The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Race Forecast: Windy at West Neck!

Yes this is Long Island and we know things change, but looking ahead to Saturday's racing, NOAA gives us great reason for optimism:

Sat

NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt.

Stay tuned for updates...the final location call will be announced Friday evening, but so far it's looking like West Neck Beach. See you there (in my wake!)

Oh yeah...one more thing: bring duct tape so you can put a number on your sail!

(The artwork is from the Regatta T-shirts, available at the event.)

The North Shore (and Relay Races!) at Saturday's Regatta

The forecasts for Saturday's windsurfing races have us looking at either Steers Beach or West Neck so far, with the current forecast of 15-20 knots!  Yes that will change several times between now and then, but let's enjoy this moment!

BTW the race organizers are promising something a little different for one of the races (by "a little" I mean a complete mystery as far as I'm concerned)...Relay Races!   I don't know whether we'll be passing mast base extensions to each other or what, but MC Thom Hering has yet to throw a boring race, so I'm excited.

Stay tuned for details...

(If you missed it, here's a link to the Notice of Race.)

Notice of Event (with lots of details) for Saturday’s East Coast Windsurfing Fall Regatta

Notice of Event: 

2009

 East Coast Windsurfing Fall Regatta

 

Date: 10/10   (Columbus Day Weekend)

Events:

Windsurf Racing

- The main event, with multiple races is scheduled for Saturday.  If conditions are not conducive to sailing, we may decide as a group on Saturday, to postpone events until Sunday, 10/11.  

  There will be several Race Divisions, including:

  -  Open Division - no limits re board or sails.  This will include RSX and Formula, and any boards with a sail > 7.5.

  -  7.5 Division -  limited only to sails that do not exceed 7.5, and no formula gear.  Intended for the casual racer, this will likely be the largest fleet and main event.

Depending on participation, we may also post scores for: 

 -  Womens Division
 -  Juniors Div  - (17 & under)
 -  Masters  (50 yrs and over)
 -  Heavyweights - (Actual weight category TBD)

Race courses will vary, and may include:

    - Windward/Leewards

    - Triangles

    - Slalom

 

Starts may include:

    - Timed countdown starts

    - Lemans beach starts

Other potential events at the Regatta:

Freestyle Expression Sessions

- Freestyle will not be an official competition, but, we will be looking for freestylers of all levels to go out in between races and show us what you got.  This is for the crowd… hot-dogs wanted!

 

SUP Races

- If enough people bring paddles and are willing, we'll run some SUP races along the beach.   SUP boards are preferred, but Longboards can used as well.

 

Windsurf Relay Races

- Relay teams will be assigned at the event and team relay races will be run.

 

Event Location:   

It depends on the Wind!    The specific venue will be decided and announced the night before the event, based on forecasted wind conditions.

 

If wind is forecast out of the South, East, or West, we  will likely run the event at Heckscher State Park on the south shore of LI. 

If wind is forecast from the North, we will go to the LI Sound side, where we will likely select either:

- Steers Beach Park, Northport (type it in Google Maps and it will take you right there), or

- West Neck Beach, Cold Spring Harbor 

 

 

The location selection will be posted on:

- PeconicPuffin (this here blog!)
- the LI Windsurf Yahoo group
- iWindsurf.com’s forums,
- the windsurfing newsgroup.

For questions or confirmation of the venue selected you can call the Regatta Hotline:  631-988-4816

 

Registration:   

Send an email to: [email protected]  and let us know you're in.  

Indicate which Division you plan to sail.  

We may ask for a $10 contribution at the event.

The East Coast Windsurfing Fall Regatta is an open event; windsurfers of all levels are encouraged to attend. 

Windsurfing Races on Long Island Coming in October

You were teased…you were warned:   The East Coast Fall Windsurfing Regatta takes place Saturday, October 10, with a “rain date” (rain won’t stop us, but lightning or no wind might) of Sunday October 11th.)   

There will be fun races, there will be serious races, and there will be lots of races.   If you can tack and jibe moderately well, you want to be there.   If you’re not sure this is for you, talk to anyone who raced at the last two East Coast Windsurfing Festivals…they’ll talk you into it (because they had such a great time!)

Where will the races be held?   That depends on the wind forecast.

*If the wind is due East, due West, or anywhere South of East or West, we’ll race at Heckscher Park. 

*If the wind is WNW to NW we’ll race at West Neck beach.

*If the wind is North to ENE we’ll race at Steers Beach.

The race masters will announce the location the day before, based on the forecast.  Pre-registered racers will be emailed directly, and details will also be posted in rec.windsurfing, the iWindsurf forums, the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfing Group, and on this blog at PeconicPuffin.com.

If you’re in, send an email to Jill Marr and let her know.   We’ll have updates and additional information between now and race day, and look forward to seeing you on the water (preferably behind me, but probably in front!)

(Racers after the start of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival in June.  Photo by Bill Doutney)