The Peconic Puffin Windsurfing Blog

Remember "No Nose" boards? How about "No Tail"

As seen in the iWindsurf forum.  The wonderful and twisted gear art of "U2U2U2".  (Used with permission of the madman.  The interpretation of the artist's intent is purely that of the Peconic Puffin's Arts editor.)

Mojitos, a la the Reef Warrior Rum Cult

In February The Peconic Puffin reported to you about the Reef Warriors of the great white north, windsurfers of Lake Erie (say it the way Brian Talma would, mon) and their rum cult of sacred imbibations. This summer a fine mint plan in our garden whispered to me "take of my leaves, and sacredly imbibate thyselves" (I had water in my ears)  I thought "cool...must check with the Rum Cult to see what they recommend.

They said "Mojitos, my son.  Mojitos made with either Oronoco rum (call Enya?) or Pyrat. 

Arrrrrrr...

First we made the mint simple syrup, then one jigger each MSS and Pyrate rum (arrrrrrr) on top of some freshly plucked mint leaves (they gurgled "imbibate" whilst being muddled).  Then juice of half a lime, ice cubes, fill the remaining space with San Pellegrino.  Sit in an adirondack chair, grab your imbible, and sip.  Sally says "give it a swirl, first."

A winner.  Puffin advice:  Heed the wisdom of the Reef Warriors Rum Cult.  They be on a quest.

(Photo of our cultly imbibations by Sally.)

Windsurfers Smell Good

As seen on a New York City cab.   Harness?  Lines?  I guess it's all about abs and scent.

Six Perceptions of Windsurfing

I saw this in an iWindsurf forum, posted by the mighty Jerry Evans (maker of both the Clew View and East Coast Windsurfing Festival trophies) who tells me he found it on Facebook.   In any event I think there's a large dollop of truth in the descriptions above.

 

Stained Glass Shredding, Rusalka Wind Sculpture

"Stained Glass Shredding, Rusalka Wind Sculpture"? How about "More cool windsurfing stuff from Ron"?  About a week ago I posted some photos of great looking old boards on Ron's deck, and afterwards Ron ("noshuzbluz" on the iWindsurf forum) turned me on to some other extraordinary windsurfing art living on his patio.  

The stained glass was made by Ron's friend Kevin in Rio Vista.    And here's what Ron had to say about the wood art:  "I get a call from my wife one Saturday afternoon.  She said "Bring your truck, I'm downtown at an antique/junk shop." I get there and she shows me this! Oh how I love my wife! She named it Rusalka. She (and it's definitely a she)is pretty weather worn after 8-10 years. She used to have a jute skirt and ankelets that have since rotted off.   My wife won't let me put a harness on it. Geez! I can't have any fun!

Rusalka...from Wikipedia: In Slavic mythology, a rusalka (plural: rusalki or rusalky) was a female
ghost, water nymph, succubus, or mermaid-like demon that dwelled in a waterway. According to most traditions, the rusalki were fish-women, who lived at the bottom of rivers. In the middle of the night, they would walk out to the bank and dance in meadows. If they saw handsome men, they would fascinate them with songs and dancing, mesmerize them, then lead them away to the river floor to their death."

Ron, that is some good stuff!

Windsurfing Bear Video

Windsurfing bear video.  That's what I said.  Berni sails a JP one handed, loops off of waves, and has the one handed (one pawed?) thing down.

(First spotted on Average Joe Windsurf Blog.)

Windsurfing Boards as Wall Art

 

A recent thread about an old board (and what to do with it) in the iWindsurf forums turned into a discussion of old boards as displayable art.  "Noshuzbluz" Ron displays some beauties on his patio.  In the second photo I admire the parrot, who I suspect is trying to blend in with the boards to evade predators.

My Favorite Hurricane Flood SUP Holiday Card

This made my morning.   Windsurfing friends Cecilia and Greg were home in Connecticut when Hurricane Irene came through.  While they found the winds overly strong for sailing, the flooded streets seemed just fine for some family stand-up paddling.  

OG Puffins Nancy and Bob (now in Florida) usually come through with my favorite card of the year, but I think we may have a Cecilia/Greg upset on our hands!

1111...the Greatest Number in Windsurfing

Robby Naish, the King.  Any questions?

(Who else would the Peconic Puffin rock on 11-11-11?  This most excellent photo borrowed from Jerome Houyvet at windsurfgallery.com...check it out for many more stunning windsurfing photos.)

Cranking A Monster Jibe

That's New England's finest Josh Angulo pulling transorbital G's as he rounds a mark in Fuerteventura last month.   In the ongoing windless hell of 2011, my callouses gone and jibing a distant memory, this image jogged a recollection of jibing in days past (I jibe EXACTLY like Josh.  More or less.  Press "1" for more, "2" for less, "3" for more options.)   Photo courtesy PWA/John Carter...check out more on their mighty web site.  Additional props to James' blog for putting this image under my nose.

A fine day in New York City

by Herbie Hind, as seen on Facebook.

Neil Young Rocking Mistral

I've had the good fortune to meet Neil Young several times over the years.  Have had some good conversations with him, too, though I had no idea that I should have brought up windsurfing.  Dang!  I've never heard of Neil Young being a windsurfer, but I doubt he'd choose to perform before hundreds of thousands of people in a random t-shirt. On the other hand, why wouldn't he?  In any event, there it is.

I grabbed this frame from the following video (Neil playing at Live Aid in 1985.)  The song here is Sugar Mountain, but you can also find Needle and the Damage Done if you look around.

Hybrid Boards, Hybrid Gods?

From the talented stone carver Michael Jamieson (known in these parts as the talented windsurfer Buddha Mike) comes Hari Hara, also known as Shankaranarayana. Buddha Mike tells us "he is a combination of the Hindu gods Shiva and Vishnu from southeast Asia. Almost literally high pressure and low pressure. I call him freestyle and wave, though am not sure which is which."   Ah, the duality of nature.  Yin and Yang.  Life and Death.   Gust and Lull.   Dare I say it...port and starboard?   

Yet these things may well be illusory...reflections from the veil between our eyes and Reality.   Or perhaps we just have water in our eyes.

Look for this fine graven image in the Outer Banks during April.   Contemplate eternity, measure your breath, then take a deep one and shout "Yo, Buddha Mike!" to the guy on the Skate.

(Images courtesy the artist.)

Snow Board and other photos by Peconic Jeff

Peconic Jeff has the eye.   When he puts a camera between that eye (I think it's his right one) and water sport stuff, I'm always a fan of the result.

Here are two recent Puffin pleasers...Snow Board (self explanatory) and a shot from a recent Meschutt sesh that I overcropped for a blog post, so I want to highlight it in its full glory.   Go to Jeff's Flickr page to see these images in even fuller glory, plus his recent work with Mecox ice boats, advection fog (I have no idea) the obligatory bowl of fruit and more.

James’ Windsurfing Man Cave

Having been married for well over a decade, I am well trained to “put away my toys”.  But I remember what it was like to have a boom in my living room.  And guitars used to hang from the walls!   But a new video on James’ Blog provides me a glimpse of true windsurfing man-caveness.    If I had windsurfed in my 20’s this work of art and design may well have been mine!