The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Learn to Freestyle (or Freestyle Better) Opportunity

I have it on excellent authority that there's lots of room in the freestyle group of this week's ABK clinic.

If you did not win the freestyle competition in Cape Cod last week, you should be here.

If you did win, you should be here.

If you didn't go (like me...previous commitments) you should go so you can compete at Joe's Beach in 2014.

If you don't know any freestyle, you should DEFINITELY go!  One of my all-time favorite ABK clinics (and I've done 17) was Freestyle #1.   Had to drive to Delaware to do it.   Now it's at Tiana...shallow, breezy, shark free, easy parking, closer than Napeague Tiana.

Be there!

(Photo of Rich Simons going Vulcan at an ABK Freestyle clinic by Peconic Jeff Schultz)

Catapult plus .1 seconds

As seen on School of Surf on Facebook.

Windsurfing the World Trade Center

"On Aug. 10 1994 I windsurfed the Hudson river and got a view of the Manhattan skyline that no windsurfer - or anybody else - will ever see again."

-Peter Bogucki, editor and publisher of the mighty New England Windsurfing Journal.  

(Photo by Peter Bogucki, from the NEWJ issue published following the September 11th attacks.)

More Jeff SUPsurfing the Go

If you've got a Go, all you need is a paddle, it seems.  Actually I bet this is fairly challenging, but boy does it look like fun.  Of course there's a swap meet this weekend at Hampton Watersports (pick up a used SUP, or maybe even a Go?)     I hope to get on the water soon.  Wind, waves, whateva...

(Photo courtesy Jeff's brother)

ABK Windsurfing Clinic Countdown...are you signed up?

If you know anyone who has ever done an ABK windsurfing clinic, you've already had your ear talked off about how great they are.   If you yourself have engaged Andy Brandt and crew in an ABK clinic, you know you should get back there ASAP to work on The Next Steps of your windsurfing.   If you are not in either of the above groups, OR if you are stuck wondering if right now, this is the time for you to ABK it, see if you're on this list (which is only partial) of People Who Should Do The Next ABK Clinic:

-people who have never windsurfed,

-people who tried windsurfing a long time ago and found it incredibly hard,

-people who windsurfed a long time ago and want to get back into it,

-people who enjoyed sailing around but never learned to use the harness or footstraps,

-people who managed the harness and footstraps but never got comfortable going fast,

-people who never learned to waterstart easily,

-people who want to sail smaller boards,

-people who want to learn the planing jibe,

-people who want to perfect their jibes and duck jibes,

-people who want to learn to jump (or jump higher),

-people who want to plane in less wind,

-people who want to be able to sail in strong winds,

-people who want to learn freestyle,

-people who want to learn radical freestyle,

-people who want to learn cool things to do on a windsurfer in light wind,

-people who want to meet and hang out with other windsurfers.

 ABK Windsurfing Clinics come to Long Island on September 20-22, at Tiana!   Shallow water, good for all wind directions, plenty of waterside parking, easy peasy (whatever that means).  Sign up before it fills up.

Is it okay to post about SUPping in two-foot waves?

I was almost embarrased to mention it, but I wanted to talk about the left I'd just taken.  Long, playful, fun...the wave was maybe 18" high.  But it held its shape and kept pushing!  

The Wolf understands these things.  So I told him.   It was the two of us, plus Jon Ford, his son Nick, five kids on ginormous foam SUP boards, and a half dozen surfers at Fly's.

Yes the waves were (very) small.   But at that size you can paddle right back out through the middle of them and grab another and another.   I went out for an hour and probably caught 15 waves.  Lefts and rights thank you very much.

Am I silly to post about this?  I know...

SUP-surfing a Starboard Go (video)

Witness Peconic Jeff standup paddling a windsurfing board.  In the waves.  Oh yeah!  "The footstraps are like kick pads," Jeff told me while waiting for a wave.   I caught up to Jeff and Christian at Ponquogue on Saturday (knee high waves), and Jeff (apparently in between SUP boards...let the swap meet come!) was riding his Starboard Go.  And doing quite well.  The width looked particularly good to me. Watch the video!