Ponquogue Wave Sailing video - August 2007

Video from the August 10th, 2007 Ponquogue session (direct link):

Ponquogue Video Stills

After a jam-packed week of visiting cousins, aunts, nephew and various dogs, birthday parties, windsurfing lessons at Tiana Bay for the kids, forecasting Hurricane Dean (my day job), scoring a killer evening sesh at RCP and Jamesport (pulled off 6 planing jibes thanks to an anonymous tip), and a short and sweet 4.7 early, early fall session at Sebonac today, I finally have a chance to upload some stills from video shot by my girlfriend Chiaying. She taped some wild and crazy wave sailing with a cool new widescreen camcorder. I hope to plunge in with iMovie tomorrow and eventually upload something to youtube. If I can keep it under 20mb, I might be able to e-mail out a better quality copy.

For now, however, I have video stills in this Flickr photoset: Ponquogue August 10th, 2007

Friendly Flatwater at Red Cedar Point

I had a great time at Red Cedar Point July 5th, working on steps 9-11 of Dasher's jibe in waist-high flatwater. SW winds reaching upper teens and low 20s drew out two other windsurfers, Glenn and Daniel, who sailed 7.0 and 6.6. I was solidly powered on my 6.2, and often overpowered in meaty, sustained gusts, which were perfect for carving full-force jibes. I blew all duck jibe attempts - the sail kept blowing away from me! I also goofed around with bodydrags, but mostly concentrated on jibes:

Later I sailed across Flanders Bay (good chop for jumps, which would have been sweet with the Naish) to the beach bar just west of the Jamesport Landing. There I saw 70-something Ironman Lou Anderson, who was riding his old-school gear. His sail had at least 2 dozen strips of stickers and tape, but when we sailed back across Flanders Bay, he impressively ripped right along. After 3 hours I came in for lunch, and then entertained guests through evening. It blew pretty hard all day. Around 6pm I went down to the bay with my friend Jon, and we found Guillermo coming back from a sesh. He had to run to the train station to get his girlfriend ("Dude, call a taxi!"), but said it was still great and that I should be out there. Unfortunately, social activities called and I never got back out (probably too tired for it too!).

Windsurfing Shinnecock Bay on a Southerly

The end of Shinnecock Road on the west side of Shinnecock Bay in Hampton Bays offers convenient access for catching South wind. Similar to East and West Landing Roads on Peconic Bay, the water is just 20 yards across a short beach from the parking area. I had sailed here previously when Ponquogue was too onshore for my taste, and when south winds blew again on July 4th, I headed over for another session. The summer brings boat traffic and a couple weeds, but I managed these obstacles and had a good time for about an hour on the 7.2. My friend Chiaying, out visiting for the holiday, shot some video as I worked on jibes, tacks and bodydrags.

Sebonac in June

A low pressure (basically a weak nor'easter) spun over the Canadian Maritimes and gave us our bonus high wind session for the month of June. Last year's June Surprise blew WNW, but today we got NNW, which gave us more roaming space to the west toward Shinnecock Canal. Winds started fluky 12-20 (ie, too much schlogging), then later pushed well into the 20's. I rode my 89L Naish and 5.2 Ezzy, while other East End sailors rigged 4.7 to 5.8. I had some monster jumps, including a new personal highest. For the first time I noticed the sudden silence of hang time. Very sweet.


Sailors in attendance included John V, Jon Ford, Jimi Sobek, Michael, Bill B., Diane, Curtis & Robert, while Scott, temporarily off the water from injury, watched the action from shore. More pictures from the day: June Bonus: Sebonac

Learning to Jibe with Dasher

While perusing youtube's latest windsurfing offerings, I came across a 1.5 minute summary of Dasher's 12 Step Jibe. Dasher breaks down that frustrating move to simple, mechanical steps that can be worked on one at a time. I credit Dasher's DVD for helping me hit my first planing jibe last September. Over a week in Hatteras that Spring I watched it a handful of times, and over the Summer, the 12 steps slowly took root. Unfortunately, I think my brain and physical memory can juggle only 9 or 10 of those steps at once (even fewer on a smaller board in chop). As a result, my jibes still need work. In my last session with the heavy 7.2, the sail (and myself) kept falling in the water on the inside of the turn during the sail flip. The video revealed the missing link:


Step 9: "The hips roll to the inside as the mast crosses the centerline to the outside". The alarm went off in my head, and I now have something to work on next time in the water (thanks Dasher!). The sooner I can nail down 80% jibing, the sooner I can concentrate on wave sailing in the Fall, and keeping warm in the Winter. Jibe Ho!

[Tags: Windsurfing, jibe, Dasher, The 12 Step Jibe by Dasher]

Windy Summer Nights

I'm just about to turn in for the night, and the wind comes up. Chimes are swinging, branches are swaying, and flagpole lanyards flapping. When the house starts whistling, I have to step outside to take a reading. It's hitting 15 mph from the SW, which after the recent windless weekends, is enough to draw me out into the 65° hazy yellow moonlit night. I really can't complain about the lack of wind, though. I caught the last 45 minutes before sunset today up at the Point. I could hear the hoots coming from Carlos, Guillermo and a third kiter as they ripped around, so I rigged the 7.2 and headed west towards the setting sun. It was 50/50 planing (as Michael also reported from Mecox), but the gusts were fun for a couple near-planing jibes. I completed my first duck jibe (on first attempt, unoit). But better than that, the Peconic waters have become wetsuit-optional. After the bite of cold water sailing earlier this year, the bay today was practically caressing when falling in. OK, I'm waxing poetic - it must be Summer.

Learning Windsurfing and Loving It

Windsurfing the East End has been great this Spring, with plenty of high wind days at Sebonac, Jamesport, the Bowl and Mecox (April Nor'easter Flickr Photoset), and Cupsogue (Wave Sailing at Cupsogue Flickr Photoset). I've given my 89L Naish 8'7" and 5.2 Ezzy a real workout, and have gained valuable shortboard experience on chop and waves. I have been making 30-50% of my jibes, and having fun with jumps. The Naish is sooo light and maneuverable; I love digging the inside rail into a steep ramp and popping the board up. I had one jump at Jamesport where I got the board completely above me. Unfortunately, I can only do this reliably on a starboard tack (probably because I'm right-handed) - I hesitate on port, and don't always feel confident and in control.

But the calendar is about to tip into June, and high wind days will be more rare (except for the occasional Tropical Storm; last year, Beryl and Ernesto brought strong easterlies to Long Island). My attention will turn more to flat water fun behind Red Cedar Point. The plan is to work on planing duck jibes and other freestyle moves. Best of all, I have two windsurfing neighbors renting a house next door! Carlos and Guillermo would sometimes make the long trip to the Point in previous summers, but now I know where to hunt them down when the SW wind gets crankin!

Chinook Boom: Busted!

It's a good thing that I hit the water Sunday March 18th, because it looks like my boom-breaking session at Sebonac will be my one and only windblog entry for the month. While I was able to extend my Consecutive Monthly Windsurfing Streak to 13, one good day in 31 is clearly not enough. Sure, I've got my copies of Windsurfing Magazine and Windsport for bathroom reading, and several windsurfing blogs on the computer to get me by. And monitoring forecasts and weather systems, and swinging by the local shop to pick up a new boom and chatting with whoever walks in on a windless day can be fun too. But when I read about all the Peconic Puffins having fun on the water today from my office computer (with flags flapping outside!), and viewed an uneven wind forecast for this coming weekend, well... that can drive a weekend windsurfer crazy.

Windsurfing at Sebonac the other Sunday was a lot of fun. NW winds blowing 20-25 meant rigging my 89L Naish 8'7" and 5.2 Ezzy. I've only sailed in these conditions 5 or 6 times before, and only once at Sebonac. In that Christmas Eve session, I struggled with harness line positions on my boom, and ended up in the water more than on the board. This time I managed greater than 50% board time, and felt dialed in on my fast and slashy Naish - at least on a port tack. Returning to shore on a starboard tack was a different story. Harness lines were wrong, and arms got somewhat tired, esp. as they wrestled the 5.2 against 30 mph gusts. And you know what comes next: catapult! I did the head-over-heels body slam twice on the second run, but the third run provided the final blow as I flipped hard, and broke my 4 year-old aluminum Chinook boom on each side. Luckily, nothing else broke (rig and bone included), and I was able to wade in from neck high water. The Puffin reported on the spectacle as viewed from shore, including my swim across the channel. It wasn't so bad of a haul, as the sail was still manageable despite the boom, but I still had to turn on the afterburners halfway across - that tidal current was pretty swift!

The Peconic Puffin pointed out the many reasons to love Sebonac. One is the vantage for taking windsurfing action shots (as seen in this Flickr set: Sebonac - March 18, '07). The other part I'm lovin so far is the challenge to quickly improve shortboarding skills, so that I can join in the fun ASAP. Jon suggested positioning lines closer to the mast (lines back to far could explain the tendency for catapulting), and to waterstart in the straps. I've also got to work on bending the knees when jibing through chop. Now hopefully I won't have to wait too long for the wind to cooperate!

Icesurfing in Southampton

This weekend I was lucky to try ice sailing, aka ice windsurfing, aka.. icesurfing for the first time. Jon Ford e-mailed Michael and I to meet up on Saturday at Cold Spring Pond in Southampton, NY, promising some of the best ice he'd ever seen. I wasn't sure what to expect, picturing large sit-down ice boats like you'd find at the Lake Ronkonkoma Ice Boat and Yacht Club or the South Bay Scooter Club (some of those boats look beautiful). While I'm sure that would have been fun, I was stoked to see that we'd basically be windsurfing on ice.


The first difference between icesurfing and windsurfing is that ice is stable. Gliding along slick ice requires much less balance and concentration when compared to the rocking and rolling swells of the ocean or Napeague Bay on NE winds. Most of my attention was able to go to the rig -- a light and easy 5.2. With only a 10 mph breeze, we were able to coast through tacks and scream though jibes.

Too much speed on hard ice was, of course, a concern. Generally, I could sense when a fall was coming, and simply placed a foot on the ice and lowered my center of gravity to regain balance, and sometimes even hopped back on. I had a couple slips and none-too-pretty crashes, but no bruises or anything afterwards (helmut always on, regardless). The trick for controlling speed and slowing down, I learned, was to backwind the sail. Following Michael's lead, I was soon backwinding through tacks, and doing helitacks. With the stable ice and small sail, it was inviting to freestyle and experiment.

Unfortunately I managed to break the bolt on the rear truck of Jon's Icesurfing board on my very first run, which put his board out for repairs for at least an hour (sorry Jon!!). I probably should have started with the Go board of the fleet, John's Icesurfer. This broad and stable beauty had no moving parts for me to break, and provided a good platform to build up confidence... and speed. I probably hit at least 30 mph on a couple downwinders.

My favorite of the three was John's custom iceboard, pictured right with C.D. on it (notice his big icesurfing grin). It's basically a skateboard on steel blades, and as long as the blades were sharp, you could carve some pretty good turns. I'm going to try and make one of these for myself even though the next chance for good ice may not be till next winter (unless we get real cold again for a stretch in March). I may have to get a skateboard from Flying Point Surf and Sport (who were cool to offer a spare truck for Jon's board), to hold me over till then.

Sunday was also a beautiful day, and when the breeze picked up in the early afternoon, instead of updating the blog I threw my sailing gear and old ice skates in the van and headed back to Cold Spring Pond. I thought I'd try to some wind skating at the very least. My brother Keith joined me, and in no time the breezes also brought John, Scott and C.D. for another round. Keith and I practiced with John's training kite, which on gusts would pull me along on my skates. I snapped some more action photos and video over the two days, which you'll find on this Flickr Icesurfing Set and YouTube channel. You'll find big icesurfing grins in many of those shots. Many thanks to Jon and John for making those grins possible!

Videos:
* Icesurfing in Maine
* Icesurfing lunchbreak on Winnecunnet Pond in MA - helmutcam
* Icesurfing Superbowl Sunday on Snipatuit Pond in MA - helmutcam
* Lake Ronkonkoma Icesurfer - mastcam (listen to why it's called the 'shopping cart')

Pictures:
* Flickr Snow and Ice Sailing Group
* An Icesurfer at Lake Ronkonkoma
* Another at Lake Ronkonkoma
* Klicker's modern Icesurfer

Snow and Ice Sailing Resources:
* World Ice and Snow Sailing Association :: Winter Sailing is Cool!
* Windsurfing Magazine Snow/Ice Sailing Links
* Ice Awls

Christmas Eve windsurfing at Sebonac

The last time it was blowin' NW 20-35 mph at Sebonic Inlet, I was stuck on shore with too much board and sail, wistfully snapping photos of jumps and jibes. This time, however, I was able to do both, riding the 89L Naish with a 5.2m to join in the fun, while taking some action shots during breaks. About 10-15 windsurfers took advantage of the Christmas Eve windfest, jumping, carving and having a great time. The photos are the real highlight of this post, so please check them out (preferably in full size) in this Flickr set: Sebonic Inlet - Christmas Eve '06. My two favorites include the one above (anyone know who that is?) and this one of Jon Ford shredding chop:


I, on the other hand, had a tough time struggling with poorly positioned harness lines and occasionally fluky winds. My arms quickly became tired, and after my first jump, I ended up catapulting, twice. This was my 3rd or 4th time on this shorter board, and after my previous successes, I realize I'm back at the bottom of the learning curve.

Solo Sesh at Mecox

What a day over at Mecox Bay today! Gusty 15-25 mph SW winds and air temps in the low 50's (water temps manageable in the upr 40's). Originally I was hoping to meet up and surf with Michael, but unfortunately he was side-lined with a cold. I then checked in with Jon Ford, who was headed to Cupsogue to do some ocean sailing (apparently great on a SW). Unfortunately that launch needs a 4wd for access, the only major drawback of a van. Next time I'll plan better and see if I can borrow my brother's new monster pickup truck.

Arriving at Mecox around noon, I found a wide open bay with some decent chop building. I rigged the 6.2m to start, and managed the gusts until about hour later when they picked up full blast to 20-25. It was tough getting back, and a bit tiring, but the shallow bay made things easier.

For the rest of the day, I was in a range from "nicely balanced" to "nicely over-powered" on the 5.2m. I had fun hopping chop, as I'm still in the early stages of jumping waves and swells. I'm also still in the early stages of gybing through chop, which I'm finding much tougher than flat water.

My bro was cool enough to stop by in his monster truck and snap a couple pics and videos (thanks Keith!). I'll update this entry later with some highlights and spills; I welcome all comments and pointers!

Hark! A Peconic Puffin Flies In

I had no idea what an Atlantic Puffin sounded like until the recently resurrected Peconic Puffin flapped onto the windsurfing blog scene. Check this out (I'd never guess):



A big hello and thanks to Michael and the PP for sparking me back into action. I have been sailing over the last few months, but haven't made the time for a blog update. I'll be back-dating a couple "new" entries to try and get back up to speed. I also want to thank the PP for this highly needed and useful Long Island Windsurfing Map. You can add spots to it that aren't already there (or perhaps supply additional details for ones that are). One neat detail would be photos, which flickr does with their maps. For example, this is a map of photos I took across the East End while this is a map of the roughly 1500 windsurfing photos across the world!

Finally, the puffin picture and sound comes from the National Audubon Society's Project Puffin, which I actually lived 3 miles down the road from when I lived in Ithaca. I'm taking this as a sign from the universe and will be adopting a puffin for the year.

Thanksgiving Nor'easter

Thanks to my Aunt Cindy for shooting this video of me on Peconic Bay. A Thanksgiving Nor'Easter brought winds from the Northeast at 20kts, gusting to 30kts. I was on my 5.2m and 90L Naish, having trouble with my harness lines, but making the best of it.

My New (used) Naish 8'7"

1999 Naish 8'7" Freeride (262L 55cm wide 89lt) - 'very fast and slashy'

My first Napeague Noreaster

20-30 mph NE winds meant shoulder high swells and big jumps on Napeague Bay, back on October 6th & 7th, 2006. I was a bit overpowered at times on my 5.2, and the 116 was too much board, so I retreated to the Harbor and practiced my planing gybes.


A dozen more pics here: NE winds at Napeague - Oct 6/7, 2006

Jibing Better - with video

I finally began hitting my gybes consistently on flat water behind the Red Cedar Point on Sunday. You know you've hit a new level when you don't need to water-start or uphaul for 20+ minutes, and your wetsuit and hair dries out from just rippin back and forth and carvin gybes. Even dry, non-planing gybes like this one shot by my brother Keith made my day:

Now on to jumps, vulcans, and maybe that forward. There could be some good ocean sailing on Sunday, but I'd feel much better doing it with a nose guard attached (will it ever arrive from Europe?)....

Windsurfing Ernesto

Another tropical storm visits Long Island, this time as the remnants of Ernesto, which double-teamed with high pressure to the north to whip up some incredible east winds. The Shinnecock Inlet tower recorded 34 hours of 30-40 mph wind from Friday night through Sunday morning, with a peak gust of 55 mph late Saturday afternoon.

Peconic Bay, Saturday morning:

I got out Friday afternoon on Peconic Bay, and progressed from my 6.2 to the 5.2 as wind built from 15 mph to 25. It was such pleasure to be perfectly balanced with the small sail, fully powered by reliable wind, and jump off of cresting white caps and 2-4 foot swells. On one jump, however, my feet came out of the straps and I neglected to unhook and sheet out, and I catapulted around the front. My friend Steve says I would have done a forward if I had kept my feet in the straps - ha, that's one way to think of it. Fortunately, the Deviator kept me from smashing the board's nose, but the impact on the weak side still opened the crack created in TS Beryl. What a bummer, after an awesome day.

Around Noon on Saturday I swung over to the Shinnecock Inlet. The winds were really cranking at this point, and waves were crashing into the rocks, sending sea spray well downwind. A couple of surfers were braving the rough surf, but windsurfers stowed their 3.5 sails and gear as winds started hitting 40 to 55 mph. I've got 19 photos from that day here: Ernesto at Shinnecock Inlet - Sep 2, 06. Here are two that I like:



The constant east wind funneled a lot of water into the inner bays, and by the final high tide of the storm there was some minor coastal flooding, but nothing too serious:

First Bowl Wave Sailing Session

Awesome day on the Ocean for me, though I didn't deserve it. I spent the lazy Sunday morning making eggs and oat bran, watching "Meet The Press", and expecting the winds to build 15-20 in the afternoon. The SE winds meant side-onshore conditions, the first wave sailing since April. Unfortunately, I had missed the best by the time I got there at Noon. My brother and I came across a kite surfer at Ponquogue, who said windsurfers were blasting away on their 5.3's over at the bowl. When we rolled up, however, the guys were packing it in. The winds were getting fluky, and most had just had enough.

Contemplation:

I came back an hour later and the winds had picked up enough to get me to rig. For about 20 minutes I was underpowered on my 6.2, but I was able to schlog upwind and get out to the breakers at the sand bar. The swells were pretty deep, and I was happy to just keep my balance and finally enjoy being on the ocean after 4 long months.

Luckily, the winds picked up and delivered 40 minutes of moderate to slightly overpowered planing. I loved jibing near the shore, in the smooth water between waves. Smooth water made for smooth carving, though not for smooth sail flips.

It was fun avoiding the breakers, and I got some pretty decent air a bunch of times, with only two crashes (one involving surging white water). I also saw some fish fins protruding from the water - they seemed to be feasting on something, but I couldn't tell if I was looking at small sharks or striped bass or dogfish.

5 more pics from the day are here: The Bowl - Aug 27th 06.

Windsurfing with Kids, aka Shredding with Six Year Olds

Another awesome session with the kids, this time with much better pictures! Full sized versions are available here: Windsurfing with kids!. Here are smaller versions: