Sunday, April 30, 2006

Yearning for Waves

Big waves this week!

Returning from Ithaca, NY this afternoon, I see that The NWS at OKX has issued a Small Craft Advisory (also see the marine weather statement). Here's Monday's forecast:
NE WINDS 20 TO 25 KT WITH GUSTS AROUND 30 KT. SEAS 9 TO 12 FT...MAINLY IN AN ESE SWELL.

I can't partake (nor could I in that much surf), so I'll have to wait until this weekend to work on either my jibes in flat water or my balance on ocean waves. I'm hoping for some 15-20 SW wind and flat water on the lee side of Red Cedar Point, as I'd like to try out some ideas in this Ottowa Windsurfing Tips Page.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

My first Ponquogue wave sailing session

An East wind this weekend brought much desired side-onshore conditions at Ponquogue Beach. On Saturday, 5.7-6.2 conditions gave way to 4.7-5.2 as the pressure gradient tightened through the day. About 15-20 windsurfers hit the waves, which were a bit sloppy and disorganized, but a manageable 1-3 feet for newbies like myself. This was my second time on the ocean in winds greater than 20mph, and I'm glad to say that this time I survived with my sail intact. Air and sea temps were in the 40's, so dry suits, hoods and gloves were necessary.



More photos to be found in this flickr set, including this one of Jon Ford getting some major air:



I ended up the day with a late afternoon session on Peconic Bay. The winds were still cranking, perhaps even more than before, and I really flew across the chop. Time to get a GPS, I think.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Easter Jibing (or trying to)

I spent a portion of Easter Sunday in the chilly waters of Great Peconic Bay. The NW winds were pretty variable, averaging 10-15 mph, gusting to 20. This variability made jibing tricky, not to mention just staying on the board. I completed 4 sloppy jibes out of about 15 attempts. This pic displays a common beginner's error: waiting too late in the turn to switch the feet and flip the sail.



I've set up a Flickr account with 6 more pics from Sunday's session. Check'emout!

Monday, April 17, 2006

A Blog is Born: Windsurfing the East End

After finding a surprising lack of blog sites dedicated to Windsurfing (Giampaolo Cammarota's Maui Windsurf Report is a notable exception), I've decided to start one of my own to share my passion (borderline addiction) with other wind-crazed surfers.

Most of my surfing is done on the East End of Long Island, NY, on Peconic Bay between the North and South Forks (Google Map), and on the Atlantic Ocean near the Shinnecock Inlet. Two weeks ago I scoped out Napeague Harbor and Bay, which are supposed to be great spots (Google Map). Elsewhere in the world, I've surfed the Outer Banks of NC (March 06), Tarifa, Spain (July 03) and Canada's Crystal Beach/Thunder Bay on Lake Erie (Sept 02 & 04).
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