The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Sebonac Inlet Does Not Deny Us

There’s a fence blocking Sebonac Inlet road a few hundred yards before the launch…portions of the road are washed out or otherwise below the standards of the town roadmeister.   Not that we care.    To clear the fence one can thread the gap between fence and hedges in a bit of sand.  This is no problem for the 4WD crowd, but for me in my one-wheel drive van I need to carry some speed before I hit the sand in order to coast through.

My van has been...shall we say…”brushing” the fence post and the hedges.   And it’s been worth it.

Yesterday the sail call was 4.2-4.5 (Jon Ford on his 5.0 LIT) and the smallest boards, though in the biggest gusts all anyone could do was bear off and tail-walk to shore.  

Sebonac was serving up its second-best ramps…not quite the classic half pipes (though the waves were pretty good down at the point at Cow’s Neck) but the gusts more than made up for launch imperfections.   Scott reported “my floatiest jump here ever!” (which I saw…lots of hang time) on starboard, and I had my own floatiest at Sebonac on port.   I only got about four feet of altitude, but then I just held there (with a big smile on my face) while moving forward. 

Also enjoying the blow:  Frank, CD, Peconic Jeff, the Wolf, John Hulse (returned from ‘Rico) and Bruce.

Ponquogma

I love sailing at Ponquogue.  I wish we sailed there all the time.   The gang likes to restrict Ponquogue to E, ESE, SE, and ENE winds (though we once had a fine time on WSW...more of that please!)     I'd like to try some onshore sailing there, but must see if I can find anyone crazy enough to try it with me (calling Peconic Jeff...calling Peconic Jeff...)

Saturday the wind was a fine direction...15-20 from east northeast...except that it rarely got above 15.   Mr. VanderWolf brought all his toys, and was ready to SUP paddle, SUP sail, or (as he ended up doing) rig up a 6.2 and his largest short board.   I too rigged a 6.2 on my big JP freestyle board, and while we were only planing half the time there was still much fun to be had jumping outbound and playing with the few available waves (3-4 footers) that kept things interesting.  

Even shlogging half the time I was happy.   I'd rather run a big rig at Ponquogue than rip 4.0 at South Jamesport.  Call me ridiculous (everyone else does) but it's true.   In fact one of my all-time favorite sessions at Ponquogue had me sailing a 7.0 in shoulder-high swell.   It was great until my mast broke...I've since replaced it with an oceanworthy RDM.

Someone who needs to get with the bigger sail program is Peconic Jeff.   P-Jeff rocks a 5.9 when things get light, but between me, him, and the Wolf, Jeff has the greatest...um...displacement*...so he of all people needs that larger rig if he's going to take advantage of Ponquogue's light wind offerings.  And he must!

Such is my Ponquogue dogma**.

*Jeff is fit as a fiddle.  Maybe it's not a matter of displacement but of density?
** The title of this post is inspired by the kayaking blog Frogma, which it was recently revealed is named for some mad debate about paddling arcana, hence amphibious dogma, ergo Frogma.

Human discussion of meteograms? How about the wind forecast?

Good news:  iWindsurf is forecasting the wind for Long Island again.  Those antimasters of communication resumed what this year is being called "Human Meteorologist Forecast Daily Briefing" sometime in the last few days.   Not that they send an email out to tell anybody.  No.  Those of us who pay annually for seven or so months of forecasts just have to keep looking to find out when they start each year.  And of course in the Fall, one day they just stop.   

Remember when the forecast was called the "Daily Discussion"?   It seemed like they didn't want to go out on a limb and call the forecast they were charging for a forecast.   The guy who codes the site codes the page as "wind forecast"...how about the wordsmiths follow suit?

iWindsurf editorial decisions are a pet peeve.  It's not that I have too much time on my hands, it's that I'm a preposterous geek.    Yet I keep paying them to abuse my sensibilities.

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Gets A Web Site!

The second annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival (June 6-7, 2009 at Hecksher State Park) now has its own web site!   Check out www.ECwindfest.com and sign up to join us in racing and freestyle competition.    Don't worry about whether or not you're good enough (I'm competing, so there's no danger you'll come in last) and don't worry about the wind, because barring tornadoes and lightning, the Festival is on!  (In fact, in the event of a tornado there will be a skippers meeting...maybe we'll have a spin loop competition.)

The East Coast Windsurfing Festival is tremendous fun...check out the Peconic Puffin's coverage of last year's event...and then sign up.  If you can tack, you can race, and if you can do a helitack, you can compete in freestyle.   Or just come to Hecksher and cheer your windsurfing friends on!

(A race begins at the 2008 East Coast Windsurfing Festival.  Photo by Bill Doutney)

Session Report (at last) as Meschutt Gets Good

It began as an "I just gotta sail" sesh...January air temps, maybe enough wind to sail, and high tide at Meschutt.   It began with just me and the Wolf.  Then in came the sun, out went the tide, and up came the wind.   I ended up on the 77 liter board and a 5.0 playing with the half pipes on the outside and the flats by the jetty with the Wolf, Frank, Jon (working the one-foot swell like Ponquogue going off), Joe Natalie (man of a thousand duck jibes), Scott, and CD (tearing it up on brand-spanking new gear...gotta tighten those battens!)

It felt so very good to get back on the water

Feelin' Loopy

That I've missed a few windy days has only exacerbated my windsurfing fantasies.   Peconic Jeff's flirtations with back loops now have me wanting to stick my first one...and the big-ticket item....the Forward Loop...is also on my mind.   OBX Bill cracked the code a few years ago (and now is the Prime Minister of the OBX Loop Fests) and I took special interest in a recent post of his entitled "Breaking the Mental Barrier".  You know what they say (those bastards)...the looping is easier than jibing, except for the fear part.    I have my dreams and I have my doubts, but hey...I remember when duck jibes seemed out of reach.   In any event, Bill posted this video of a 60 year old guy successfully learning to loop.  

I am inspired.

I'm A Loser

People have been windsurfing all over Long Island this week.  Folks are getting ocean time, people are tearing it up on the bays, but not me.  No.   Haven't been on the water in ages.  I used to windsurf.

The blog Messing About In Sailboats does a recurring feature called Song For Friday, in which he embeds a video of his song in the post.  I'm such a loser that the video for Beck's "Loser" is not available for embed.  If you want to groove to my landlocked agony, click here.

0 for 2, and Dreaming of Back Loops

Two weeks in a row I've missed a wave sesh that the other guys caught.   Last week Peconic Jeff and the Wolf caught it, and now I hear from CD and Jon that the gang caught it good yesterday.

Damn damn damn I hate missing the waves.

Jon told me that P-Jeff has impressively been going for back loops off of the waves.  Jeff tells me that he's not going for anything...he's just charging the waves like a madman, and coming to his senses at apogee has found himself in rotation.  I've felt the board's desire to backflip myself at the top of some jumps when I've hit the wave late and into the wind, and since hearing from Jeff on his technique I've been imagining my first back loop.   Here's the video that I'm studying today...later this week I hope to be reunited with my copy of Peter Hart's "Serious About Waves" to see what he says on the matter.

Free Style

Check this guy out:  He's at the end of a 50-foot railride through the sand on his way to some wavesailing.

I love that.  That is style.   And I'm pretty sure he's having a whole lot of fun (even though his boom is too long.)  You can see this (and a lot more early 80's windsurfing) in a clip from the video "Windsurf the Earth" on StableRoad.com.

Good Numbers, Bad Numbers

Let's get the bad numbers out of the way ASAP.  They are fives and tens...this weekend's forecast:

Sat:  SW winds 5 to 10 kt.  
Sun:  S winds around 5 kt.

Surely we deserve better than that!

Now some good numbers, I guess:  This week The Peconic Puffin hit three numerical milestones:  the 500th post, the 1,500th comment, and the 250,000th pageview.   I didn't start the Puffin for numbers, but I like that people check it out.

I'd like it better if we had more wind.  SW 5 to 10?  

iWindsurf Asleep at the Wheel on Long Island?

It sure looks that way.    There's always plenty to complain about when it comes to iWindsurf...forecast models listed in seemingly random order*, taking the winter off, lack of meters where they're needed, high price etc.  Hey remember when they were calling forecasts "discussions" instead of forecasts (at least they fixed that.)

Anyhow today I went looking for the forecast.   I found the "sample" page up, which included this graphic:

"The NY Southeast forecast season runs from March to November."   Really?  March when?  We're pretty much halfway through March.  In the iWindsurf forum someone noted that it was their understanding the forecasts would begin on March 28th.      March being a four day month, that made sense to me.

*iWindsurf's system for listing computer forecasts for our area always seems like the essence of nonsensical design.   They list the sites from South to North (they don't tell you this), but with the most southerly sites on the top and the most northerly on the bottom.   And while you wouldn't think of Napeague (south shore) being north of Bayville (north shore) if you get out an atlas you'll find that it is.  What you end up with is a counterintuitive jumble of names with no rhyme or reason, instead of it being listed alphabetically, or perhaps by subcategories Hudson River, North Shore LI, South Shore LI, and New Jersey.   

Any entry-level website tech could fix this in an hour.

 

Backwinded clew-first loop jibe (one-handed) video

It's in there at 2:06.  "There" is Samba, the new windsurfing video clip by Andre Paskowski.  Shot in Brazil at Jericoacoara and starring his usual cast of characters (Gollito Estredo, Marcilio Browne and himself) there is plenty of quality close-up action of freestyle in the waves.  My only complaint is that there are too many shots of Brazilian girls in bikinis.

Clearly I am getting old.

Short but Sweet at Ponquogue

It was supposed to be four of us.   But I got hung up in the city and Jonathan was under the weather, so the beautiful conditions at Ponquogue were left to Peconic Jeff and the Wolf alone.    Jon drove down to watch, and to torture me with email.

“It's windy with waves around head high. The boys are overpowered w/ 4.7  And 5.2. Big day you and me are missing!”

Thank you, Jon.  Just what I needed to hear.  Have I not been beating my chest and whining publically about the two months that have gone by without a good ocean day?   And now it comes, and I miss it.

Jon sends another email:  "They both need to rig down. But they're not.....entertaining watching these guys getting punished."  Salt spray on my wound, as it were.

Jeff (I thought about calling him "that bastard" because I am a bitter and jealous windsurfer who wants to pull his hair out whenever I miss a great session that the other guys catch...yes I thought about calling him that, but he's been suffering from severe wave withdrawal as well, so it's...okay...that he got out there) called me afterwards to tell me all about it.   The wind died around noon so they didn't have a long session, but what they did catch was head high and glorious.   With all the power the outbound jumps off of beautiful wave faces were big...so big that Jeff reported “excessive hang time.”   

I hate when that happens….to someone else!

(Jeff prepares to hog the waves on his tiger-striped storm board.  Photo by Jon Ford.)

Cold Water Freestyle

To work on freestyle windsurfing is to fall a lot.  “It’s a water sport,” instructor Jason Voss said in my first ABK clinic, “your goal is not to stay dry.”      But as the water gets colder, falling is less and less entertaining, and the shallow, flat water that’s best for freestyling is usually the coldest.   So when drysuit season begins, many of us hang up our freestyle slippers until the spring. 

But what were we to do at South Jamesport last Friday?   The wind was light, the bay was at very low tide and tres flat, and we were on our big freestyle boards.   Peconic Jeff worked on his Vulcans, I played with 360’s and push tacks, and in the lulls we messed with all the usual spins while the Wolf headed to shore to munch Entenmanns.

Fortunately the bay was so shallow that most falls did not result in a head dunking.   But Jeff reported an ice cream headache, and I had a few very, um…refreshing experiences myself.   Anyhow it was good fun to start dusting off the freestyle cobwebs…unfortunately the wind died after two hours, leaving us all wanting more.

"Where We're Just 'Plains' Shreddin'!

There isn't enough good windsurfing art.    A good poster always brightens my day...here is the logo for the Nebraska Windsurfing Association.   Nebraska is home of what's said to be one of the coolest windsurfing events in the country...the Toucan in September on Lake McConaughy.   Would like to check that out,  but Nebraska is a bit of haul from New York.