April Rigging Fool

We had a beautiful forecast...SSW 30ish plus.   New Suffolk on the North Fork was the call (in the Spring on southerlies, the bays do better than the ocean as the ocean holds the cold longer, with a cold air bubble fighting the warmer invading southern blow.)

It was whitecap city as windsurfers (Jason, Jon Ford, Scott, the Wolf, Jeff, and moi) began to arrive.  With the trees howling, the Wolf noted that the forecast had been "not poopage".   I immediately declared that "Not Poopage" would be the title of the next post in the Puffin, but Jason winced, so poopage goes in the can.

The Wolf was on the water first, having rigged a 4.2.  I always need a fraction larger than The Wolf, so I rigged my 4.5.   But it took the Wolf only two runs before he returned proclaiming his need of a smaller wing.   So I left the 4.5 rigged, and rigged my 4.0 in anticipation of big winds.

I was on the water next with my 4.0.   It was too much.   I could hold it down, but there would be little fun sailing so overpowered.    After a few runs I returned to shore, derigged the 4.0 as well as the 4.5, and rigged my smallest sail, the 3.4.   My third sail rigged in thirty minutes.

Soon we were all ripping on three meter sails, having a great time in the flat water behind the sand bar, waiting for the tides to change (which would set off a mogul field on the other side of the bar...totally jumpalicious.)   But after 90 minutes the wind died.   We returned to the beach and surveyed the conditions.   It was looking like a solid 6.2.   "I'm going to cry,” said The Wolf, who got into his pickup, from which he produced a pizza pie.   Nobody knew what to rig (besides napkins).  Jason thought the wind would honk again.   John just wanted to plane, so he rigged a 5.4.  I derigged my 3.4 and waited for others to be wind dummies.

Soon it was revealed...I needed my 4.5.   So I rigged it for the second time that day...my fourth rigging of a sail in total, and tore it up in the high-speed flat water again.   Then I crossed the sand bar to check out the psychochop setting up in the outgoing tide.    Had a good time for 20 minutes before aggravating my recovering foot.   The foot is currently on ice.

(Never sailed New Suffolk?  You can find it, and dozens of other windsurfing sites, on the Long Island Windsurfing Map.)

Comments

[John]

Not Poopage would have been a fantastic title.