The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

SUP Cutback

I've met some windsurfers who've said they think stand up paddling would be boring after awhile.  I point out to them that not only are they more nimble than canoes and kayaks on flat water, but they're loads of fun to surf in the waves.

"You can surf a SUP?"  

Oh yeah.
  This photo of Jon Ford enjoying Hurricane Maria swell was taken by Jeff Schultz.  I took it from his Peconic Windsurfer Flickr page the moment I saw him post it in Facebook.

Big Air from (who else) Philip Köster

These days any time I see a link promising a windsurfer getting prodigious altitude, it seem to bring me to a photo of Phillip Köster.   A few years ago I posted a clip ("Phillip Koester Gets Hospital Air") that blew my mind.   I imagine 20 foot jumps of my own from time to time (I imagine them)  I have no interest at all in getting what young Philip gets here, even if I could land in gelato.    The jumper whose air I find most appealing (and survivable) remains Robby, in these clips for example.

Still, huge props to Phillip!  

(The photo was found unattributed in the Australian forum Seabreeze, where someone wrote "give this guy a pilot's license so he doesn't violate air space!")

Slapped Down in the Fantasy Windsurfing Pool

Oh man.  A lot has happened since the last time I checked in Windsport Magazine's PWA Fantasy Windsurfing pool.  Back then I ruled Long Island!   Now I need floss to get seaweed and sand out from between my teeth.  Let's review the current standings of people I know:

#82  Jon Ford, on the top of the Puffin heap.  Was #151.

#170 Pete Dekay.   He's the editor of Windsport so I think it's safe to say he's cheating.   Had been #55.

#298 Christian Charles.  It's hard to begrudge Christian after his recent experience adrift, but I'm begrudging him anyway.  Had been #274.

#327  Me.  Had been #110.  All glory is fleeting.

#359  George Marr.   Still in my wake, George!   Had been #386

#470  Derek Rijff.

#567  Radar Tom.

#583  Michael Ingbar.

#599  Mike Burns (still in my wake, Lord King of the East!   Had been #421.)

#641 Brendan Quinn (too cool to care.)

#651  Jill Marr

#694  Buddha Mike.  Had been #686.

#802 Dennis Grunbeck   Moving up, Dennis!   Had been #825.

There's still time for me to pull it out.  Must add downhaul and sheet in!   In the meantime whether you're in the thing or not, check out the feature in Windsport.

 

 

Windsurfer Adrift At Sea Re-rigs Under Pressure

Christian arrived at the Bowl around high tide.   Scott had already been sailing for a few hours (and I for one) but we were mostly waiting for the tide to go out and the waves to come. 

“I have 90 minutes,” Christian announced, so he quickly rigged a sail, grabbed a board, and launched.   A few other guys decided to take a run as well, but after I took a minute to walk to the van for a swig of water, I could not see Christian on the water.   No biggie, the winds (sail sizes were 5.2-5.8) were up and down, so perhaps a waterstart was proving elusive.   After a few more minutes there is still no sign of Christian.   What did he do, sail into a black hole?

I asked Jeff if he could see him.  No, he can’t, but he has binoculars in his truck, and goes to get them.  The winds were lightening and I was contemplating rigging big gear to go out and look when Scott came planing in (on a 5.8 and bigger board).    Scott, have you seen Christian?   Yes, he has, he spoke with him.

Well what’s happening?

“he quickly rigged a sail...”

     -The Peconic Puffin, two paragraphs ago.

What was happening was Christian was down in the water with a sail that had popped off the mast.   Whilst rigging it quickly the mast tip insert apparently never was seated properly in the mast, and when Christian made his first jibe the sail popped right off.   So now he was in the water rerigging it.   “I told him if he can’t manage it he should roll the sail up and paddle in,” Scott continued. 

Looking out on the water it didn’t look good to me.   For the most part I couldn’t see him at all, but every once in awhile his head and board would bob above the waves as he drifted towards the reef to the west.    Ah, the reef.   The reef where waves will surely make any rigging effort much more challenging.  The reef where on very rare occasions we have seen a ...fish.   Discussion about calling the Coast Guard begins.   Someone says “five more minutes” and I am counting the seconds silently in my head.   I want to see Christian toss the rig and start paddling in...this is way too exciting for me.  Fortunately we are no more than two miles from the Shinnecock Coast Guard station.

Then his sail popped up, Christian waterstarted, and sailed in to the far side of the Bowl, where Jeff met him to help carry his gear back.   

“That’s what you do with your 90 minutes?” I asked?  I am always helpful.

Christian explained that in order to release enough tension in the mast to slide the sail back to the top he had to undo the whole shebang.   He keeps his downhaul line in the extension for neatness (as do I) so he had to separate rig and board (using the uphaul to tether the two for safety.)  The outhaul had to be released.  At one point the mast foot became unthreaded.  But he got it all back together.   Here is an excerpt from an email from Christian this morning:

"Things I learned: I'll never stuff my downhaul in my mast extension again.

I will be looking to buy a new UJ with a longer thread than the Chinook. 

I will be double double checking the male mast head insert in future (duh). 

I will once again ponder the need to carry extra bits and bobs when sailing. Scott pointed out that once upon a time Dakine used to have little pockets on all their harnesses. Makes a ton of sense.

Thanks guys for keeping an eye on me. The sailing in a group system worked perfectly. After I spoke with Scott I never once thought that I was at risk, which allows for a clear head when having to loosen everything you've got tightened some distance from shore. The photo says it all as far as the support that was there if necessary.

Thanks too Jeff for helping carry the gear. I needed a rest at that point!"

Amazing.   Here’s what I learned:

1.  I used to carry an extra piece of line behind my spreader bar.   When I replaced that bar a year ago I did not transfer the line (held in place with duct tape).  I’ll be addressing that before the next session.

2.  Keeping the downhaul shoved into the mast base extension is an elegant way to keep the foot area clear, but it requires rig separation if you’ve got to release the downhaul at sea.    What I’m not clear about is whether it’s possible to get a good angle to reapply downhaul tension with the uni still in the base, but I’ll be experimenting to see.   I think there’s a good  chance I’ll return to stuffing excess downhaul line into the bottom of the sail.

3.  Call 911 if you need the Coast Guard.  Jeff says also:  Coast Guard Search & Rescue for south shore Long Island to NYC: 718-354-4353.  Coast Guard Search & Rescue for CT & north shore Long Island: 203-468-4401

(Top:  Jeff mans the binoculars while CD, Scott and I imagine what we'd have tried out there.  See the waves breaking on the reef in the distance, to the right of the sign?  That's just about where Christian drifted before he successfully sailed back to the beach.  Bottom:  See the speck?  He's alive!  Photos by Keith Schultz.)

ABK Clinics are nearly full

To the windsurfer who would be a better windsurfer:

If you're assuming that you're going to take one of the upcoming ABK Boardsports windsurfing clinics at Napeague 9/23-25 and 9/30-10/2, you'd best be registered already, as they're currently showing only 3 slots left in the first clinic and 5 in the second.   There are even ABK veterans who believe that if they show up on clinic day with cash on hand that they'll be able to participate, but I'm here to tell you I've seen Andy Brandt turn people away on several occasions.

Here's the good news:   When ABK gets a bunch of people registering a week before a clinic, they bring in extra instructors and add a bunch of new slots.  

Earlier this year the spring ABK clinic was cancelled due to lack of registrations.  Afterwards it turned out there were plenty of Long Islanders who had been planning on taking the clinic but just hadn't gotten around to signing up.  There were disappointed people then, and there could be disappointed people in the coming weeks if they don't sign up.

So sign up!!!  You know you want to.   The first clinic will include a group just for people who want to focus on racing (look for notice here about upcoming Long Island fall windsurfing races) and the second will include a similar freestyle group.

 

Roctober Racing on Long Island

Notice of a Scheme to Race:   Given the popularity of the races at June’s East Coast Windsurfing Festival, and the great time that was had at the 2009 East Coast Fall Regatta, Pete Roesch (who always does well in these things) is hatching a plan for a Fall racing event this October on the north shore of Long Island.  The name:  Rocktober Racing!

(cue Led Zeppelin.  I'm thinking "Whole Lotta Love"...)

Bringing back the formula that worked in 2009, the plan would be to pick a weekend and pick a few locations (one location that’s optimal for each potential wind direction.)  If the forecast looks good on Thursday for the coming weekend, then on Friday night the day (Saturday or Sunday) and location of the race is announced.    If the forecast stinks on Thursday or Friday, then we pick another weekend.

What kind of races would there be?  And what classes?   A preliminary list of fleets includes:

Unlimited

7.5

Men Who Find Tacking Unmanly

Beginner

These potential fleets and races (course or slalom) are open to discussion, and will hopefully be debated in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfing Group forum.   Posts here at the Peconic Puffin will also be thrown into the mix.

Rocktober Racing:  It’s a glint in Pete’s eye, a neat idea in mine, and hopefully something you’d like to be a part of (as racer or volunteer).

Whaddaythink?  Send your comments to [email protected]

Rock on, Garth!

Flying Shark! Must-Have Toy

Want Long, Luxurious Waves? Flying Point!

Year to year, storm to storm, many of our breaks on eastern Long Island move.  It used to be that from Flying Point you'd look east to Clark Bar, the Cut and other waves.  But now head west a few hundred yards...it's wonderful.

As I walked down the beach with my SUP board I saw George Pav all alone on a wave the length of a football field.   He was going right.  And going and going and going and going and going.   Then paddled back out as I rushed to join him.   For about an hour it was looooong rides in and an easy paddle out in well spaced sets.   Then Jeff, the Wolf and Christian arrived, and the waves kept coming (though the water took on some chop while the waves lost their grand width.)

The next time I go to Flying Point I'm arriving two hours before low tide, hoping to catch the same grand rides we had Saturday.

(Christian takes a long ride.  Photo by Jeff.)

Will Sunday Be a Bowl Day? Mayhaps Ponquogue?

The forecast this morning for manana:

E winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 20 kt. Seas around 2 ft. Chance of showers.

"Chance of showers" is the real tease.  Rare is the day it's good at the Bowl when it isn't raining.   Since April I have all of five minutes sailing in waves.  My appetite is large.  As Chimply Lord Scotworth (Earl of Keilt) would say:  GEEEV IT TO MEEEEEEE!

Swap Meet Coming Soon

It's that time.  The wind is returning (fingers crossed) as are the waves.  If you need new gear it's time to clear out your old.  If you need newer gear it's time to pick up somebody else's stuff.  Windsurfing, stand up paddling, Vaderboarding, what have you...it's all happening Saturday September 17th at Hampton Watersports.

Even if you don't need anything or have anything to sell, it's still good fun to see your sailing friends in street clothes and chat about fall plans.   Long Island rocks in the Fall...do you have the gear?  (wanna sell me a sweet quad wave board, 85ish liters?)

Meditation on a Wave (video)

I'd love to know what the music is.

Remembering Joe Rocco

About one hundred people gathered before the water and under the sun to remember Joe Rocco, who died windsurfing Hurricane Irene last Sunday. For 45 minutes we all talked with each other, sharing stories, speculating on what could have happened to Joe, how it could have happened to any of us.

Then Marianne took the microphone, standing next to a photo of Joe, a pair of his skis, and his beloved Dill board, and began talking. She spoke of how she and Joe met, their life together, and matter-of-factly about what happened last Sunday. Straight up: Joe must have hit some floating debris and then smashed into it hard, face first, knocking him out instantly. “Conditions weren’t too much for Joe. No way,” she said. And she thought a helmet would have made no difference at all.

Then others came up to speak. They included:

Windsurfers

Former windsurfers

Construction coworkers

Skiers

People who had met their spouses through Joe

Friends whose children had been taught to windsurf by Joe

New Long Islanders who were given their first gear by Joe

People who worked out with Joe

People who wanted to hang with Joe

Family of Joe

People who learned to laugh at themselves from Joe.

Then Marianne invited everyone who brought gear to do what Joe would want them to do: windsurf. The consensus was that in heaven Joe was on his 4.7, but at Joe’s Beach it was more of a six meter day. George Pav was first on the water. I walked through the parking lot to leave…I hadn’t brought my gear, but I felt the need to sail. After getting to my stuff and driving around for an hour looking for some breeze, I ended up launching at the site of my very first windsurfing experience, sailing with an old friend down the beach from the original Puffin House on the Little Peconic. There are people and places we are thankful for, and it helped me close the day.

(In the coming days there will be information about a memorial fund to be set up in Joe Rocco's name. If you are looking for more information on what happened to Joe, you can find it in the Long Island windsurfing bulletin board, and in blog posts here, here, and here.)