The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Dates Announced

Lord Burns has spoken:  June 6th and 7th!  "Pencil in the dates" he wrote in Facebook.   Yeah well we'll write them in sharpie, and fix it later as kneed bee.  "Cause the East Coast Windsurfing Festival is the bee's knees!

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Is This Weekend!

Here is the word from King Mike and MC Thom:

The 2014 East Coast Windsurfing Festival (at Joe's Beach in Heckscher Park) is guaranteed to be a great weekend party for the East Coast Windsurf community!

We got trophies.

We got T-shirts

We got demo boards.

We got a ton of raffle prizes and chatchkas.

We got new sand on our beach brought in from the ocean beaches (compliments of Sandy relief).

We even got some hot dogs (on and off the water).

And at last count we had no fewer than 40 competitors signed up, and many different categories of friendly and higher level competitions in racing, Freestyle and SUP's.

 

Everyone should bring their SUP's ... there will likely be SUP activities and competitions, especially if we're waiting for the breeze to arrive.

 

Any more questions, just go to the ECWF websites:  www.ecwindfest.com and   http://www.ecwindfest.org/

East Coast Windsurfing Festival Dates. X2!

The festival so nice they're going to throw it twice!  The seventh annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival will be a twofer, with events on Long Island and Cape Cod.  Save the dates:

Long Island:  June 14-15 @ Joe's Beach, Heckscher State Park

Cape Cod:  We don't know yet, but keep it in mind.

Casual racing, casual freestyle, serious freestyle, SUP racing, goofing around, fun.  No wind minimums! Maximum fun.

Here's a link to the official East Coast Windsurfing Festival web site.   It doesn't have any information just yet about 2014, but it will!

(ECWF photo by Bill Doutney)

Bag Hot Slampieces! Win at the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

It's on in Cape Cod, y'all.  September 14-15!  The East Coast Windsurfing Festival Cape Cod edition carries on the traditions of Long Island's East Coast Windsurfing Festival, which is to say that it will be a fun factory. Casual racing, casual freestyle, not-so casual freestyle...competition at it's funnest.   Be there.

(The East Coast Windsurfing Festival wants you!  Photo by Bill Doutney.)

East Coast Windsurfing Festival...in Cape Cod!

When Sandy trashed Joe's Beach it shut down the East Coast Windsurfing Festival for a year...we thought. But now rising like a puffin from a pile of sand eels, the ECWF is happening...a Cape Cod version!   We reached out to a longtime King of the East...Mighty Mike Burns...to ask what the word is on the CCECWF.  It went like this:

Peconic Puffin:  What's up with the CCECWF?

Mike Burns:  What?

Peconic Puffin:  CCECWF!

Mike Burns:  I think you're choking on an eel.

Peconic Puffin (spitting out eel):  The Cape Cod East Coast Windsurfing Festival!  Speak, and we shall record...

Mike Burns:   We were all bummed when we heard that for the first time in 6 years there would be no East Coast Windsurfing Festival at Heckscher this year.  It's become an event that sailors up and down the east coast have started to look forward to each year as a place to make new friends, have tons of fun and maybe even win a couple trophies and prizes in the process.  Well, guess what.  There were so many people bummed not only from Long Island, but also from Cape Cod, that some nice folks up in Cape Cod took it upon themselves to organize the first annual "East Coast Windsurfing Festival Cape Cod."  The head organizers of ECWF Cape Cod Peter and Nina contacted me right about the time they found out that the ECWF LI was officially canceled.  We all decided that we just couldn't go an entire year before the next big ECWF!!!!  So slowly but surely, permits and insurance were put into place and yes it's official.  The first annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival Cape Cod is happening at Kalmus Beach in Cape Cod on Sept 14th and 15th!!!!   It's the exact same event as ECWF LI only at a beach with more wind :-)   So if you missed the event this year and want to help support future events, come on up and compete, or rather help cause more pile-ups at the marks with everyone else!! (That's my personal favorite part)  I hope to see you all there!!!

For more info on the event and to see who is officially signed up go to www.ECwindfest.org

Peconic Puffin:  That's great news!

Mike Burns:  Darn right it is!

 

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...

 

We need a new spot for the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

Damage from Hurricane Sandy (and delays in getting Federal funding to repair Heckscher Park) rule out Field 7 (Joe's Beach) for the sixth annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival.   The organizers need an idea for an alternate site, and right now they don't have one.

If you do, please reply here, or post them in the Yahoo LI Windsurfing Forum.   Otherwise we may take 2013 off (and miss all the great racing and freestyle and SUP and board tossing and funification).

Help if you can.

 

 

 

 

East Coast Windsurfing Festival V: To the believers went the spoils!

I can’t believe I didn’t go.   The forecast looked nonexistent, the drive was long, so despite my having enjoyed great days at ECWF past when the winds were light, I decided not to go.   

This was the wrong answer.   Plenty of people went, and had a great time!

Results first, then we’ll have some story:

King of the East: Alex Hering

Queen of the East: Jeanne Bauman

Mens Freestyle:

1) Alex Hering

2) George Pav

3) Peter Richterich

4) Jake Agoos

5) Pete Roesch

Women's Freestyle:

1) Nina Schweikardt

2) Jeanne Bauman

3) Deniz Kalaycioglu

Men's Open Racing:

1) Bill Degeorge

2) Dean Oleksiak

3) Dan Cresci

4) Alex Hering

5) Florian Feuser

Men's 7.5 limited racing

1) Pete Roesch

2) Joe Natalie

3) Dennis Grunbeck

4) Peter Richterich

5) Joe Giordano

Women's Racing

1) Jeanne Bauman

2) Thandi Bradix

3) Deniz Kalaycioglu

Day 1 highlights:   Very light wind, yet a race despite all odds.   Nonplaning freestyle.   The NEWJ Board tossing.  SUP racing.  And if you think SUP racing doesn’t sound exciting, check out Phil Rizutto’s call:

“Bill DeGeorge and Joe Natalie came storming into the finish line neck & neck, pumping away, veins popping, paddles digging, absolutely in a nose to nose tie for the last 50 yards of the race.  They both hit the beach at the same exact second, jumped off their boards together, and a slight stumble by Bill De gave Joe N just enough of an edge to eak out the win by a paddle, with Mike Burns in a close 3rd.”

Day 2 highlights:  a steady light northerly. “A perfect day for lightwind freestyle and course racing.  Everything from a pile of Fanatic Megacats to the top of the line 2012 Fanatic Falcon were lined up along the beach ready to race.  And race they did!!  We were able to get off 3 races and 2 more full rounds of freestyle along with the freestyle finals on Sunday.  An action packed day indeed!  In both events, the top spots were changing hands, but Bill Degeorge and Pete Roesch were just dominating every race.  After the competition was over, the raffle was held and everyone was waiting to see if Deniz would win the NoLimitz mast for the 3rd year in a row. This time it was George Kellner to take home the beautiful mast.  Makani also donated some fins, hats and t-shirts that the winners were stoked to have received.   And Triple 8 Helmet company gave us a couple helmets for prizes.  With an overwhelming amount of thanks from both competitors ad bystanders I'm looking forward to planning the event for 2013.”

Can’t believe Deniz didn’t win the mast again.

Can’t believe I missed the ECWF.   I’d like to think I’d have given Dennis a race (I always lose to Pete, and usually to Joe.)  And I love nonplaning freestyle...truth be told, maybe better than planing freestyle.

Can’t believe I missed the festival.  Every day sailing is a great day sailing.

Okay start the countdown for next year.

Special thanks go as always to Mike Burns, Thom Hering, and Chrissy Burns. 

Reporting by King Mike and MC Thom.

Photos by the mighty Bill Doutney.

East Coast Windsurfing Festival: New Heads Shall Wear a Crown

Multi-crowned king Mike Burns (who doubles as the event organizer) asks the following question:

"Wouldn't it be nice to officially be the ultimate windsurf champion on the East Coast?   Since we're not going to run an official freestyle "Pro Division" this year in competition, the title of "King/Queen of The East" will be up for grabs.  It will go to the sailer in men's and women's category that has the best combined scores from racing AND freestyle.  (Pros of all kinds are excluded from winning this title since there will be no Pro Men's freestyle division)  But don't worry if you came for a show.  The pros will be out there jumping, flipping, spinning and going just plain huge!!   In between each set of races there will be a 15 or 20 minute pro "freestyle expression session" so that the guys going all out for those precious titles during the ECWF racing and freestyle events have a chance to take a breather."

Looking good for the well-rounded windsurfers!

(The East Coast Windsurfing Festival is this Saturday and Sunday at Joe's Beach in Heckscher State Park, Field 7.  To register, send Mike Burns an e-mail and say "I'm coming" and "I'm gonna (race, freestyle, or both)." To learn more, check out the East Coast Windsurfing Festival web site.)

Countdown to the East Coast Windsurfing Festival...Race notes

Thus spake racing MC DJ Thommy Thom:

We plan to again have Relay Races!

We would also like to have SUP races, particularly if the wind is not honking.

People: bring down All your boards, for sailing, for paddling, for throwing, for whatever.

We will look to have a competitors meeting at 10am, rigged and ready if the wind is up.

Fear this, and tremblingly obey.

(The fifth annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival takes place this coming weekend at Joe's Beach in Heckscher State Park.  To register, send Mike Burns an e-mail and say "I'm coming" and "I'm gonna (race, freestyle, or both)." To learn more, check out the East Coast Windsurfing Festival web site.)

Notice of Fun: East Coast Windsurfing Festival V Coming in June!

We race.  We freestyle.  We SUP.   The good times they do roll.

The fifth annual East Coast Windsurfing Festival takes place June 9-10 at Joe's Beach in Heckscher State Park on Long Island.   His Highness The King of the East Mike Burns hath said it is so, and Master of Racing Ceremonies MC T-Bone Thom hath seconded the decree.

So it is so.

To register, send Mike Burns an e-mail and say "I'm coming" and "I'm gonna (race, freestyle, or both)."

To learn more, check out the East Coast Windsurfing Festival web site.

For a dubious accounting of the previous four ECWF's, read the Peconic Puffin's coverage of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival through the ages.

June 9-10...save the dates!

(Race photo courtesy Bill Doutney.)

James' "Angulo Vision" Video

One of the many thrills at last weekend's East Coast Windsurfing Festival was the chance to see a PWA champion sail. We saw Josh Angulo's mindblowing speed in the races, we saw a Very Large Loop...it was a treat!

But blogger James Douglas gives us a unique perspective.   James put on a helmet with a GoPro camera attached, took an overpowered spin on a new board and rig, then handed off both the gear and the helmet to Josh for him to sail.   The difference in observed speed is as radical as it was during the event.  Check it out!  Note that you can turn it off 3 minutes in unless you want to see me walk up to Mark and introduce myself.  Had I know the camera on his head was on I'd have fixed my hair.

Here's the video.  You may also want to check it out in its original context on James' blog.

 

Angulo-vision at East Coast Windsurfing Fest from James Douglass on Vimeo.

(This probably concludes coverage of last weekend's event.  If you've somehow come upon this post unexposed to our previous chatter and wish to subject yourself to it, check out the 2011 East Coast Windsurfing Festival reports one, two, and three.)

Light Wind Battles, Relay Races and SUP Madness: ECWF Day Two

The winds were light and off-shore for day two...yeah boy!  The standings as of Day One were on display, but things were going to get shaken up.

Racemaster Tom set up a modified course.  I thought “I could do well on this course if I had a longboard,” but I’d left my Superlight home like an idiot.  “Bring EVERYTHING to a race!” Pete Roesch had said  (always listen to the guy who wins at these events).   But I got lucky when Bill DeGeorge (who would have won Open Class except for a certain Mr. Angulo) lent me one of his 75 boards...a Mistral Comp (thankyouthankyou thankyou.)   Then I realized I didn’t have a suitable uni.  Peconic Jeff had an extra one (thankyouthank youthankyou).  Special thanks to P-Jeff, who might have finished third in 7.5 instead of me if he hogged his unis and left me marooned on my Techno (Jeff remained highly competitive sailing a SUP board...mad props!)    But now equipped with other people’s stuff plus my mighty 6.2, I joined the racers and managed to eek out a trophy.

Barely.

My best move in the days races was leaning out to catch Peter Richterich mid-fall.  I did it for the karma points, to use against the bad karma I planned to accrue ramming Pete Roesch in the next race.  But tragically I not only never got close enough to Pete to prevent his ultimate victory, but in the final reach of the final race I was ignominiously passed and left in the dust by his son Devon.   I now have two generations of Roesch windsurfers to fear and loathe on the course. 

Then came the relay races.   Four teams of knuckledragging guys stood in the water waiting for the start, whilst the self-selected all-girl team put one sailor on the board, one at the luffed clew to steady the rig, and two at the back to give a push at the start.   When us guys woke up and began to replicate their set-up the girls hooted and hollered, but hey, they should have kept their brilliant plan secret until a few seconds before the start.   I believe the team I was on was the first to steal the idea; as punishment Jill rammed me at the buoy.   Peter has a video of the complete race on his blog.

As the wind lightened a new event was added to the East Coast Windsurfing Festival:  SUP relay races:  A short paddle out to a buoy, go around it, paddle back to the beach and hand off paddle to the next person.     I will confess that this sounded like a yawn to me...then it started.   Josh began with a running jump onto a board and soon everyone was experimenting with ballistic starts.  Some stood, some kneeled, everyone paddled like a demon.    There were four teams...two contests...but also a stopwatch timing the winning team of each heat.  The fastest team would triumph.   In what seemed like a splashy, sloppy, laughy pair of heats, the team with the best time won by all of four seconds!   Pretty darn close.

There was no more freestyle competition on Sunday due to the light winds.  People who know me might wonder why I’ve not written about my freestyle exploits...fact is I did not compete.   On Friday night I started with a sharp knife but a tough lime, and ended up with a deep cut in one finger.  When this finger began bleeding during the first Saturday races I had to make a choice, and I figured racing to be easier on the hands than freestyle.  Next year I’m a’doing no cooking the day before the event!

It all ended with giveaways of goodies donated by event sponsors, the presentation of trophies, and talk of next year.

Huge thanks to Mike Burns for organizing a great festival four years in a row!    And to MC Tom T-Bone Thom Hering for brilliant race orchestration.   To Chrissy, to the jet ski guy, to everyone who helped out.  To Jerry Evans for the stylee trophies.

Who am I forgetting? 

Mr. Angulo.  Thanks to Josh for doing everything and anything to make the festival as enjoyable as possible...bringing a van load of equipment for people to try, putting on a windsurfing display like the champion he is, spending time with anyone and everyone who wanted to chat, and bringing his oversized great attitude, enthusiasm and cheer to every bit of the event.   Dude, you’re an East Coast windsurfer now...come back next year!

(The results of the competition can be found here.  We're seeing about getting a complete breakdown of the racing results.  Peconic Puffin coverage of day one of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival is here. Other bloggers who have posted on the festival include James Douglas and Peter Richterich.

Photos graciously shared by Alphonso, Jeff Schultz, and Jimmy Rivera.)

 

Results and Competitors of the East Coast Windsurfing Festival

(A semi-coherent description of the events of day one of of the festival may be found here.  Tomorrow a second helping of scattered recollections and thoughts, focused on day two may be found on the Peconic Puffin as well.  Here now are the names of all the good people who participated:)

Pro Men's Freestyle (Fully Ranked)

1. Mike Burns (The King of the East, for the third time in four years!  All hail Mike.)

2. Jon Sassone 

3. Chris Eldridge

4. Sergey Andreev

5. Josh Angulo (To quote Thom Hering, "It's a measure of the quality of windsurfing on Long Island that a PWA pro finishes fifth in our competition."   Of course Josh is not a pro freestyler, and he did nearly rip a hole in the sky with his mondo loop!)

 

Amateur Men's Freestyle (Fully Ranked.  It's testimony to ABK Boardsports that well over half of these competitors are ABK graduates, and the winner an ABK instructor.)

1. Ed Dehart

2. Graham Feddersen

3. Tom Dehaan

4. Jeff Schultz

5. Jake Agoos

6. George Marr

7. Rich Simmons

8. Mike Jamieson

9. George Pav

10. Kevin O'Shea

11. John Markwalter

12. John Spanos

12. Igor Manoylovich

12. Mitch Agoos

12. Ned Crossley

Women's Freestyle (Fully Ranked)

1. Deniz Kalaycioglu

2. Jeanne Bauman

3. Nina Richterich

4. Jill Marr

Open Racing 

1. Josh Angulo 

2. Bill DeGeorge

3. James Douglas (mad props to James, who probably doesn't know that in the last Long Island race series of six heats (dropping the lowest finish) Bill's results were 1st, 1st, 1st, 1st, and 1st. 

Racing 7.5 Limited

1. Pete Roesch

2. Joe Natali

3. Michael Alex (Thanks to the mighty Bill DeGeorge for lending me a longboard Sunday!)

4. George Marr

5. Ed Dehart

Women Racing  (Fully Ranked)

1 Jeanne Bauman
2 Christina Clement
3 Nina Richterich
4 Jill Marr

Complete list of racers (Open Class)

Matt Allen

Josh Angulo

Myles Borash

Brook Cuddy

Bill DeGeorge

James Dougals

Dan Cresci

Florian Feuser

Frank Messina

Chris Dohan

Edward Rynkowski

Dean Olekasiak

 

Complete list of racers (7.5 Limited)

John Sassone

Mike Jamieson

Michael Alex

George Pav

Joe Natali

Rich Simmons

John Spanos

Pete Roesch

Igor Manoylovich

Jake Agoos

Mitch Agoos

Jeff Schultz

Ian Berger

Ned Crossley

Sasha Kraev

Will Seibert

Arthur Spangel

Joe Giordano

George Kellner

Kode Ediale

Joe Rocco

Philip O'Connell

Michael Ingbar

Ted Bretter

Alfonzo Perez

Ed Dehart

Mike Columbo

Peter Richterich

Chris Goodwin

George Marr

Jim Manta

Dan Perelman

Valdas Savokynas

Jeremy Grovenor

Antanas Meslinas

Ira Holzman

Jay Morgan

Jesse Waters

Roman Pines

Graham Feddersen

Dennis Grunbeck

Devon Roesch

Jeff Feddersen

Complete list of racers (Women)

1. Jeanne Bauman

2. Christina Clement

3. Deniz Kalaycioglu

4. Jill Marr

5. Emily Schweikart

6. Nina Richterich

(Photo:  For aesthetics, nothing can beat the 3rd place 7.5 limited racing trophy.  Trophies crafted by Jerry Evans at Chatham Wind and Time.)

Angulo’s 6.9 Loop? Pete still the Terminator? Mike still the King? Where to begin talking about the East Coast Windsurfing Festival...

Where to begin?  Here’s an early report on Saturday.  (early?   I know...)

70+ competitors turned out (including former PWA champion and new east coast windsurfer Josh Angulo) for 18-24 easterlies at Long Island’s Heckscher State Park, where the racing was fast and furious.   We had two racing classes (open and 7.5 limited) but unless you had full blown racing gear and knew how to use it, 6.2 was as big a sail as most of us wanted, and the racing was fast and furious.   Sailors were on every kind of gear you could imagine (maybe no wave boards)...vintage longboards, modern longboards, formula planks, freeride boards, freestyle boards, even SUP boards!  With all the wind many of us found ourselves boarding down to freeride and even freestyle gear to make the jibing easier (if this isn’t a racing adage it oughta be:  It’s not how fast you sail, it’s whether or not you can tack and jibe dry!)  For myself, in the first heat I sailed my Techno and finished about 30^th, while managing to brain freeze on port and force Joe G (rightfully on starboard) to drop into the water.  Sorry Joe!   Switching to a JP Freestyle board I followed George Marr around the course (for two reasons...he sails like a bat out of hell, and he doesn’t hit anybody) and finished fourth.  Much better!   My favorite race was a heat in which the wind kept oscillating up and down...one minute the longboards had the advantage, the next the racing shortboards, then the wind would come up more and the freeride planks ruled.  I remember being left behind by the longboards at the start only to pass them all halfway through, then watched in horror as Peconic Jeff passed me on his SUP board.  For that race, the answer to the question "what's the gear call" was "doesn't matter!"  Much fun.

At the end of the day the 7.5 class was lead by The Terminator/Eliminator/pick your honorific-ator Pete Roesch.

Then there was the Open class, twelve guys with big sails and race boards.   As the kids say: OMG.  Pro sailors are pro sailors for a reason; champions even more so.   It was great that Josh Angulo was so warm and friendly and outgoing on the beach, because on the race course, he finished the first heat before most of the competitors were half way around the course.  It gets worse:  Judge Mike Burns says Angulo wasn’t really gunning it in that heat.  “C’mon, Josh,” Mike told him, “show these people what you’ve got!”

So in heat #2 Josh blazed...nothing but fin in the water.  He crossed the finish line so early that Judge Burns shouted out “Hey Josh:  go around the course again!”

And so in a single race Josh Angulo finished First and...wait for it...Fourth.  "And he missed 3rd by a board length!" Mike Burns says.  Against 11 other sailors.

There was freestyle, too!    With so many competitors at this year’s festival the judges held a ten minute elimination heat to whittle down the amateur class to a more judgable number, with sailors going for new school and old school tricks in a mad wonderful display of style and moxie.

Then the Pro class threw a combination Expression Session and competition.  The blur of backsliding backwinded aerial madness was dominated by the reigning King of the East Mike Burns, but The Jaw Dropping Moment was when Mr. Angulo threw a loop with a 6.9 sail that seemingly took forever.   I heard a dozen “woah did you see that”s simultaneously alongside the chorus of ooh’s and aahs.

That’s the quickie report on Saturday...we’ll have more (Sunday, for example) tomorrow!  In the meantime, here is a link to the competitive results.

(Photos courtesy Richard Burns)