The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

The Windsurfing Movie II Trailer

Previously in The Peconic Puffin we have lavished praise on the new Windsurfing Movie.   Now Puffin Jace Panebianco says "hey check out the trailer" and so we do.  Enjoy:

The Windsurfing Movie II Official Trailer from Poor Boyz Productions on Vimeo.

Sessions To Be Thankful For

We caught big winds twice over the Thanksgiving holidays.   Okay the first day was the Wednesday preceding, but we’re counting it…an early morning nuker at Meschutt.   After a few false starts on 5.3’s and 4.5’s we finally got dialed in…me on a 4.0, Peconic Jeff on his 4.2, along with Scott, Frank, Dr. Pain, and a rare Meschutt appearance by Bill Barber.     There were classic Meschutt halfpipe ramps on the inside, the outside had some shoulder-high waves, and while jibing was tough, the jumping and swell play were well worth it.  I had to leave at 11 to make a butternut squash soup for the next day’s festivities, so here is Jeff’s report on what I missed:

"We sailed til noon. Conditions got bumpier with the tide, but the waves and swell seemed to build with the wind. We were hitting 3' steeeep ramps and getting considerable air. I had 2 nice backloop attempts, and a decent mule kick / tabletop witnessed by Big Bill. Frank shredded, Scott cackled and soared, and Dr. Pain rounded out the crew joining us late. Swells on the outside were 4' steep & rolling. By 11 the wind eased, and 4.2 became more manageable, with holes beginning to appear. Bill said though he doesn't normally like Meschutt, he had his best sesh there in years."

Bill was still praising the Meschutt sesh three days later when the wind turned again, and after a false start at Tiana we found ourselves launching at Sebonac Inlet.     Featuring the Triumphant Return of the Wolf, the winds built from 5.2 to 4.2 with some crazy gusts.   It was a beautiful sunny day with the best waves and chop setting up most of the way to the point (the inside bar wasn’t serving up its best ramps).  On the water were the Wolf (seen taking his freshly repaired ribs up in the air for some jumps) Bill Barber, Bill Nightingale, Dr. Pain, Jan and Bruce, John Natalie (inexplicably…conditions were not perfect), Peconic Jeff, Scott, and a few I’m forgetting.

The holiday sessions were well spaced, allowing both for quality time with family and friends, as well as ripping on small boards!   I made my first turkey ever (it came out perfectly using the Barefoot Contessa recipe) and my best jump at Sebonac all year.

I am thankful.

(The happy site of the Wolf rigging.  Photo by >Jeff.)

Jeff's Tiana Video

The view from Jeff...from the beach, and on the water...from last Saturday's Tiana session.   Most unusual part:  Jeff includes having his gear knocked away (and The Swim).  He is a True Puffin!   

Danny MacAskill’s Brilliant New Freestyle Video

Danny MacAskill is the only athlete who has managed to get this blog to share a brilliant freestyle unassociated with wind and waves. He first knocked me down with this video in the Spring of 2009, and now he's done it again.   Directed by Dave Sowerby and shot on the Isle of Skye, it is breathtaking and mind boggling.  Don't blink...every time I began to think "okay, I get it" MacAskill pulls a new trick out, and Sowerby frames it immaculately.   I found this on Facebook, posted by jibe guru (and producer/director in his own right) Dasher.

It's freestyle, heavy on the style. Just watch:

 

Oh, Tiana!

Scott started the singing after the wonderful session we had two weeks ago:

“Ohhhh Tiana!  OhhhhhhhTianaaaaaaa!"

Another west-southwest day, another great sesh at Tiana.   With outgoing tide and sail sizes running 4.7-5.4 (though Jan was said to be on a 3.7) and plenty of waves in the 4-5 foot range (and an occasional six-footer) the good times rolled (mostly left.)     There were plenty of waves for everybody, though CD tells a tale that begins with Bruce snaking a wave already claimed by his wife, and ends with Jan throwing spray on Bruce’s back.

“Not true!  Not true!” Bruce protested (while laughing).  But I believe CD.

The waves were better than the now famous sesh from last month, but the sea lacked the warm friendly cuddliness of that day.  What the impact zone lacked in terms of size it made up for in frequency and current.  I had to swim after my gear twice, and I saw a few others do the same.  But I’ll take a session like this every week please…gimme more of those waves!

(Top:  The view from Jeff's head-cam of a six footer.  Middle:  Frank outbound while George works a wave.  Bottom:  Jan and Bruce.  All photos by Jeff.)

Saturday Could Be One of those Tiana Days...

iWindsurf talks about SW and WSW 20ish, and low tide is midday.

As Scott likes to say:  Ooooohhhhh Tiana!

(we get all hot and bothered about a WSW forecast for Tiana ever since last month's magnificent session.  Of course I may be jinxing it by posting!)

 

Another Behind the Back, Backwinded Planing Andy Brandt Story

Quite a few people have come up to me to comment about the photo I ran of Andy Brandt last month.  In honor of his birthday, I used this shot of one of Andy's signature tricks to suggest that he was becoming confusled about how to windsurf in his old age.

Let me tell you about the first time I ever saw Andy pull this move.   T'was 1998, at my first ABK windsurfing clinic, held at Tiana (bay side).  "Freestyle windsurfing" was not an expression one heard back then.   I was in the group of "good" students who were working on jibes.    Andy demonstrated several picture perfect step jibes, then came charging towards the beach, jumped around the mast into B2B backwinded mode, sailed up to us, and then proceeded to tack.   He blew the tack, and immediately apologized to us, saying "I swear...I know how to sail."

We were all jaws agape dumbfounded.  "You know how to sail?    I'm pretty sure what you just did is impossible!"   I should note that Andy was on a 110 liter mid-90's slalom board.   It was pretty cool.

 

Remy 21

Peconic Puffin contributing photographer Remy McFadden turns 21 today.  Happy Birthday Remy!

(Photo:  Remy captured by paparazzi whle hanging out with an old friend.)

Jeff Has Cojones

"Jeff has cojones" said Christian.

I agreed.   I wasn't surprised he launched (SUP at Tiana in head-high break) 'cause Peconic Jeff is always ready to try something crazy.   But when it comes to SUP crazy, I'm usually the one who wants to go out (because I don't know any better) and then people like Jon Ford and Scott come over and say "you don't want to do that."  Today was the first time I've ever looked at the surf and said "it would be bad to launch now".  First time ever.  It looked like Destructo Beach to me.  

But out Jeff went, and while Christian, Jake and I watched, he caught several 8 footers, left and right, bailing only when a big closeout prepared to gobble his Peconicness.  We saw him get rolled a few times, ingested by whitewater a few times, but always come up energized and ready for more.

After the beach break calmed down a bit and Jeff came in for some water, I went out with him to take a shot at the big sets coming in on the outside.  I caught nothing except a beautiful sunset.   Jeff caught a few more waves.    It was Jeff Day at Tiana!

(Jeff thinks about getting rolled in overhead waves.  Photo by Christian.)

Too Much North at Sebonac

 “I said we should have gone to Meschutt.   But we’re following Jonathan!”

And Jonathan wanted to sail Sebonac Inlet.

Fight!  Fight!

I’m just kidding.   The wind was honking and the sailing good from Sebonac, but in what turned out to be a NW blow (as opposed to the usual WNW or W that is the classic Sebonac call) the best sections for sailing and jumping and waveplay were  to the west instead of the east.  Towards Meschutt.   Fortunately there was loads of wind so getting to where you wanted to be was no problem.  Me on a 4.0, Lord Scotworth lit on his 3.7 ("I’m struggling to keep downwind") and so on (Jon Ford somehow holding down a 4.7 while Bill reinforced his withered 4.2 with duct tape.)    Good starboard jumping when you were comfortable, which I often wasn’t…in the biggest gusts I was sailing sheeted completely out…the boom at right angles to the board, planning away on 77 liters.   That’s a gust my friend!

In attendance besides Scott, Jon, and Bill:  Frank, Jake, Jason, Jeff, and my plumber Bill.  Bill didn’t rig (or plumb) he just watched for awhile.

(Don't know where Sebonac Inlet and Meschutt Park are?   There is a map...the Long Island Windsurfing Map.)

Knights Who Say “Nay” and a Return to SUP Surfing

CD and Scott were naysayers.   CD (aka Christopher Lord Chimpleton, Duke of All He Surveys) said there was too much wind and the waves too muscular for a good paddle.

Scott (aka Chimply Lord Scotworth, Earl of Kielt) went even further.  “I say Nay,” he said.

 
But I had not wielded a paddle since late August, Jonathan had great expectations of Sunday’s swell, and Jeff was his usual eager self, so after surveying the big beautiful waves rolling into Tiana for about ten minutes, we put boards to water and paddled out.   We were maybe 200 yards from shore when we spotted a head-high plus set approaching.  Jeff jumped up and down like a little kid…he could not contain his excitement.

It took Jon and Jeff a few tries before they caught their first waves…the offshore blow called for special tactics.    Jeff and I watched Jon come down the face of a mighty nine-foot wall of water…it was great fun just to watch.

As for me:  I’ve been windsurfing for eighteen years, so if I didn’t sail for a few months I’d get my groove back in a minute or two.    I’ve been SUP surfing for one year, and taking two months off meant I forgot much of what little I knew.   After 20 minutes of catching nothing I thought “okay, maybe you don’t catch any waves today.  At least you’re back out.  Enjoy it, watch and learn.”   Then I caught a modest five footer going left.  Okay, I haven’t completely forgotten how to do this.    A little later there was a speedy ride right on seven feet of “Get the heck off before this puppy closes out” (which I did).   My third and last wave of the day was a mediocre right by normal standards, but I was more than happy to have caught any of them, and as Lord Chimpleton often says (when he isn’t saying Nay):  “The day is so beautiful and the waves so magical, ya just gotta love being alive!”

Can’t say nay to that.

(Top:  Jonathan eyes the mackage.  Bottom:  Jeff salivating at the site.  Stylized photos by Christian, who windsurfed the bay side of Tiana yesterday.)

Review: The Windsurfing Movie II

1.  The Windsurfing Movie II is much, much better than The Windsurfing Movie.

2.   It is not more of the first movie.  It is different.

That may be all you need to know.   Here’s more anyway:

Like the first film, “II” features absolutely spectacular footage of brilliant windsurfing in extraordinary conditions.  Filmmakers Johnny DeCesare and Jace Panebianco have actually improved their skills at capturing the beauty and kinetic energy of windsurfing as practiced by the masters.    But unlike the first film, “II” has some meaningful story lines that hold it all together more elegantly than the Interview/Rad footage/Interview/Rad footage motif of the first movie.

Did I just say “motif”?  Slap me.

Maybe this is what I should say:  I watched the first film twice, but haven’t taken out the DVD since.   I’ve watched the new one twice, and I think I’m going to watch it again this weekend.  And many times more.    I’m still trying to wrap my head around some of the wavesailing!

I have no interest in full disclosure (secrets are cool) but I’ll remind the regular reader and tell the irregular that one of the filmmakers (Jace Panebiano) is a friend, and was part of the original Peconic Puffin community way back in 1993.   I asked Jace for a quote for this piece, and he waxed Peconic:

“The community of windsurfing is really tight, I feel like I've got friends all over the world because of windsurfing.  But it all started in the Peconic Bay.

I went home a month ago and took the boat to Homes' Hill, ran up the sand dune and looked out over the Peconic; to my house, then to New Suffolk, then way out past Jessups'. It really made me homesick in that moment, being away from it so much of the time.  Then I just thought back to being a kid; how cool was it for a 14 year old kid to be able to visit friends by windsurfing to their house.  Those friends, the OG Puffins, a fun loving, creative bunch really influenced some of myformative years. I've been really lucky that the people closest to me always reinforced the idea that you could choose your own path. “

Another time we’ll have to get more from Jace on his windsurfing to the Puffin House…he once arrived by board unannounced at midnight!   But enough about Jace Panebianco…this is a review of The Windsurfing Movie II”:

It’s outstanding.  Better even than you think it’s going to be.    See genuinely wonderful windsurfing by featured riders Levi Siver, Kai Lenny, Mark Angulo, Robby Naish, Jason Polakow, Baptiste Gossein and others I forget.