The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

In a Ditch...Hatteras Wave Sailing Video

Another installment from The Kooks of Hazard Part Two.   This time Mr. Skelton interpolates logo to mast-high Hat'tress wavesailing with Southern Culture on the Skids.  (I'm gonna get smacked for "interpolates, but whatever...)

(If you missed our first Kooks installment, here it is.)

In other Hatteras news, there is talk of a blogger summit down OBX way sometime around April's Windfest.
Interest has been expressed by OBX Bill, Lost in Hatteras, Mac and James.  I predict the list grows.  Will we pull it off?  Speaking for myself, every time last year I'd planned a quick trip to the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the forecast would start hopping up Long Island way and I'd stick around.   Still, it could be worth the hike!

A New Slow Bad Puffin

Eugene has a sister.

Ivette has a daughter.

Slo has a nightmare once this beauty turns 16.

And we have a new Puffin!

Presenting the Peconic Puffin debut of Lea Slobadsky. We'll have her on a windsurfing board by the time she's three.

(Top Photo: There she is...Ms. Peconica.
Bottom Left: Slo on the water. Bottom Right: Eugene contemplates his role as big brother. Note the stylish puffin shorts!)

FiberspArt

The idea was inspired by Dana Miller's wind chimes created from broken masts.   I'd seen some he'd made at Barton Decker's shop in Hatteras, and he also wrote a piece about recycling masts as art in New England Windsurfing Journal. I made this a few years ago when I snapped an old boom windsurfing on the Little Peconic.    The challenging part was figuring out how to cut up the tailpiece to get the nice descending lengths of tube.

I like being able to see and touch windsurfing gear from my past. I've sailed miles from shore in stormy seas with these bits of carbon tube, had adventures and a lot of fun. Vibrations from those times are now here in our home.

(note one:  back then I'd never broken a mast.   I often felt unmanly about this missing experience in my windsurfing resume.   Then finally last year I broke one in the ocean, and so felt much better about myself.  It was an expensive bit of self-confirmation. But now I've got mast stock as well as another boom tailpiece to work with. I await inspiration.)

(note two:  you know what to do if you break your boom on the water, don't you?   If not, here are your options:  If the arm that broke is not on the side you need to sail back to shore, then carefully waterstart or uphaul...you don't want to slice yourself open on any exposed sharp bits of aluminum or carbon...and sail back while babying the rig.  Planing is possible, but don't go full speed.   If the broken boom arm is on the side you need, the conventional wisdom is to unthread the outhaul, then removed the boom from the mast (you may also need to detach the mast for a second to clear the uphaul) and re-attach it upside down.  Twist the harness lines so that you can hook in if you need to, and sail back to shore.   Or do what the pros do...waterstart clew first with the good arm and sail back in.   If you can't manage any of this, flag down another windsurfer and see if they can't ferry out another boom.)

Aruban Wrap-Up: The Legend of Jeroen, The Legend of Anouk

Our windsurfing minivacation ended with one more windy day (5.5 conditions) for a great five days of wind. Having been coming to Aruba for over a decade I wanted to close out this series of blog posts with bits of news on two Arubans who have taken on semimythical status over the years. (This is a post for the Aruba aficionado...the casual reader may not give a fin.)

Jeroen
At a windsurfing clinic in 1996 (the Imperato Brothers) the instructors made the point during their chop-hopping lecture that good air could be had in any water conditions, if your technique was solid. To dramatize the point, they spoke of "a guy in Aruba who can, off of perfectly flat water, jump over boats." He could jump over a bus, they said. He was insane, sick, unbelievable to watch, they explained. I heard variations of this story from other people who had been to Aruba, and actually got to meet the windsurfer (whose name is Jeroen Westrate) in 1998. He was a pro sailor (sponsored by Naish as I recall) though he stopped windsurfing professionally a few years later. I never saw him jump over a boat, but while I was sailing behind him he did get the tail of his board higher than my head (6 feet) with the nose even further up, in conditions that I'd have been challenged to clear my fin. So what's new with Jeroen? There's a photo of him windsurfing in a casino ad at the immigration area of Aruba's airport.

Anouk
Anouk once graced the cover of Windsurfing Magazine (someone else can tell you why...all I'll say is that all people involved are very nice) but that's not why she's a legend. Anouk was (and still is) a beautiful buxom beach babe who also runs a babysitting service. The typical Anouk story goes like this:

Husband: I found a babysitter to watch Junior.
Wife (after taking a look at Anouk): Oh yeah right...you're toast!
Husband: No, really...everyone says she's a great babysitter.
Wife: Let's see her prove it.

The thing was, Anouk was by all accounts an unbelievably effective babysitter. Kids love her, parents love her, and she's extremely serious about her craft (try talking to her while she's watching a child...it ain't gonna happen.) She now runs a baby sitting empire in the windsurfing area of Aruba, and is said to be very difficult to book (here is her website.) Google "Anouk" and "babysitter" and you can read all about her. People plan their vacations around her availability.

So what's new with Anouk? Just a quick item: Someone told us that she was watching six kids at one time at the Marriot...she wrote numbers on their foreheads and backs to make them easier to spot and wrangle.

(Top photo: Jeroen slashes the wall at Queen Beatrix airport
Bottom photo: Anouk and her charges. Photo from her website. )

Aruba Windsurfing Vacation Update

So much wind, so little time.

When we came here last year we did not fare so well with the wind. Most days I was on a 6.2 to 7.2 sail and large boards...not exactly what you come to Aruba for, but then again February is not a particularly windy month in the ABC islands.

But fast forward 52 weeks and we are doing just fine, thank you! Principle sail for each day for me:

Friday: 5.2
Saturday: 5.7
Sunday: 5.9
Monday 5.7 (should have been on a 5.4.)

Highlights have included blazing through extra W-I-D-E jibes in the pooltable flat water, seeing a large sea turtle down by the wreck towards the lighthouse (there's a great rusted out wreck about a half mile north of the sailing centers...a beam reach takes you right past its stern) and generally having a great time in 85 degree air and equally warm turquoise water. Aruba doesn't suck.

The only frustrating bit has been the exaggerated gustyness of the wind on a couple of days, particularly yesterday. Windsurfing offshore winds anywhere is going to bring you into uneven air as the land plays its part. And it's well established that sailing downwind of the high rise hotels to the south of Aruba's windsurfing centers means negotiating wind shadows (unless you're several hundred yards from shore, hence only advanced people windsurf there.) But yesterday, even on the blessed "blue highway" running north well past the hotel area, the gusts were major. We're not talking "gustylicious" playful gusts that Sally was raving about earlier on the trip. We’re talking flipping a switch back and forth between 15 and 25 knots. If you were at full speed it could be negotiated, but it put a damper on my desire to try throwing anything more adventurous than a duck jibe (I got creamed in the middle of a push tack...the gust came just as I began the backwinding portion. Pow.)

I have on occasion criticized people who have whined about gusty conditions in Aruba. I felt that yesterday's conditions were exceptional, but I realized it was possible that I might have become...a whiner! So I sought out local expertise to get a more seasoned assessment of conditions, and approached "Mac" MacFarlane as he pulled board and rig up onto the beach. Anyone who has spent any time windsurfing in Aruba knows Mac...friendly guy, excellent instructor, and he windsurfs like a bat out of hell. I knew Mac would set me straight. "Mac, call me crazy, but in nine trips to Aruba, I think today is the gustiest day I've ever seen. Does it seem particularly gusty to you?"

Mac nodded, uttering an "oh, man!" Vindication.

Time to get back on the water!

Puffins In Aruba!

We have returned for a February windsurfing spectacular. Just one day into the trip, the wind and water already surpass last year's trip.

Day One: Surfergirl 777 on a Neil Pryde 4.0 and JP Freestyle Wave 85, your editor on a Starboard S type 93 and a 5.2, and we were both well powered. The wind had a bit of North in it in the morning...the good news being that the hotels that mess with the wind to the south were out of play, the not so good news being that it was exceptionally gusty anyway. Still, it was a day to rip!

If you're not familiar with the windsurfing waters in Aruba, there is a reef perpendicular to the shore that separates two large sections of sailing area. Flags mark the three ways to pass the reef...there's an inside channel, an outside channel, and a lone flag that marks the end of the reef. The first time you go hurtling through one of the channels (which are only about 30 feet wide) it is an act of faith. On my first session of the day I went out through the first channel, carved a very wide jibe a few hundred yards past the reef, and then sent windsurfing board, sail and rider full-speed through the outer channel.

I somehow had missed the low tide warning at the rental center.

The good news was that first fin contact was light, so I had a full half second to realize that the channel was not safe (was this why everybody was sailing all the way outside?) and managed to get my feet loose in the straps before the second fin hit, which was not light.

Untangling myself from the catapult, I note that it's time to buy a new harness.

Still, a great day! Asked for a quote on Friday's windsurfing conditions, Sally paused to consider, and then offered "Gustalicious!"

If you gotta windsurf in gusty winds, may they be 88 degrees on turquoise waters.

Top Ten Reasons For Women To Date A Windsurfer

Ladies, are you still searching for that special someone?   Consider looking amongst the windsurfers:

10. The ratio of men to women is 4 to 1.
  9.  They can talk about something besides football.
  8.  They don’t smell too bad because it’s a good bet they’ve gotten wet recently.
  7.  They have another interest besides sex.
  6.  You know they’re rich enough to afford windsurfing equipment.
  5.  You always get the latest weather report, several times a day.
  4.  They are capable of commitment, at least to their sport.
  3.  They have no issues about wearing rubber.
  2.  You always know where they are, at least when it’s windy.
  1.  Windsurfers are generally fit, tanned, and have cute butts.

Non-windsurfing men should NOT...repeat NOT...pursue windsurfing women, unless they are prepared to immediately throw themselves into the sport.  Otherwise such men will be surrounded by angry windsurfing men who all seek the great and rare prize:  the girlfriend or wife who windsurfs.    To squander such a find on a landlubber is an offense to those of us who sheet in!   

(There is the opinion held by a small minority that it is a drag to be a man whose significant other windsurfs...you probably have to rig for them, they use your equipment etc. but generally speaking the willingness of such wahines to make every vacation a windsurfing vacation, to understand why the garage needs to be packed with tons of expensive wet gear etc. outweighs the rigging/sharing concerns.  Discussion of such matters is encouraged.)

 

Windsurfing Bird Tee Shirt

The title says it all. I wish it was a puffin, but it's not. Design by Karl Nord...you can buy it here.

Jeff Is Crazier Than I Am

While most of Long Island's Craziest were windsurfing at West Meadow, Jeff, Billy, the Wolf and I made a beeline for Sebonac Inlet, for the mighty western winds forecasted. It was a typically fine high-wind Sebonac session (4.5 to 4.0 for me...adjust as necessary for the other gentlemen) with the one new wrinkle being when the wind swung WSW late in the afternoon. Some beautiful half-pipe ramps set up at the sand bar just north of the launch, making big air easily attainable to the masses (Jeff and I). Jeff reported his "biggest jump ever."

But that's not why Jeff is crazy.

Actually I have no idea WHY Jeff is crazy, but I'd like to enumerate some evidence establishing his "crazier than me-ness" from yesterday.

Item one: With only four of us on the water and the winds very up-and-down, Jeff windsurfed all the way to Robin's Island to take a photo of a giant osprey nest (a nest discussed in a previous mystery post.) He was on his 70 something liter storm board...not ideal for shlogging 2 miles should the wind drop. It may be warm for February, but the water temperature is still less than ideal (38.4). The grandmother in me says "sail closer to the launch!"

Item two: After the first snow squall blasted through (providing the aforementioned WSW ramps and 4.0 winds) we all sailed back to shore (the wind dropped and the sun was getting low.) Fifteen minutes later a second, windier squall came through, and I walked over to the Wolf's truck to watch the snowy madness whilst cowering in the lee. John was there, but no Jeff. "Jeff isn't out there, is he?" "Oh yeah, he went back out," the Wolf noted calmly, "I know where he is."

"I know where he is" was good to hear because visibility had suddenly become quite limited by the snow, and...oh yeah...it was frickin' nuking. Whatever sail Jeff was on, it was too big. He was still on his 4.2. When I finally saw him (in the water...not on it...during a massive gust) I stepped out into the wind with a meter. It was blowing 39 on the beach.

In a lull, Jeff got back to the launch. He was of course delighted to learn of the 39 mph reading.

(Top: Jeff's 70-something storm board on the southern tip of Robins Island. The only way back to shore is to sail.
Bottom: The Wolf ventures forth into the howling snow on a 3.8. The island in the distance to the left is Robins Island. Photos by Crazy Jeff.)

Gale Warning for Sunday...Get Your High-Wind Gear Ready

We are excited!    How great will it be to windsurf these winds with some snow in it?

(forecast courtesy NOAA)

Insane By Any Measure: The Stone Cold Craziest Winter Windsurfing Clip Ever

You've probably seen it before, but why not enjoy it again on midwinter's day? Remember: There's always someone crazier about windsurfing than you are!

Two thoughts about this clip: First thought: If the big block of ice he's standing on right before he launches is floating, which it appears to be...he could just sheet in where he's standing and ride the ice out. Depending on the bottom shape of the ice, he might get away without a fin.

Second thought: The poor guy is underpowered. It's gotta be rough to be the wind dummy on days like this.

Back-to-Back Winners

Peconic Jeff said "I'll take back-to-back days like this anytime!" I agree.

While Friday morning was foul and nasty by the reckoning of the sane (pouring driving rain, air temps in the mid 40's) it was also blowing from the east at low tide at Ponquogue. If you are an eastern Long Island windsurfer not of the Ponquogue cognoscenti, here's what you need to know about those who are: We begin our bedtime prayers each night thus:

"Please let it blow from the East tomorrow. Let me get to Ponquogue at low tide."

Amongst those favored by the gods on Friday were Peconic Jeff, Fisherman, Jon Ford and The Wolf, in addition to your editor. While the current at the shore was a bit challenging, once you pushed through it the wind was steady 5.0, with reasonably long waves well-spaced and friendly, as Ponquogue is wont to serve up.

After a couple of hours both the wind and currents began building and the waves took a turn for the gnarly, so we took advantage of one of the many charms of Ponquogue: We left and drove one mile east to sail The Bowl. The Bowl has a well-sheltered inside thanks to the jettyies protecting Shinnecock Inlet, and the outside gets Big. The sail call was a full meter smaller. Out we went on storm boards, with rigs ranging from 3.8-4.2, jibing off of the ten to twelve foot swell on the outside. Both Jeff and I described the outside swell in train metaphors...he saw them as locomotives, I though it looked like whole freight trains were coming through.

Back in the inside we had a visit from Jeff's seal, which periodically shows up at Jeff's sessions. This seal is becoming increasingly forward in her admiration of windsurfers...I received a playful bump in three feet of water, and she was seen staring at windsurfers as we'd come jibing through the inside. Apparently we are more interesting than fish.

We sailed until exhaustion.

Saturday brought West winds ("West Northwest" Jeff would correct me,) and West (or West Northwest) means Sebonac Inlet. Sunny and warm (perhaps 50!) only The Wolf, P-Jeff and I showed up, but the scant showing of windsurfers was no indicator of the conditions. With outgoing tide and 5.2 conditions, the sand bar provided classic rampalicious Sebonac terrain, which after the previous day's intimidating conditions we attacked with gusto. Jeff's seal did not show up, but several puffins were seen zipping around. The wind dropped a bit in the early afternoon, and while John and I packed it up, Jeff kept sailing ("he really goes for it" commented The Wolf,) working on vulcans and push tacks in the underrated flatwater stretch close to the inlet.

(Top photo: Jetties at Shinnecock Inlet make the inside at The Bowl a safe place to launch or regroup before hitting the big action on the outside. Photo by Jeff.

Bottom photo: Jeff cruises the pristine flatwater along the eastern beach at Sebonac Inlet. It's a fine jibatorium and great place to practice freestyle...just don't get sucked into the inlet during rising tides!)

Peconic Puffin in the Press, Part Three

The Peconic Puffin likes to be liked.

So thank you WindSport magazine for the item on this extraordinarly brilliant windsurfing blog. Go directly to page 30 and skip all the other stuff in their first issue of the year.

Actually, don't skip the other stuff. Editor Pete DeKay is starting out 2008 strongly, with (in addition to spotlighting 2008 windsurfing equipment and The Peconic Puffin) looks at real world wave sailing, helmet philosophy, and serves up a lot of great photos for when you're done with the words part.