The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Howling winds, light rain: Memorial Day Perfection

Pity the non-windsurfer's start to the holiday weekend:  30mph wind gusts, 50 degrees, overcast with rain. Bad weather for barbecue.  Bad weather for beach sun and fun.   Bad weather for golf (though some tried). Etc etc etc.

Sebonac Inlet was packed.

I arrived early, when only a handful of windsurfers were on the water.   Rigged the 4.5, put it on 77 liters of joy, and pinched along the beach to get the angle out into the Peconic (the wind was more northerly than is ideal for Sebonac, but Meschutt is closed, so there we were!)

Shred shred shred.  Jump jump jump.   Every ten minutes someone else arrived.  By midafternoon the fleet included Bill Nightingale, Bill Barber, Bruce Feldman, Christian, CPU John, Frank, Jan & Bruce, Jeff Slecta, Joe Natalie, John Hulse, Scott, the Wolf and more (sorry if I forgot you...remind me in the comments!)   More were to come.

The ramps were not classic Sebonac while I was there (blame the wind direction) but the quantity of ramps was high (thank you!) to the point that my left knee (I'm a port jumper) was starting to bark after three hours.   Around this time the wind came up more, guys were switching to 4.2s and 3.7's, and as I haven't replaced my 4.0 since blowing it out in December I called it a day.  (Subsequent reports from Peconic Jeff suggest that had I stayed, I could have sailed the 3.4.)

About the water temperature:  The bay is warm.  Certainly much warmer than the air this day.  I wore a 5.3 (too much) hood (okay for the cold air) gloves (see hoond) and light booties (definitely the call!  I was barefoot in the colder ocean SUPsurfing last week, and that was fine.)  If the sun was out 3/2 on the bay would be the call.

(Photos by Jeff Schultz)

 

2013 East Coast Windsurfing Festival: Sandy'd.

Joe's Beach at Heckscher took too much damage for an event to be possible next month.  Here's the word from Mike Burns:

"Hello to all the East Coast Windsurfing Festival racers, freestylers, paddlers, tossers, spectators, formula guys, schloggers, crashers, splashers, bobbers, buoys, officials, judges, and sponsors.  

It's with great sadness that we have to officially postpone the 2013 East Coast Windsurfing Festival at Heckscher State Park until 2014 :-(  

Unfortunately due to damage that the park took during Hurricane Sandy our usual windsurfing launch at Field 7 is currently unavailable for use.  Since our usual beach will not be ready, the event has do be canceled for this year.  

Don't worry though, it just gives you more time to prepare yourself for the 2014 ECWF!!!  We'll be back in full force for 2014 with all the fun of the past years and then some!  I'd like to thank you all for the support for the event over the years and we're really looking forward to holding more events in the near future!!

So get training, go hunting for that light wind monster that someone inevitably has laying under a pile of lumber in their back yard, and get your game on for the return of the ECWF 2014!  

See you at the beach,

Mike Burns"

Now I'm even MORE bummed that I missed the 2012 Festival.  Must start preparing for '14...

 

Almost Run Over by The Wolf

Christian emailed me at 8AM:  Nice little waves at Ponquogue...he and Jeff were going in to SUPsurf.   I got there at 9 to find those two + the Wolf enjoying a generous smattering of thigh high waves.  "Snack waves," the Wolf dubbed them, and they were playful.   They'd pop up anywhere...there was no particular spot to catch them.  The waves would turn left and right...I don't mean break left or right, but change their orientation to the short left and right.  And every once in awhile you'd get a nice long left that would keep you busy for quite awhile, with zero penalty for surfing all the way in.

Yeah yeah you say the headline says I was almost run over by the Wolf!   It's true.   Five years ago the Wolf and I collided whilst wavesailing at Ponquogue.   At the time I was sure it was my fault but the collective opinion was that You Gotta Watch Out for The Wolf.    Today it happened in slow motion:   I was down in the water, the Wolf took off on a wave heading right at me, Jeff was behind the Wolf watching him bear down on me, and the Wolf stared at me as he came closer and closer and closer.  My eyes went wide, Jeff was laughing, and at the moment of truth I estimate the distance between the Wolf's board and my neck was approximately 10 inches.

"Did he go over you or around you?" Jeff shouted.

"Around, I think!"  I was sure I was going to be hit.  I don't know how he missed me.

A fine little sesh otherwise!

 

Rum Lords Wavesailing Video

I love Cape Hatteras, and so I go every year. Except I've missed the last three years. I must correct this. Ever correct though are the Reef Warriors, who thrash water and rum with equal fervor. The video above is found on their site. Not for the faint of liver...rum was harmed during the makings, they warn!

The Swap Meet is on Saturday

The swap is on Saturday.   The weather might look marginal, but the goods are meant to get wet.  Water sports!

Begins 9AM.  Contact Hampton Watersports for details 631-283-9463 (283-WIND)

ABK Clinic @ Tiana...you need to sign up soon!

Andy Brandt and his merry crew of instructors are coming to Tiana next week (May 17-19) for three days of magnificent windsurfing instruction and fun.   It's coming down to crunch time, meaning if you sign up now (and wait until the last minute) you may get shut out.  ABK is strict about the ratio of students to instructors, and at some point in the next few days Andy will put a cap on the overall clinic size.  So sign up ASAP!

Mistakes you don't want to make include:

*Waiting for the wind forecast to decide if you want to go.  I've made this mistake, and regretted it.  It goes wrong three ways:  The forecast is wrong (the clinic gets better conditions than forecast,) the clinic is fantastic even on light wind days (and you have to listen to your friends rave about this, and see them sailing better all summer) and you miss the fun (and have to listen to the same friends go on about it.

*Assume that Andy will let you join at the last minute, even if the clinic is full.  I haven't made this mistake, but I've watched people's faces fall in disappointment as they stood there (Napeague) cash in hand, gear on cars, and be told they can't join.

*Trust the ABK web site when it says there are plenty of spaces available.  I love ABK, but the web site is not always running at the same speed as the clinics.

So sign up for the ABK clinic.  It's going to be a great clinic at Tiana (which doesn't have the name cache of Napeague, but in opinion is better for more wind directions, easier in terms of parking and managing your gear, more convenient for Saturday night dinner, etc etc etc.   As Scott says (or sings):  "Oh, Tiana!"

(Photo:  Don't get stuck inside your boom...ABK will help you prevent this.  Unless you're a freestyler and want to do tricks...ABK will help you do this.  Photo borrowed from ABK Boardsports.