The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Freestyle Expression Session Friday at Heckscher

This just in:   The pros wanna get it on ASAP, and ASAP is Friday.
This also in:  Windsport Magazine is sponsoring it!

So:   Come to Heckscher State Park on Friday at noon, and see (or join if you're hardcore) the pros as they compete in this extra-special Added Event.P

(Rankings from the Expression Session will be separate from the weekend's competition.)

Countdown to the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

The pros from Bonaire have already arrived and are practicing, including mighty Caesar.

A Facebook page was just set up to further the cause.

A weed fin is never a bad idea for Heckscher (the Boy Scouts say "Be Prepared"!)

Don't forget your duct tape!  

Any other questions?  Check out the East Coast Windsurfing Festival website.

(Sticking one's nose where it doesn't belong?   Not at all.   Freestyle practice at Heckscher last weekend...photo courtesy Steve Domjans.)

Loose Lips Sink Me at South Jamesport

We looked out over whitecaps brightly reflecting the sun in the 20ish breeze at South Jamesport.   A fine June day for a little windsurfing.

“It looks cold,” said the Wolf.

“January at Iron Pier is cold,” I replied.

The Wolf laughed and agreed that Iron Pier in January is indeed cold, though we sail there every chance we get in the winter.   But still there was the desire to whine about this less-than August day.   Peconic Jeff also bemoaned the apparent (to them) cold and agreed that he would also wear a heavy wetsuit.   Me in my 3/2 steamer remained unconcerned.

I would have been fine, too, except for my big mouth.  We’d sailed for an hour or so (me on a 5.3, the warm guys on 5.8 and 5.9) and big boards, having a good time with small ramps and clean jibatoria, and I was hitting every jibe and tack I threw.   Then Jon Ford drove up (Jon chose note to join us on the water, but did want to say Hi) and he stayed long enough for me to tell him that the sailing was so smooth I had yet to fall.

The moment I said it I knew I was going to get wet, but that’s no big deal.

The water was…cooler…than I’d hoped.

(Jeff catches some G's on the inside at South Jamesport.)

A Surprisingly Great Weekend at Mecox

“A surprisingly awesome day at Mecox” said Peconic Jeff on Saturday.   We’d driven to the Yacht Club on the off-chance that some marginal planing thermal winds would present themselves…otherwise we’d practice nonplaning freestyle for the upcoming windsurfing festival.   But Mecox was capping when we arrived, and I was solidly planing on a 7.0 while Jeff was going at least half the time on his 5.9.   The wonderfully flat waters of Mecox Bay had me working on 360s and backwinded jibes whilst Jeff worked on vulcans and 360’s, and as the wind filled in things were getting better and better.

Then they got really better.   I sailed in overpowered, thinking about my 6.2.   Jeff was right behind me, saying he thought he could sail a 4.7.   So I jumped a sail and rigged the 5.3, taking it out on the big freestyle board, upon which I had a ripping good time. Going from 7.0 to 5.3 feels like you’re sailing a kiddy sail…except for all the speed!    This wind was not in the forecast (Sunday was supposed to be the day), and we tore it up for an hour or so until the sun began to set and it was time to go.   

Sunday came (with a revised and predictably disappointing forecast) and while to the west of us at Hecksher Caesar and the Bonaire crew were thinking about catching some mid-island action, out east P-Jeff was trying to lower my expectations.   Kindness moved him, I suspect.    But again the trees began to move in the afternoon, and once again I was on the 7 and he on the almost 6.  Then Massimo arrived...Massimo who once upon a time I’d sail with 50 days in a year, but lately he’s so distracted by that which I can not even say (golf) that we’ve had one session together in the last 18 months.   Mass arrived with several knots of extra wind, and the rest of the afternoon was spent booming and zooming on six meter sails.   An outstanding wrapup to the weekend.

It should be noted that after not sailing for a year Massimo was hitting his jibes like it had only been two weeks, and was seen with a half-mad grin end of sesh.  The magic of windsurfing once again revealed!

As Massimo  drove away some people approached me wondering if I wanted to by a windsurfing board they were selling, cheap.   A 25 year old Bic longboard with purple mast track.  

 Always the humor with windsurfing.  But it was a great weekend.