The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Up and Down, On and Off

Met Scott at Sebonac.   The forecast resembled that of two weeks earlier, when building winds brought us from calm to blown off the water in a few hours, so expectations were high.   With maybe 10 mph breezes Scott was worried that he hadn't brought his 3.7, based on the readings he was getting from up island.  I felt the need to rig something, so I picked 4.7.  5.4 seemed like asking to get flattened, but Scott's anticipation of nukedom seemed overly optimistic.

I'd rigged correctly, kinda.

Whilst some wingers (including Christian, John Nat and Dan) were out for lighter breezes, I got going on the 4.7, with Scott soon behind me but not quite as lit (over the winter I lost weight...Scott not so much).  Good fun, but the lulls got bigger and bigger, and ultimately shut us down.

An hour later back at home it started blowing 30 on the bays.   I'd had half of a good day and was cool with it!

(Photo of me and Dan.  Dan is a former colleague of the Wolf, though Winging is his first wind/water combo sport!)

Blown Off The Water at Sebonac

It had been a year since I'd sailed my 77.   Someone said "check your footstraps for rot!"   I've never had gear go dry for that long!  The straps were fine.   I met Scott at Sebonac, where we were joined by Winger John Nat and another guy whose name I forgot but he used to work with the Wolf so he is automatically In.

Scott forgot his 4.2 ("I left it under my 5.8!" so he was in a pickle, as the winds built over two hours, but not gradually.  Ever so often it was as if a switch was thrown.  Me:  4.7 on the 93, 4.7 on the 77, 4.2 on the 77, and then in the middle of a run I (and everyone else) was flattened by a gust.  Liquid smoke.   I got back to the beach fully sheeted out, thinking my 3.4 was too big for what was blowing.   Everyone came in (John toughed it out for an five extra minutes) while sand blew down the road.

Derigged to a gorgeous sunset.