The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

The Wild Westerlies at Sebonac

You know it’s windy when John Hulse is windsurfing instead of kiting.   The day before perhaps wasn't enough (4.2-3.7 the call) but Saturday was strictly three meter sailing at Sebonac Inlet, and when the reef revealed itself under sunny skies at low tide, the windsurfers were on it...even Hulse.  Full-on nuker!  And we were practiced up...

Friday had been a teense lighter (me lit on a 4.0) but still a tremendous day for wind on a holiday, and the place was packed...the crowd included Peconic Jeff, the Wolf, Bill, Jeff Schlecter, Sam (in need of a smaller board!) and many more, most notably Scott, who was perfectly dialed in and smoking past everyone while howling his signature chimp cackle.  

Saturday was the big day, though.  One look...starting at the spray blasting off the tops of whitecaps, and ending on the Wolf as he wrestled his gear to the sand exiting the water..and I thought "don't even ask...just grab your smallest gear.

3.4 and my 77 liter Fanatic were off to the races with an even bigger crowd.  I have more names for Saturday:  In addition to the aforementioned John Hulse, Peconic Jeff, Wolf, Bill B, lunatic Scott and myself we had Frank, CPU John, Jan and Bruce (Jan who has trouble walking but no trouble ripping in 40 knot gusts gets the Macha Award) and Fisherman.   The waves towards the point were plentiful and generous (as befits a Thanksgiving weekend sesh) and the ramps were nearly perfect...P-Jeff noted that their angle was not quite its usual perfection.  Yes I replied, but in that much wind it didn't take much to catch entertaining air.

Speaking of entertainment, Sebonac this day was also sporting a feature I hadn't experienced in years...the inlet was freshly dredged.   If you've never been, imagine this:   You sail up to the beach, hop off your board, and promptly sink over your head.  You manage to bodydrag to shore (if you're quick...otherwise you're pulled out into the bay by the current and must approach again.)   You in fact approach again, and sail until the nose of your board is on the beach, and then hop off.  AGAIN you're underwater!   If you (mis)timed it perfectly with the tides, there was a moment when you needed to get your mast track over sand before you could step off your board.

That's entertainment.

(Photo by Jeff:  The reef went off big time.)

There Will Be Stand Up Paddling

This blog is going to feature some Stand Up Paddle surfing posts.  It’s a windsurfing blog, but my pursuit of wavesailing lead me to take the recommendation of Jon, Fisherman, Jeff and the Wolf and try SUPing in the ocean, and I am smitten.   Also my wave sailing is more…”informed” now.     And hey fellow waterblogger Bonnie (Queen of the Kayak bloggers) has a whole subsection of posts about cucumbers, so I don’t feel wildly out of bounds yammering about paddling a board.

On Saturday Jeff, Scott (in his surf ski) the Wolf and I hit the water at Dolphin Road, about two miles west of Ponquogue.   Waves were 4-5 feet, fast, and closing out hard near the beach (I managed to escape a closout exactly once...need to work on that!)  But otherwise had my best day...I'm starting to turn the board more aggressively (ie less tentatively) and working the wave more.    Not having his best day was Jeff, who got pinched in a wave with Scott and the Wolf, at the end of which Jeff's board sported quite a gouge.    I myself haven't  graduated to trying to protect my board...when I fall in the wash I'm too busy curled up like a ball trying to keep my head intact.

(Sequence:  Scott and I prepare for a wave...so far so good...that's me with the pearl...munchola!   Photos by Peconic Jeff.)

Erosion at The Bowl

The Bowl lost quite a bit of sand last week, making the prospect of launching and landing there a bit less appealing.  We'll have to grab a few sessions there to see if the waves have been affected (hey maybe they're better!) but the exposed pilings and rocks by the jetty are not going to be our friends.   Hopefully the beach will fill in again.

(Top:  "Bowlhenge" photo by Peconic Jeff.  Bottom:  The prime spot to launch at the Bowl had been from the sand right next to the jetty.  Now a rockpile has been exposed.)

Windsurfing Hamptons "Best of Long Island" Nominee

The Long Island Press (my first employer...I had a paper route with them a zillion years ago) is running a "best of Long Island" survey, and in the Sports category Windsurfing Hamptons is a nominee under "extreme sports". 

As it's the only windsurfing nominee, I encourage all windsurfers to vote for it, to encourage visibility of windsurfing.

As I am a long-time fan of the shop, I encourage everybody to vote for it.

As my righteous sailing buddy Jon Ford is the proprietor, I encourage all windsurfers to vote for it.

While you're there you can also vote for Long Island's best in skate shops, fishing, surfing, golf, marinas etc.   Just remember to remember the Peconic Puffin's half-baked, screwball kook editorial in support of our local shop!

And the Tweaked Shall Paddle the Earth: SUP session at Bowl #2

Yea, though Jon Ford put a mighty hurt on his wrist last month and is not expected to be windsurfing until the Spring, SUP surfing in six foot waves is apparently not on the "thou shalt not" list.   And so it was that Jon, Peconic Jeff, the Wolf, Johnny K and I were SUPing at Ponquogue, which now extends about 100 yards further out into the ocean, whilst immediately to the west a new bowl has been carved out.

Waves were mostly 4-5 feet on the outside, with the occasional larger wave coming through.    Jon did just fine with his wrist in brace, and Jeff and the Wolf were also seen catching long rides.   For myself it was my worst SUP day ever (which is okay since it's only about my seventh day at it.)   My most interesting ride was a six footer that I fell off of at the outset...except that I didn't fall...the crest shoved the board back underneath me, and suddenly I was well positioned back on the board for a long ride.   My second most interesting involved a wave that I was sure I wasn't going to catch...so sure that I never switched my feet into a surfing stance.  When I realized that I was on the wave my face apparently reflected my shock, as Jon Ford was laughing out loud at my performance.

When friends laugh at you as you surf by, you know you're kooking it.

Down and Outhauled at North Sea Road

One must save the term "nuking" for those days when it's really over the top.   Thursday at North Sea Road had been 4.0 conditions, Friday was windier.  Nuking.   I started with my smallest sail (3.4) and board (77 liters) and was fine in the lulls.   Cranked on the downhaul and outhaul, and then I was okay in the main wind, but was a mess in the gusts.  More outhaul was a little better, and then finally I slapped on an 8" slotted fin to settle things down as much as possible.  I could go no smaller in any department, and was not inclined to shove rocks down my drysuit to keep the board in the water.  Fortunately the flat little sail/little fin/little board combo was able to negotiate the blow.

As with the day before the move was to get into the channel between shore and Robins Island, where the rushing outgoing current fought the wind, this day kicking up waves 5-7 feet.   Sailing with Peconic Jeff, John Natalie, and "Dr. Pain" (I forget his real name...I remember that he had a purple Gorge Animal) we took advantage of the tide vs gale and had several good hours before the wind got holey and the waves messy.  Jeff was skying some particularly stylish jumps, so much so that he inspired me to go for it on starboard (I'm a port man...my starboard "jumps" are pathetic) and I caught (and landed) my highest starboard air ever.  I had two good starboard leaps...we'll see if any of it stuck the next time out.

During our breaks on shore we'd wonder aloud what the crew out at Gardiners Bay were getting.  Usually Napeague/Gardiners is a full sail size windier than the Peconic Bays...what the heck were they on?   Earlier today I spoke with the Wolf, who sailed a 3.4 also.   When I asked how big it got (Gardiners can be Land of the Giants in anything over 25) he was hesitant to say.   He doesn't want to be thought of as exaggerating.   So I dragged out of him that it was mast high.   I believe it.

(John Natalie, lit as he jibes on the inside.   Photo by Jeff Schultz.)

Sailing with Jeff’s Ghost

Blowing about 27 at North Sea Road…Jeff on a 4.2, me on a 4.0, taking long reaches out to the fast current between the launch and Robins Island, because that’s where the current are serving up 4-5 foot standing waves for us to jump off of and/or surf down.

We’re at it for an hour or so, and Jeff is sailing further and further upwind on every reach.   Each reach is about half a mile, so keeping an eye on each other at the ends isn’t easy to begin with, and Jeff is sailing god knows where half the time.   At one point I go in to the beach to take a rest, and standing on the beach look out to see where Jeff is now. 

At first I can’t spot him.   Can’t spot him at second either.  I proceed to spend a solid minute scanning the bay looking for him.   Now I start to think “okay, if he’s separated from  his board a mile from shore, I should really get going.    Then I think “no he’s just adjusting his boom-mounted camera”.   After flipflopping on what I should do for another minute I put my board back in the water and start heading upwind.  Dude’s been down in the water for at least three minutes…there’s a problem and it’s nuking out there.

Not thirty seconds after I launch I spot Jeff.  But it can’t be Jeff.   He’s downwind instead of upwind, close to shore outbound instead of a mile out sailing inbound…there’s no way he could be where he is without my having seen him there.    And that’s not all…he’s sailing curiously slow and steady even though the wind is honking and the water hectic.   Jeff has gone Shakespearean on my ass…he’s died while I was lollygagging on shore, and sent his ghost to windsurf in my face for punishment.   Extremely weird

So I went like a shot downwind towards Jeff’s ghost.  It totally looked like a ghost sailor until suddenly he got more wind and then it looked like Jeff.   I sailed behind him and we surfed some waves, caught some air etc.  Not a ghost.

(Photo of Jeff, by Jeff, as he gets into the rollers of the South Race between Robins Island and shore.)

Gale Warning

Got any "personal days" available for the taking?   If not, keep your fingers crossed for Saturday.  Thus spake NOAA:

Today

NE winds 20 to 25 kt. Occasional gusts up to 35 kt this afternoon. Seas 3 to 5 ft.

Fri

NE winds 20 to 25 kt...increasing to 25 to 30 kt in the afternoon. Gusts up to 40 kt. Seas 5 to 8 ft. A chance of rain.

Sat

NE winds 20 to 25 kt with gusts up to 35 kt...diminishing to 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 25 kt in the afternoon. Seas 4 to 7 ft...subsiding to 3 to 5 ft in the afternoon. Rain likely.

Get thee windsurfing!

Jon Ford Tweaked

Jon Ford never seems to get hurt.    Big Bill just got back from an injury, Scott dings himself on occasion, Jan is walking with a crutch, the Wolf had an arm thing, Jeff usually has a complaint, and I'm on the 2x year plan, while Jonathan sails through life undamaged.   He's usually too smooth...he doesn't get hurt, he doesn't break his gear...nothing happens to him.

But at a recent sesh at Meschutt (I missed it) he was catapulted mightily, and his wrist got tweaked.   I saw him a few days afterwards, at which time he predicted he'd be back on the water in "three days".   His wrist is in a cast now, and the new guestimate is four months.   Though he was talking about SUPing sooner...hey can't they make a cast that fits the paddle handle?

(So why "tweaked"?   It's from the legend...a true story actually...of Scott Kreiser, one-time ABK instructor who suffered a bad crash in Delaware when his board hit a submerged object, breaking his ankle.   Scott managed to get back to shore in agony, dragged himself to his car, drove to the hospital, staggered into the emergency room, hopped up to the triage physician and said:

"Doc, I'm tweaked!"

So let "tweaked" be entered into the orthopaedic lexicon, I say.   And let Jon mend quickly!)

(Jon sailing smooth at Ponquogue, where you know he'd like to be right now.  Photo by Peconic Jeff.)

Pumped For A Little Meschutt Action

It should have been me at dawn patrol at Meschutt, but a broken sump pump delayed me (I am a master at swapping in fresh sump pumps…ours breaks every three years like clockwork.)  So by the time I arrived and was rigged up, Scott and the Wolf were derigging (Wolf 4.7, Scott 5.2) and heading to work.  Frank should have been doing the same, but he got caught in the “I really need to be somewhere else, but…” vortex, and neither sailed nor derigged, instead standing next to his gear in indecision, while I finally managed to get out on a 5.2.

I love Meschutt.  For my money it has the best port side ramps foot for foot anywhere (ie a two foot ramp at Meschutt will send you higher easier than other sailing spots).   I only sailed for an hour, but I got enough jumps in for a day (almost).

Loop In Four Steps?

Jill Marr posted this in Facebook...I like it...I like any loop tutorial that appears to be low impact!  It also blends nicely with Andy Brandt/ABK's loop lecture.    This clip was excerpted from the DVD "Seven Sons of Freestyle" and was produced by continentseven.com as an extra feature on the DVD.

Treat or Trick Halloween Sesh at Ditch Plains

I’ve been trying to get Steve to sail the ocean with me for a couple of years now.   Back in the Original Puffin days (circa 1993) Steve tried his hand at Long Island wave sailing, shortly after which he coined the phrase “the twelve hundred dollar wheel” describing being tumbled end over end whilst the wave destroyed $1.2K worth of windsurfing equipment.  He had his butt kicked.

Then a few years ago I began to sail the ocean, and got my ass kicked too, again and again and again and again.  And again!   But thanks to Jon, Scott, the Wolf, Bill etc providing helpful guidance ("don't sail onto the beach...you're gonna break your neck" was an early favorite) I have managed to ascend above total incompetence.   So when Scott declared Ditch Plains as the site of Saturday's session to be, I was excited to bring Steve.   I've only ever windsurfed Ditch Plains once, but it was so clean, so well behaved, with such an accommodating wave, that I felt confident Steve's bay sailing chops would be more than sufficient for him to have a fantastic time.  As we headed east together I kept calling Steve on his cell, cooing about smooth, friendly, inviting waters.

We arrived, and immediately walked out on the beach to take in conditions.  "Yeah, this is great," Steve said. 

I was horrified.  This was not the Ditch I'd sailed.   Side on SSW conditions (5.2-5.6 sails) had turned it into a gnarly obstacle course...sort of like Ponquogue throwing a hissy fit.   It was going to be good fun for me and the other guys there for the sesh (Bruce, CD, Scott and the Wolf) but Steve...um...this was less than optimal for him.

"I'm so glad I'm doing this!" Steve said as he rigged up.  

Between the waves and the current and the flukey inside winds and the sweeping side waves Steve had several adventures getting 3/4 of the way out.  Yes he got worked, but so did the rest of us (I had my longest swim-after-gear of the year.)  And he's mad stoked about his next wave adventure!   I kept thinking he was going to punch me in the nose for sweet-talking him into this abuse. 

(Top: Scott and Bruce make sense of the madness. Middle: Steve wonders what the heck I was talking about..."friendly and smoothe?" Bottom: The editor threads a path.  Photos from the session by Peconic Jeff.   P.S.  I tried to come up with a Halloween-Wolf bit, but the results were worse than my usual drivel.   So consider yourself spared!)