The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Serious Uni Inspection (Shark Bait Avoidance Program)

After my recent shark experience I thought it was a particularly good time to inspect my unis.  I’ve always been pretty good about eyeballing them and giving them a bend to see if any cracks or rot are visible, but a post in the Live to Sail blog was taking uni inspection to the next level.  In short, Live to Sail's George (under the guidance of Lost In Hatteras' Andy) disassembled his unis to check out the portion of the tendon where the bolt passes through.

Because I worry about gear failure (and now I REALLY worry about gear failure) I actually keep a separate uni for ocean and “far from shore” sessions…it’s always my newest uni.   I save my older ones for sailing all the spots where a breakdown would be no big deal (I still inspect those unis too, mind you.)  And every few years I buy a new uni which bumps the top one down the uni heirarchy, and the oldest goes into the trash.

 I was inspired by both the shark and the Live to Sail post, so I took out my tool box and prepared to disassemble and inspect.   To my horror, the ocean uni (aka the Shark Session uni) was missing one of its retaining nuts.   The bolt holding the tendon to the bottom of the uni was being held in place by friction alone.   That was Bad.    Then I slid out the bolt to see what condition my newest tendon was in…it was cracked halfway through.

So I drove to the windsurfing shop to get parts from Jon Ford.  While installing the new tendon with my new nut, I asked Jon if it was possible to overtighten.

“Make sure its tight, but you don’t want to really crank it,” he said, about a second after I’d really cranked it, and managed to split the top of the uni.

So I ended up buying a brand new uni.  My new ocean uni.

(photo swiped from Live to Sail:  The tendon looked great until George and Andy disassembled the unit.)

My Shark Encounter

Seventeen-plus years of windsurfing and I’d never seen a shark.   I never wanted to see a shark, but if I did my preference was to see a fin perhaps 100 yards in the distance, swimming parallel to shore, oblivious of me.   That’s not what I got.

What I also wanted if I ever saw a shark was to be planing and well powered so I could head back to the beach and maybe have lunch while the shark left the area.  That’s not what I got either.

Sailing outbound at the Bowl in side-on winds, I was maybe 600 yards from the launch and 200 from the beach when I jibed off some swell.   Caught the sail, got back into the footstraps, and then a big lull had me quick-step out of the straps so I could shlog.

And then my head just turned upwind…I must have heard it surface.   I was staring at a black triangle, ten feet away from me.  During the first thousandth of a second I thought “not a dolphin” (I’ve never seen a dolphin off of Long Island, but one can hope.)    For a quarter second I thought “I can’t believe I’m staring at a shark fin”.   Then I thought “it’s the size of a very large slice of pizza.”   Then some swell changed the angle of the light reflecting on the water, and I saw all of the shark.   About seven feet long, swimming slowly parallel to me.    And it was so very much a shark.    It wasn’t swimming by, it was swimming with me, checking me out.   I have no spitting skills at all but I could have easily spit on its head.    I was not happy.   None of the other guys were anywhere near me…it was just me and this shark. 

I focused on getting away.   Bearing off seemed like a good idea (the beach was downwind) and there was a tiny bit of increased speed.   I stopped looking at the thing and focused on the rig, encouraging myself with the thought that the shark probably wasn’t planning on attacking.   Yeah we’ve all heard the statistics that you’re more likely to be hit by lightning than be attacked by a shark, but I think those odds shorten some when:

1.    You’re by yourself hundreds of yards from shore.
2.    A shark is ten feet away from you, and not leaving.

Anyhow I was shlogging on my broad reach, making little headway and hoping for a gust to get me planing (I didn't get one.)   Then the thought hits me “unhook, unhook!”   What if the wind dies completely for a moment…hooked in I might not be able to do a mad balance dance, and then I’d fall in.   A minute later I start thinking “maybe I should hook in” worrying about fatigue.    Then I had my stupidest thought:  Look behind me and see what the shark is up to.   I started to look back when a voice in my head said “ARE YOU INSANE WHAT IF YOU LOSE YOUR BALANCE!” which snapped my head back forward, where I saw a nice wave forming…perhaps five feet high, which was plenty for what I needed.   

The first swell took me a third of the way to the beach.   I rode the second the rest of the way in.   I was on the beach.

I walked my gear a few hundred yards back to the launch, where the guys were hanging out waiting for the wind to come back.   I was looking forward to telling my story, so they could laugh at me and reassure me with their own experiences…these guys have been windsurfing in the ocean for ages (this is just my third ocean year) and surely they’ve seen plenty of sharks.

I started with Scott.  “Really?” was all I got.

Then Bill Barber.  Bill surfs, so he must see plenty of sharks.  “That’s rare,” he told me.  In twenty years in the ocean he’d only seen one on Long Island.

Then Fisherman arrived.  Fisherman is in fact a commercial fisherman, he knows what’s up, and he will not let me down.  He asks me to describe the fin.  I tell him about the pizza slice.  Fisherman says “that’s pretty big”.

Shit.   The whole plan was to get reassured so I could go back out and sail without fear.   But that didn’t happen.*   

Then the wind came back up and nobody cared about my shark and they all went out.   Jon Ford and Jeff and Ethan and Jimi all showed up and didn’t care about the shark and they sailed too, so of course I went back out, though I kept my runs short…no long excursions to the outside for me.   And if you’ve ever experienced some nervousness sailing in the ocean, distracted by imagined perils in the deep that caused you to be tentative in your sailing and screwed up your technique, imagine how you’d do sailing in waters where you know there’s a shark… a shark you've already met and that has demonstrated some casual interest in you.   I was fine on the inside, but for the rest of the day on the outside I was a tentative mess.   What knucklehead sails back to the shark?

I'd happily sail the Bowl again tomorrow, though.  

* Jon Ford arrived later and said he’s seen the occasional shark hanging out by the sand bar in the past. 

(Top:  I'm jibing well on the inside, but I'm not smiling 'cause I'm headed back towards Shark Town.  Photo by Bill Doutney.)

Skunked Not! Sebonac Solstice Session

There was a gale warning issued for today.   Oftentimes on Eastern Long Island, Scott tells us that a gale warning means we get nothing.  (Yeah we oftentimes get gales, too, but you gotta admit that when they’re calling for 30 knots and you get nothing, it stands out.)

Anyhow after most of a day of nothing, a breeze seemed to rise so Scott, Peconic Jeff, the Wolf and I went to Sebonac Inlet.  The wind was blowing NNE, a rare direction for which there is no choice launch.   We were just looking for whitecaps.   What we found was 8 knots of wind, which George Pav and Joe Natalie were working in a nonplaning freestyle session, and a few other guys were barely planing on 8.5’s.    After ten minutes of moaning, Jeff and I rigged some 5ish sails and joined the freestylers. 

Jeff had the good idea to wear a harness.   After fifteen minutes the wind began to come up…first enough to pump onto the occasional plane, then enough to pump to a plane most of the time, and within a half hour I was heading back to shore to add outhaul to my 5.3.   Meanwhile the Wolf was out on his SUP, challenging the proposition that the board couldn’t plane (it sure as heck could and did).

 The Little Peconic was serving up flatwater, and the freestyle crew was working it for assorted 360’s, donkey jibes, vulcans, backwind jibes, pushtacks etc and attempts thereof.    All this while Mr. vanderWolf redefined the stand-up paddleboard under sail.

So we were all out there having a grand time, while Scott stood on shore and talked and watched.   This was normal when we were goofing around with helitacks, and not entirely surprising during the light planing portion of the session, but when the winds had built so I was planing full-time on the 5.3 (while Scott is happy to rip on a 5.8) it was getting strange. 

So Scott rigged. 

The winds strengthened even more.

Scott launched.

And the wind was done about three minutes later.

“I’m very disappointed,” Scott lamented.   He hates gale warnings.

Be We Skunked?

Where is today's promised wind?

(Across Long Island, windsurfers sit poised to pounce on the promised NNE, whilst the view from iWindsurf keeps us at bay.)

Grab Bag of Adventure at The Bowl

 
What a day!   About an hour into it I thought I knew what I would write about, but then stuff just kept happening...  

A Tale of Two Masts
The wind was up and down and light at the outset…Scott and the Wolf planing/not planing on 5.8’s, soon joined by me on my magic 6.2 rig’s maiden voyage.   While I was having a spectacular experience with the new supergear (full report to come in a future post) Scott managed to break his beloved one-piece mast, which was made when Reagan was in the White House.   After much consultation and verbal abuse, Scott up and bought his first skinny mast, joining the 21st century.

Sucked into the Inlet
Before my first ocean session ever (which happened to be at the Bowl) I was warned about sailing too close to the tip of the inlet jetties, lest I get sucked through during an incoming tide.   It’s one of the few humiliations I’ve managed to avoid on the water, and I’d never even seen it done until yesterday, when the Wolf took the ride.   I’d been told that the safe move was to let the current carry you clear through the inlet and make your landing on the Shinnecock Bay side, but the Wolf (veteran of the insane launch at Mattituck Inlet) managed to clamber out in the middle of the inlet, with a smile on his face.

Virgin Wave Session
Speaking of first ocean sessions, Ethan Doutney’s been wanting to taste the big water, and yesterday he took the plunge.    I’ve never watched someone else’s first wave experience…Ethan’s was classic.   A little sailing, a bit of floundering, good employment of the beach jibe, with it all ending in a ride through the inlet.   When the Wolf saw that Ethan was in a jam approaching the jetty he sailed over, got in the water and took the ride with him, pointing out the sites and no doubt relating his earlier journey.     It was an exceptional demonstration of support by a veteran to a newbie.

I predict Ethan will be back for more abuse soon!

The War and Fisherman’s Wave
I did not see it, but apparently Fisherman got into his own scenario with an ill-chosen wave of consequence.   I missed the details, but caught his summary:  “Getting on that wave was like starting the Iraq war…it seemed like it might be the right thing to do at the outset, but then it became one long, terrible mess.”

That must have been some wave.

What else happened…
The wind strengthened over the day though we did not rerig, as we enjoyed the five to six foot swell.  Jon Ford, Bill Barber, and East Coast Windsurfing Festival stars Peconic Jeff and Jimi Sobeck sailed without incident.  The Wolf had one jibe down a wave face that somehow turned into a ripping clew-first laydown jibe, pleasing him mightily.   I had my own little adventure that is going to receive its own post as soon as I finish gathering my thoughts.   For now I’ll just say it's a fish story.

(Top photo:  Scott approaches the beach with his customary reserve, whilst enjoying his brand new mast.  Bottom photo:  The editor and his Super Rig.  Courtesy Bill Doutney.)

 

Wanting a Wave

That looks pretty good to me.  I'll take a dozen, thank you!

(Photo snagged from Lost in Hatteras.)

Behold My Mighty New Rig!

 I am so very lucky.   In my hands is the finest rig I’ve ever touched…a beautiful new Maui Sails 6.2 Global, held in shape by matching zillion percent carbon hardware.   Light as a feather, perfectly balanced, born to play in the waves.

And it was a gift.

Two weeks ago I was rolling up my old 6.2…a 2004 Gaastra Poison with five and a half seasons on it…and felt a pit in my stomach looking at it.   There were half a dozen spots where it was ready to explode, and sections of the luff sleeve where the seams were unraveling.   The most important sail in my quiver was no longer fit for the ocean, and had very few days of bay sailing left in it.   On the water the rest of the rig had begun to feel long in the tooth as well.   Unseaworthy.   At the moment I’m not in a position to right these wrongs.

But then came the gift.  It’s going to be a great summer.

I am very, very grateful to my friends.

(Me with the rig, just after I finished dialing in the batten tension.   There’s east wind in the forecast, so I hope to put this baby through its paces at Ponquogue before the week is out.   Photo by Sally Alex.)

The Incredible Untold, Unseen Story of the Expression Session

(Long Island transplant-to-the-Gorge freestyler Jon "Chachi" Sassone wrote the following description of last Friday's pre-East Coast Windsurfing Festival freestyle expression session.   Like a fool I let it sit in my In-box for days without reading it.  Now I wish I'd read it right away.  Hell...now I wish I'd been there to see it myself!  Without further ado, here's Chachi's story: 

“Ezri kicked it into high gear right off the bat, sliding some super smooth flakas and floating a few huge shaka attempts, of which he landed many. The fifteen year old Bonairean Boy Wonder was playing with the big boys without hesitation. He launched a huge end-over-end forward loop in the boat channel and came back in to conduct a switch stance clinic from which everyone took notes. Ezri did enough Funnels to wipe out an entire college frat. However, the most impressive part of his performance was that at about only 90 lbs, Ezri was on a 4.7 in steady 25 mph winds. Caesar, Mike and I were all very much powered on our 4.7's as it was, and we each easily have double the body weight. This clearly had little effect on his performance, and left my mind with little doubt that he is the best Junior freestyler in the world.

Personally I felt at home. Maybe because I literally was home (which makes sense)but also because I love to be Lit. Powered.. Nuked. Freestyle is way more fun when you're burning across the water. For a while, this lone Long Island local had his work cut out for him. I was able to keep pace with our guests for a bit, answering with my own end-over-end forwards, flakas, grubby's, shuv its, and a few double spock attempts. The shaka, which is relative new to me, just wasn't happening. I managed to hit a switch stance clue first vuclan, however being reversed in the straps is not my forte and I was easily over taken.

Lucky for me, Long Island reinforcement Mike Burns showed up and let everyone know why he is #1 on the east coast. Funnels, switch chachos and clue first spocks, mere child's play. I even saw Mike do a perfect planning Ponch. His effortless one handed variations and technical sail ducking  techniques made him fierce competition for all. When asked, Mike claimed to be having a bad day, yet he still raised the level of competition considerably. (Mike, the rest of us wish we could sail as good as you do on a terrible day.)

 This was the most heated match I'd ever seen. Everyone had an answer to the tricks being thrown. For a while there was no clear winner:  But then there was Caesar.

 Casually he played with our hearts for a bit, making it seem as though we had a chance, then gradually raised the level of intensity. Mike threw a clue first spock, Caesar did a Toad. I hit a one handed spock, Caesar did a Shuv-it vulcan, shuv-it spock, shuv-it spock 540, going through every page of the Tricktionary. Just when it seemed like Caesar might be the winner, he decided to really turn it on. Carefully he plotted his course through the fleet, making sure everyone could see what he was about to unleash. It was this next move that won the day:

The Bonaire local accelerated off the wind, raking the sail back slightly before whipping it forward. With both hands he let go, and as his fin cleared the water Caesar began to rotate. The sail swung out on its own, parallel to surface of the water. The nose of his F2 Chilli touched slightly, aiding the spin. As the tail came down in a backwards slide his purple and green sail returned to his hands, as though there were strings between his fingers and the boom. He finished the 360 and planed out. A flawless No Handed Flaka. My jaw dropped.. The winner.

We continued sailing for a few more minutes, but at that point is was irrelevant. Eventually Mike flagged me down to make sure we had seen the same things, and we did.

Caesar had taken the Windsport Expression Session.
It was a shame that so few witnessed this event.

Hail Caesar!"  

(Mike Burns, Ezri and Chachi competing the next day. Oh to have seen the X-session! Photo courtesy Steve Domjan.)

The 2010 East Coast Windsurfing Festival Wants You!

If you missed it and wished you were there,

If you were there and wished you competed,

If you competed and wished you’d done better,

You will have your chance!   The 2009 East Coast Windsurfing Festival was such a success that the organizers are already announcing that the third annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival is on for June 2010.  And while most of the “even bigger/even better” details have yet to be put together, one new feature for 2010 has already been announced:  Due to the popularity of the racing events, there will be both Open and Sport fleet classes (Sport will have a 7.5 sail size limit, so that those of us who don’t own racing rigs can still throw down!)  And of course there will be plenty of freestyle, leading up to the crowning of the 2010 King of the East (Caesar, prepare to defend your crown!)

We’ve got eleven months to get ready.  Me, I’m going to put Redek on my old Superlight and learn some new freestyle moves.

(The Peconic Puffin wants you there too!   The editor approaches the finish line on a 7.0 held together with stickers, duct tape and packing tape.  Photo by Bill Doutney.)

 

An Eight-Spin Matrix: Caesar’s Flowstyle (video)

The second day of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival began with no wind. To pass the time until the breeze arrived, soon to be 2009 King of the East Caesar Finies gave an on-shore 101 instructional clinic on a few of his incredible moves. I believe he said his record for Matrix spins is 13…he put up a nine spot during his demonstration to festival competitors and spectators.

Windsport’s Pete Dekay caught the action on camera (thanks Pete!) (Editor's note: the original headline for this clip said "Nine-Spin", which is how many we counted. Apparently we can't count, so the headline has been amended. We apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment this may have caused.)

He also discussed the basics of some of his other dazzling sail moves.  After a few words on sail size ( 4.0-4.5 recommended) and a bit about giving the mast a little push and then the clew, the sail left his hands, described a circle in front of him over the ground, then paused before jumping back into his hands like an obedient dog. It was simple. It was jaw-droppingly awesome. People applauded, laughed, grinned. “More windsurfers should go out on the water and have fun in light wind," Caesar said.

Flowstyle!

(If you've never seen Caesar put on a show, here's a link for you to catch the action.)

Nine More Things To Hail From the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

There were hundreds of stories at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival beyond the extraordinary pro freestyle competition (complete results of amateur and pro competition can be found here.)   Every participant I saw was having fun, giving it there all (sailing, laughing, cursing, smiling) and I’m sure I missed lots of great moments, but hey I was just another guy falling off of his board.   Here are some of my favorites:

All Hail Nasty Old Longboards!

Last year Pete (“The Eliminator” or “The Terminator…he goes by both) Roesch dominated the racing whilst sailing an old Fanatic Ultra-Cat.  Many took notice (including me) and this year the beach sported quite the collection of longboards that in other circumstances would be headed for the nearest landfill.    I was proud of the fact that my 1983 Superlight (made before footstraps were invented) had been laying in a brushpile for a year, and had a worm living in the mast track as I removed it from my van.    George Marr immediately one-upped me with his own find:  another cast-off Ultra Cat with a slug residing in its adjustable track.    Damn.   Then Peter Bogucki of NEWJ (himself sporting an ancient ride) pointed out a Superlight on the beach fully encrusted with last fall’s maple leaves and a healthy family of ants.    Then there was the Crit…basically a sailboat with a mast track on top and wooden centerboard in who knows what condition.    In the races these boards were finishing top ten alongside formula and Olympic class gear.   Write this down:  Stop by a swap meet (or yard sale, or garbage dump) twixt now and the 2010 festival and pick yourself up one of these sweet honeys…nobody will laugh when you round the upwind mark at the head of the pack!

All Hail Peconic Jeff!

Time was when I was a better freestyler than my partner in so much windsurfing crime.    But P-Jeff had a great weekend, and sailed the best two minutes of his freestyle life that I’ve ever seen in the finals, to finish third, ahead of The Mighty Larry Hoff and Kurt Veith (last year’s Men’s Amateur winner.)  I’m going to start taking notes at future sessions together.

All Hail Jimi Sobeck!

 Just a few years ago Jimi was this nice kid learning to windsurf.  Now that he’s pasted every amateur in both racing and freestyle we’re going to have to stick him with the pros in 2010.

All Hail Mike Burns!

They had to fly someone thousand of miles to eek out a victory over Long Island’s finest.    And you just know that Mike will have a whole new bag of tricks for next year…

All Hail first-time competitors!

I don’t know how many people had never raced or competed in freestyle before, but I know my friend Robert.   Robert told me that his goal for the festival was to make it around the course.   His first heat didn’t go so well, but before the day was done I saw him pumping his fist in the air.   It put a big smile on my face.

All Hail Competition to the Queen of the East!

Jill Marr (returning Queen of the East) had some competition this year…it was great to have Jean Bauman (racing champ!) and Alison Dunston on the water to broaden the female field.   For next year we’re hoping to have even more.

All Hail People Who Came from Beyond Long Island!

Pete Dekay from Windsport came from Canada.   Tom Lepak (mighty racer foiled only by Jimi Sobeck) came from his continuing world tour as an ABK windsurfing instructor.   People came from Connecticut, from Bonaire, from all over.  It was great seeing/meeting you all.

 All Hail Bitter Grudge Matches!

Not really, but the pitched battle between George Marr and Pete Roesch was a source of great entertainment (and frustration to me as I couldn’t even insert myself between them and the finish line once.)   Though I did get to have it out with George Pav at the windward mark…hey is it illegal for me to step on his board and flip it in the middle of a race?

All Hail Everybody who helped make the festival possible or better!

MC Thom Hering, Christina Burns, Joe Natalie, Jon Ford at Windsurfing Hamptons, the good people at Ocean Air Sports, Pete Dekay from Windsport Magazine, Peter Bogucki at New England Windsurfing Journal, anyone I’m leaving out, and of course the competitor organizers Mike Burns and Jill Marr.

(Photo by Bill Doutney:  Caesar is going to catch that sail, no kidding.   Meanwhile there are thousands of photos from the festival by the indefatigable Bill Doutney...check out these links here, here, here, and here.   Thanks Bill!)

Hail Caesar Finies, King of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

The second annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival was another smash success.   Caesar Finies, the “flowstyle” freestyle magician of Bonaire defeated defending King of the East Mike Burns for the freestyle crown.  Local young gun (and future Olympic hopeful) Jimi Sobeck took both the men’s racing and freestyle amateur titles, as 63 windsurfers from half a dozen states (as well as a contingent from Bonaire) converged on Heckscher State Park on Long Island for two days of windsurfing, sun and fun.

Tomorrow the Peconic Puffin will bring you in depth reporting (well, more than a sentence) on the many dramas and intrigues that played out during the festival, including:

-The Battle of Pete Roesch vs. George Marr,
-The Ascendency of Peconic Jeff,
-Jill Marr in competition,
-Slugs, worms, or ants (and other raceboard tuning secrets!)
-and can Jimi Sobeck please let someone else win?

...as well as photos by Bill Doutney.   But for now, here are the topline results of the 2009 East Coast Windsurfing Festival:

Pro Freestyle:
1.    Caesar Finies (King of the East)
2.    Mike Burns
3.    Jon Chachi Sassone
4.    Ezri Heymans
5.    Chris Eldridge

Men’s Amateur Freestyle:
1.     Jimi Sobeck
2.    Pete Dekay
3.    Jeff Schultz
4.    Larry Hoff
5.    Kurt Veith

Women’s Amateur Freestyle:
1.    Jill Marr
2.    Jean Bauman

Men’s Open Racing:
1.    Jimi Sobeck
2.    Tom Lepak
3.    Kurt Veith
4.    George Marr
5.    Pete Roesch
6.    Bart Kornas
7.    Michael Alex
8.    Joe Giordano
9.    Pete Dekay
10.    Peter Bogucki

Women’s Open Racing:
1.    Jean Bauman
2.    Jill Marr
3.    Alison Dunston

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Day One Micro-report

Your editor is too tired, bruised and bulldozed by the competition to come up with a real mid-event report, so please take what little I’ve got:

1.  The pro freestyle competition is dazzling!  Caesar Finies, hero of a thousand youtube videos has come to Long Island to hurl is magic live.  Defending King of the East Mike Burns in turn is pulling out all the stops (and doing it mid-railride) to try and retain his crown.

2.  The racing is hilariously intense.   Young bucks on enormous formula gear compete against not-so-young bucks on longboards manufactured well before the young bucks were born.   Pete “The Eliminator” Roesch is somehow not in first place, whilst Jimi Sobeck and Tom Lepak have been whipping the water into foam.

“Yeah, but look at the size sails those guys have,” says  Pete.

3.  The amateur freestyle is a joy to watch (as long as you don’t watch me) the crowd is large and warm, and overall the 2009 East Coast Windsurfing Festival is bigger and better than last year’s.

Time to drag my ass back to Heckscher…

(Caesar goes aerial no matter what the wind, Jimi Sobeck puts the hammer down.  Photos by Bill Doutney.)

Super-quick description of Expression Session

(from the Mighty George Marr as posted in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfers Group:)

" The Heckscher pros sailed the flats since there was not much wind at the launch.  So I was the only witness to the expression session. Jon, Ezri, Mike Burns and Caesar were up to all kinds of craziness.  Caesar with his huge shoveit spocks, and Ezri with shaka's with Mike and Jon working those switch stance moves that I can't name yet. It was over powered 4.7 for me."

 
Today should be outstanding...I am on my way to the East Coast Windsurfing Festival...

Friday Wave Treat at Ponquogue

This morning's quandary:  What should I do?

A-  Practice for the East Coast Windsurfing Festival?
Or
B-  Play in the waves at Ponquogue.

In the spirit of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival, I chose B.   I windsurf for fun, look at tomorrow’s competition as fun, and as I love the waves, when conditions serve them up I’m on them (or being washed by them.)

First on the beach:  The Wolf and Peconic Jeff, followed by me and then Bill.  5.2-5.3 was da call (waves 3-5 feet, sideshore winds), though by the time Bill hit the water on a 5.8 (he is Big Bill) the breeze popped 5 knots and it was time to rig down.   I was on a 4.5, there were a lot of 4.7’s out there, Bill was on a 5.2 etc.   Decent waves, excellent ramps outbound.

Then came Scott, Fisherman, Radek, and Ponquogue first-timer Eric (who usually sails Plumb Beach.).  Eric unfortunately arrived too late to catch Ponquogue’s finest, but at least he got out before the wind swung offshore and we called it a day.

Now to pack for Heckscher tomorrow…check-in is at 9AM.