The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Don't Try This On Your SUP (sirsasana)

My most excellent Iyengar yoga instructor Lucienne warned me that this would be difficult (bad difficult).   SURELY (I thought)...SURELY if I go on extra-flat water I can manage a headstand.  Sirsasana.  SUP Sirsasana!  

Yeah well...

With the Mrs. positioned with iPhone I proceeded to wobble and fall and wobble and fall...and the directions you fall in on the water are not the ones you fall in on a yoga mat.   Finally I got up...held it for about two seconds before crashing down, banging one knee on the board, at which point I declared the operation "a bad idea" and got off the water.

Encore Monday

A few of the guys got a taste of Ponquogue in gusty side-off before returning to the scene of Sunday's happy crime:  Sebonac Inlet.  "I think it's windier than yesterday" Mecox Sam said, and he was right.   4.2's were the call for my-sized sailors...I was joined by Scott, Jeff, Christian, Frank, Jonathan, and the aforementioned Sam.  WIth western winds having blown much of the water out of the Peconic over the days, the reef was clearly defined and working nicely.   

You know it's a rocking session when your legs get too tired to sail...I am burnt after back to back four meter sessions!  Must sail more to get in shape...

4.7 Festival

Bruce

Christian

CPU John

Felix

Frank

Hulse

Jan

Jeff

Joe N (Mr. & Mrs)

John N (so you know it was perfect!)

Sam

Scott

Tomas

The Wolf

Your Editor

(who did I forget?)

Such was the roll call Sunday...the flock of small sails looked like a scene from Hatteras…16+ windsurfers in full sun on the beautiful waters off Sebonac Inlet…almost everyone on a 4.7 (save the largest and lightest sailors).   Sunny and windy on a weekend day?  Do your happy dance!   4.7 has always been my favorite sail size.  Until yesterday Scott claimed 4.2 as his preference, but yesterday he changed his allegiance.  Who doesn't love a 4.7 day?

(Top:  Air Felix.  Middle:  The editor throws a duck jibe.  Joe was sporting better moves, but he who edits the blog chooses the pictures!  Bottom: Chimply Lord Scotworth (the Earl of Kielt) attempts to land his board dry on the beach for the entertainment of an onlooker.  Photos by Jeff Schultz.

 

Mary Lee Is In Town

Somebody:  Who is Mary Lee?

Somebody else:  Great big shark.

Somebody:  The Jaws kind?

Somebody else:  Yup.

Lord Scotworth The Earl of Kielt announced Mary Lee's presence this morning.   Like clockwork (or calendarwork) this big fish returns to the waters of greater Puffindom...a review of the archives shows that exactly one year ago today The Peconic Puffin first reported on Mary Lee.  The good people at OCEARCH maintain a shark tracker that keeps an eye on a whole lot of individual sharks, including celebs like ML.

There's wind in the forecast for Sunday.   Can you say Sebonac Inlet?  Bay sailing here I come!

(Map pinpointing Mary Lee courtesy of OCEARCH.

Swap Meet Saturday! Meet Me and Tell Me How Badly...

...this blog is written?

...how much you need to own more and or better gear?

Either way you can!  I'm actually going to be helping out at Hampton Watersports on Saturday for the Spring swap meet.   I'll be one of the guys in back, asking you things like "where do you sail?" and "will your significant other be borrowing this?" and "what do you already have" and "how long have you been kiting" and "do you SUP only flatwater, waves, for both?" and so forth.  Trying to hook you up with the best choices in used gear, and helping you price the stuff you're selling so that it does indeed sell.  Also I'll deny writing The Peconic Puffin.  I'll point at someone else and say "it's his fault".

See you Saturday.

(If you're selling used equipment, drop off your gear early Saturday morning).   If you're looking for sails, it's helpful if you know what size masts you own, and what the minimum and maximum extension lengths of your boom is, to make sure you can rig what you buy.   Note to sellers:  If you sell you get 100% store credit or 70% cash.  Me I maintain a permanent account there, as I both windsurf and SUP, and one of the first three axioms of windsurfing I was taught was "shit breaks".  So the credit is as good as cash if you're a water crazy, a Puffin, a wind chimp etc.   When in doubt ask the proprieter, Jonathan Ford.)

Rain or shine, buy or sell used Standup Paddleboarding, Windsurfing, Kiteboarding and Surfing gear. There will also be new 2016 equipment to drool over.  Festivities start Saturday morning at 9.  If you have questions, call the shop 631-283-9463.  See you there!

The Bowl Takes My Fin (and lots of Bruce's gear...)

Six months to the day since my last wave sesh (when I got bit by a sea snake) I returned, 4.2 conditions at The Bowl.   Only my second windsurfing session of the year so I was way out windsurfing shape AND wavesailing confidence, but what the hell...I sailed to exhaustion (embarrasingly early exhaustion, but when I knew I wouldn't be up for a swim back I called it a day.)   Bruce, Frank, Scott, the Wolf, Fisherman, Peconic Jeff, Jon, John and I got to play.

After the first 30 minutes Scott came up to me on the beach.  "Did you see my big air?"  I had not.  "Damn...nobody saw it.  I was looking down at 15 feet!"   Scott is an excellent jumper, so I believe him.  Then there was my epic jump!  Not.   I had two decent midsized, which was fine for nervous out of shape me.  After I left Bruce got munched on the outside by a large wave (the largest were logo high) breaking his mast and extension.  Swam it all back in, he did.  Maybe he'll be at the swap meet next Saturday looking to replace.

I had a much less dramatic gear loss...coming back to the beach on what I'd already decided was my last run, I hit a sand bar just off the beach...my fin popped out (so much better than breaking the fin box).   Anybody finds a 9" fin at the Bowl:  I will sing you a song for its return!

(Top:  view from my helmet cam.  Middle:  Fisherman works it left.  Bottom:  The Wolf goes back side.   Fisherman and Wolf photos by Jeff Schultz.)