Land of the Giants at The Bowl

The entire session was fantastic, but for about ninety minutes on Thursday, conditions at the Bowl were bigger and better than anyone had ever seen there.     The sets of clean 10-12 foot waves rolling in to the deepest part of the Bowl had Fisherman calling it “the all-time best Bowl session,” and Jonathan Ford talking about “the best wave I’ve ever seen on Long Island.”   Pro windsurfer Graham Ezzy chose the perfect day to come up from Princeton to check out Eastern Long Island conditions while the rest of us went for the wave rides of our lives in the land of the giants.

Sail sizes were generally 4.1-4.7 (I was manageably overpowered on a 4.5) and it was a straight shot out along the jetty to get to the outside where the big swell was.    George Pav was first in the water (George had a great day) and was soon joined by Fisherman, the Wolf, Peconic Jeff, John Hulse, John “I only come out when conditions are perfect”  Natalie and myself.   Early on with the waves at 6-8 feet some highlights included a monster jump by Jeff (“I got about ten feet of air off a ten foot face…I looked down from the top and WHOA!”) the Wolf walking around with a bloody face after kissing his board in the beach break (he’d split both his lips, and was back on the water soon after) and relentless chasing and riding of the waves by all (I’m one of the ten worst wavesailors in the world and even I got some good rides.)

More people launched, and not long after Jan, Bruce, Jimi Sobeck, Jon Ford, and special guest star Graham Ezzy hit the water, what was big became huge, as the sets were regularly logo high and higher, while the water stayed clean and manageable (as long as you could dodge the surfers.)   Natalie, Jon Ford and the Fisherman were standouts on the big waves…during breaks they’d huddle on the shore chanting variations of “unf***ingbelievably great” as they gathered energy for the next round.   George told me about sailing towards shore behind a wave so big it blocked out not only the beach, but the restaurant on top of the hill.   For myself, I’ve never sailed in waves this big in my life.   I’ve never come down the face of a wave remotely close in size or power to the 12-footer that gave me one of the rides of my life (followed by one of the wash cycles of my life.)    But Graham Ezzy provided some perspective.

It was a treat to see what monster local conditions looked like as sailed by a pro.    On a quad fin Quatro, Graham would casually shoot out, throwing the occasional push loop, execute the quickest tacks you’ve ever seen in front of an incoming wave, work the wave as we’ve seen the pros do in a thousand magazine photos and videos, then as often as not tack again (sometimes while still on the wave) and head out for more.   There were also some backside shove-its to set up the occasional aerial drop in.   It was, you know…amazing.

Around mid-afternoon the perfection of the Great Waves departed, the wind lightened, and soon folks were packing up.   Total carnage for this monster day?   Jimi broke a six-year old extension,  Pav broke a batten, and then there were the Wolf’s lips.   Essentially nothing.

It was a session to remember for a lifetime.

(From Peconic Jeff:  John Natalie had a great day, Fisherman contemplates logo-high whitewater, George Pav lines up his next cutback.  From Leanne Luce:  Jimi exits just in time, Graham Ezzy doing his thing, Graham watches the rest of us do our thing from a special vantage point.     Jeff has more photos here.)

Comments

[Nate]

Awesome! looks great. We had a great day in Matunuck RI yesterday as well. Looks soo clean there in the bowl. We gotta get down there next time its lining up that good. Video of that day? any more pictures

[Michael]

More photos and video coming soon from Jeff...we're held up because it's blowing and we need to sail some more!

[george markopoulos]

epic! must be nice to have others to sail with. what i'd give to share my beach with more than one sailor.

congrats!

[Scott McKay]

Wow, incredible!

Damn, I should have made the trip to Matunuck. Those conditions seem to have come out of the blue.

[mike burns]

Awesome!!! Some great shots. It looks like everyone on Long Island had great session. I know guys had a killer session at Demo too with mast high sets and down the line on the same wave for 1/4 mile.

We hit it good at heckscher too with a sick 3.7 freestyle session.

Seems like every time Graham comes to LI we have epic conditions. Can anyone convince him to move here and ditch that silly place called Maui for the summer.

[James]

Woooooooooooo Hoooooooooooo!!!!!!

[TonyWind]

Mike, this is the sickest post you have done on a looong time (at least since when I read your blog, 1-2 months ;)) The East End like Maui, I mean same waves, same people. This time I have a good reason for missing the good wind on the island. Enjoy while it last!

[Wheaties]

Those are some sick waves but I see you guys are wearing full suits. Is summer really over? Always hate hanging up my shorty.

[scott k]

yeah i missed it......hate it when work intereferes with windsurfing,especially at the bowl!!

[Andy]

Looks like a great sesh! Congrats on your best wave (and working-over) to date! On a separate note, it's pretty cool to see what the pros can do at your local launch, eh?? Sheesh, makes you realize what can, in fact, be done out there... rendering all excuses pertaining to having "the right conditions" null and void!