Friday the spot was Gardiners Bay. Scott, Frank, and the Wolf were out early on 4.7’s, and were soon joined by Peconic Jeff, Jon Ford, Jan and Bruce, Fisherman and myself. For some reason I rigged 5.3 (would have been much happier on the 4.5) and stayed with it in the 5-7 foot swell. It was uncharacteristically weedy, and you could also snag your fin (or lose it) on the occasional railroad tie or tree branch that were floating around near the beach. I got launched twice hitting hard flotsam, but by the time it got through my thick head to jibe well out from shore, the heavy stuff managed to drift away. Highlights included me at the bottom of a trough watching Scott go up off the top of head-high swell (hoping he didn’t land on me…he didn’t) and watching Jan tear it up in the big water, only to return to the launch after the sesh, where I saw she needs a cane to walk around as she deals with a hip injury. Apparently sidewalks are a bitch for Jan, but swell that could flip a bus…not a problem. May she fell better soon!
Saturday was probably another great Gardiners day, but Jeff had the idea of checking out North Sea Road. North Sea Road is an unremarkable launch unless you catch the outgoing tide against a solid NE blow…then it gets interesting. I’d seen it get moderately interesting, but nothing like we caught on Saturday. The bays were well flooded from a couple days of inward wind, so when all that water started draining eastward with the outgoing tide, the swell kicked up like Sebonac Inlet on steroids. Surfable, jumpable swell in current that took you straight upwind (making surfing particularly fun as there was never a downwind penalty) was what we had, “we” being Racer Ted (finished third at the Fall Regatta) and Steve Marks. Steve is an OG Peconic Puffin, the owner of the largest private collection of Peconic Puffins (when this thing was a newsletter) a man who I literally met while stepping out of the water (bleeding) after my first attempt at windsurfing in 1990. The day may come when I'll have had more madcap windsurfing adventures with the Wolf or Peconic Jeff than with Steve, but to date Steve remains my all-time windsurfing partner in crime, and it was wonderful to get back on the water with him. (P-Jeff did not actually make the sesh, even though it was his excellent idea.)
Anyhow it was the 5.3 again in steadily building winds (started out on the 109, spent most of the day on the 93, and shoulda pulled out Candy 77 for the last hour.) It wasn’t as big or as wild or as grand as Gardiners gets when the big swells roll majestically through, but it was fun. It was fun except for when I tore one of the straps off my harness and had to arm it through about 300 yards of swell and then a long stretch of flatwater to the beach. Steve had a backup harness to borrow (now on extended loan…thanks bro!) so I managed to finish the day. Gotta love a day when you have to work to stay downwind!
Sunday I woke up to phone calls telling me to get my bruised ass to Meschutt, where Scott assured me it was nuking. But my body has a growing collection of dings, my starboard arm wanted a couple of days off, and so I rested.
The wind howling by the windows was pure torture.
yup, epic weekend down here too!
Posted by: George Markopoulos | October 19, 2009 at 04:19 PM
love those 3 day noreasters. 4.7 all day at gardiners on fri.,nukin 4.7 & bigger swells on sat.,4.2 & bumby conditions at meschutt on sun. should have gone back to gardiners but didnt want to make the drive again...wrong. bill the fisherman said sun. was the best day of all & 3.3!!! next time i make the drive.
Posted by: scott kielt | October 19, 2009 at 07:02 PM
You are a crazy chimp, Scott...I don't wanna sail 3.3 if 4.2 conditions are available. Still I bet it was epic!
Posted by: Michael | October 19, 2009 at 09:59 PM
You guys are some crazy ass mo' fo' chimps. I sailed almost two hours and felt damn sore the next day. It was like the first day of full-contact football practice. My neck, shoulders, some core muscles and the worst, my ego. And Michael and Racer Ted sailed at least four straight hours. And I'm in great gym shape. I suck.
Posted by: Neurstev an OG Peconic Puffing | October 19, 2009 at 10:52 PM