting room floor when she got the thing was "see you in the straps" (quoting the great Dana Miller).

Well, here she is, photo courtesy Jimmy Rivera.   We're heading out to Napeague in a few weeks...this will not be in the van.  5/3, anyone?

New Tri-fin Design

April Fools for windsurfing? More visionary design work by U2U2U2.