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Jon Ford makes it look easy at Cupsogue. Even I (a nearly skill-free novice wavesailor) managed to pull off my first "rights".
(I'll give you one guess as to who "Peconic Windsurfer" is.)
When it comes to windsurfing photography, using a camera while actually windsurfing is one of the great challenges. Many of us have succeeded in the odd shot of a friend framed by our mast or boom, but beyond that, working a camera with any degree of control is elusive. It eludes me, anyway (which is why I leave my camera in the van and let Jeff shoot!)
One guy who has been making it work for years, however, is Dana Miller. I've been enjoying his on-the-water work for years in Wind Tracks and NEWJ. How does this guy ride a wave AND take photos? I recently stumbled upon the photo here (from American Windsurfer) which speaks volumes...mugging for the camera mid-chophop, while photographing the photographer. Think of the control required...he is good.
I'm getting stoked to try some new shots on the water just thinking about it.
The voting is done, the suggestions are in, and let it be proclaimed from the sand dunes: Jeff is Peconic again! With windsurfers voting from all over the U.S. and around the world (even from Austria, Turkey and Malta came the calls for P-Jeff, while Portugal cast the lone “Jumpin’ Jeff” vote) 60% of you supported Peconic Jeff. Robert felt that keeping things old-school was best, whilst The Mighty Larry Hoff opined that the brand equity in “Peconic Jeff” should not be squandered. Don Spalding drew the connection to an ancient nut tree, and Michael “the "Buddha-maker” Jamieson pointed out that Prince went back to being called Prince. Still, some 17% of you wanted a different name, so let us note some of the better ones, including:
Jill Marr Superstar’s Zephr-Jefphyr,
Jon Sasson’s suggestion that TWFKAPJ adopt a Prince-like symbol for a name
Rich Simons’ “Jeff-O de Gecko”
Still, “Peconic Jeff” is not carved in stone (yet…we are talking with Buddha Maker Mike) which leaves us to consider the possibly sage advice of “Guru”, aka The Meddlesome Andy Brandt. Andy suggests that we wait and see if Jeff’s sailing suggests a new handle. Perhaps “Slippy Jeff” or “Spinny Jeff” might work…in any event Andy says let’s “wait and see”.
Andy can get his own blog to wait and see. Here at the Puffin, every day posting is a great day posting. And never mind that Jeff’s girlfriend hurls accusations (“this whole thing is just Puffin propaganda” to “add legitimacy” to the site’s unbaked nicknaming. To her we respond with the venerable bloggers’ defense: “Yeah, so?”)
And what of P-Jeff himself? Jeff tells the Puffin: ""I am humbled by the will of the people (despite dubious journalistic tactics), and will continue to spread the Peconic stoke far and wide. Please come join us on your next windy day off (may there be many!). There are at least 14 Peconic Bay launches (see LI Windsurfing Map), which include delicious bump-n-jump, flatwater heavens, beautiful scenery and wildlife (including Atlantic Puffins), all of which I'll try to capture in photo and video (no luck with the Atlantic Puffins, they're too damn fast!)"
Jeff does "Peconic" proud, and Peconic he is! Thanks to everyone who voted, and in particular to those who chimed in. Extra credit must go to Andy for starting all the trouble, and to Jeff for not bonking me with a reactor bar for carrying this on so long.
"You should thank me for not splitting your skull in half," said Fisherman.
Seemed reasonable.
"Thank you for not splitting my skull in half!" I said.
I had fallen on the way out through the waves at Cupsogue, and Fisherman and another sailor were negotiating a wave together, fast approaching this fallen Puffin. With so many windsurfers taking advantage of the waves extra vigilance was required. I wear a white helmet to emphasize the presence of my bobbing noggin for just this purpose.
It was sunny and windy (4.2-4.7 for most of us) at Westhampton's Cupsogue beach, with well formed waist to shoulder-high waves rolling along in the southwest blow. Presumably this is why we were graced with the sailing presence of John Natalie,(him of the jump at the top of the post) of whom several have said "only sails when it perfect."
And it was perfect, or at least very, very nice. CD had such a sweet wave later in the afternoon that he surfed himself well down the beach for a walk back. "He's having such a good time that he doesn't care," said the Wolf as we watched him. Chris confirmed this when he returned ("I didn't care if I had to walk back...I wasn't getting off that wave!") He also waxed poetic on the beauty of Cupsogue and loving a life that included such a day.
So yeah, it was a pretty good day. Also soaking it up were Jan and Bruce, TWFKAPJ (Jeff), and Jon Ford.
TWFKAPJeff took a nice set of photos (in addition to those that I've swiped for use here) and some video as well. Check out this clip to get a sense of riding the inside waves at Cupsogue.
(Photos by Jeff. Top: John Natalie enjoying the perfection. Bottom: Did I mention how beautiful Cupsogue is?)
There will be lots of gear at Windsurfing Hamptons besides my Naish 85 liter wave board ($150 with bag and three fins) and Fiberspar 430 SDM mast ($150 with case.) In the words of Jonathan "Let's Sail!" Ford:
"Buy and/or sell used Windsurfing, Kiteboarding, Surfing and Stand up paddleboard gear. Loads of closeout '08 gear avail at huge savings. Sellers: Your used gear must be to the shop no later than 9am Saturday."
Windsurfing/Kiteboarding Hamptons is located at 1688 County Road 39 Southampton, New York 11968 (631) 283-9463 www.w-surf.com.
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet." -Willie Don Shakespeare
The time has come. Will he be Plain Old Jeff? Jumpin' Jeff? Will he remain Peconic? Will you suggest a better name? (Sorry Andy B,, but "Larry Hoff Jr" has been rejected in order to avoid confusion with The Mighty Larry Hoff.)TWFKAPJ's fate (or at least his nickname) is in your hands.
(Wondering what in the Sam Hill is going on? Read all about it.)
His blog is back! Jeff (known to readers of the Peconic Puffin as Peconic Jeff) was the original Long Island windsurfing blogger. A thoughtful fellow of few words (unlike the thoughtless blabfest perpetrated here) he doesn't update Windsurfing the East End very often, instead letting us know what he's been up to by his excellent photos on his Flickr page. But now in a burst of typing P-Jeff is filling us in on recent adventures like taking up SUPing, the ABK clinic, and recovering from the malaise induced by our windless summer. Peconic Jeff is making noise!
Or is he? Is he Peconic Jeff? In recent weeks the irksome meddling of a windsurfing instructor whom I will not name (Andy Brandt) has thrown a wrench into the Puffinworks, suggesting that I should stop referring to Peconic Jeff as Peconic Jeff. In the ensuing brouhaha Jeff has been seen declaring (both in person and online) that he doesn't mind being called Peconic Jeff.
He doesn't mind.
I don't think that's really sufficient. Does he have any idea how many people out there want to be called Peconic Jeff but can't because he is Peconic Jeff? Wannabee P-Jeffs are lined up outside the Peconic Puffin offices every morning, whom we politely but firmly turn away.
But Jeff himself, he doesn't mind being called Peconic Jeff.
So here's what we're going to do. In the coming weeks we're going to have a poll to rename Jeff. He may end up as Plain Old Jeff, he may return as Peconic Jeff, or maybe we'll start calling him Jeffune Lord of Tides. Keep an eye out for the poll, and feel free to suggest new names for Jeff that will be included in the poll. In the meantime he'll be A Jeff To Be Named Later.
In the meantime, be sure to check out AJTBNL's Windsurfing the East End and his recent photos from The Bowl and South Jamesport sessions.
(Photo: A Jeff To Be Named Later on Peconic waters.)
Heavy weather is going to delay the Windsurfing Hamptons swap meet for one week. Word from Jonathan Ford:
"Due to the current nor'easter, we have decided to reschedule the swap for a week. The Swap will take place at the shop on October 4th from 9-4. Lets hope for sunny skies and warm temps. Looking forward to seeing everyone then.
Enjoy the current high winds - ride safe."
For details, call Windsurfing Hamptons at 631-283-9463...they're also at http://www.w-surf.com
I'll bet someone could have used my 85 liter Naish yesterday!
$150 with bag and three fins (430 Fiberspar SDM mast also $150).
Hopefully we'll sail tomorrow. I'm toasted from yesterday.
While Graham Ezzy was tearing it up at Demo (read about it in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfing Group) everybody who could manage it further east was tearing it up at The Bowl.
The sail range was 4.7 to 5.2, with head-high waves (bigger further out by the buoy) rolling up big and clean in the morning. Me (the wave newbie) managed my best bottom turns/cutbacks ever on one wave…which was good because I didn’t do very well on most of the others (though one did very well with me...“paid your dues” said Scott.) Sail a little torn, and me spitting sand, but I’d take a session like this any day.
It got messy after a few hours as the tide changed, and the crowd packed up to move to South Jamesport. I was getting laughed at on my 5.0 (‘cause it was much windier) but that’s what I rigged…should have gone with something smaller.
My arms are burnt to a crisp. In the joyous crowd today: Frank, Radek, Jan, Bruce, Scott, the Wolf, Jeff, Fisherman, Bill, John H, George Pav, Joe, and about four more guys I don't know (yet).
(photos by Jeff: Top: We play. Middle: All I see is white. Bottom: The Wolf likes his waves clean. For more photos from this session, check out Jeff's Flickr page.)
(To find the Bowl, South Jamesport, and 50+ other launches, check out the Long Island Windsurfing Map.)
I've wanted to windsurf at Ditch Plains in Montauk ever since I first heard the name. "Ditch Plains" put me in mind of vast stretches of water with conditions so gnarly that ditching one's gear was a standard survival move (I should probably learn the actual origin of the name.) Anyhow for years I've wanted to check out Ditch Plains, which is famous for surfing (Surfline describes it as " Mecca. The most consistent wave on Long Island".)
But when Jonathan Ford called and said "we sail at Ditch Plains" I had to think it over. It would be an hour's drive each way, and I'd only be able to sail for an hour given other obligations. All that driving for an hour at Ditch Plains? "I'm on my way!"
It was Jon Ford, Radek and myself with the sails (me on a 6.2), playing with the waves further out and keeping our distance from the surfers closer to shore. The waves were gentle and long, about shoulder high, and made Ponquogue seem chaotic and challenging by comparison. Given my lack of waveriding skill, the relative ease of catching the Ditch Plains wave was greatly enjoyed. I can only imagine how wonderful it must be on a bigger day.
The Wolf and Scott arrived as I was wrapping up. The wind was dropping a bit, and I suspect they put sails on their SUP boards to play with the swell.
At my first ABK clinic I was wrestling with tacking and jibing. A few clinics later (if sixteen is a few) I’m now pulling off clew first fin first piledrivers, anklebiters, and the whatchamacallit jibe. But I still remember when a planing duck jibe seemed the unattainable fantasy.
Nobody learns windsurfing slower than I. I am no longer (well, rarely) the worst windsurfer in the world, but one thing I’ve figured out is that lesson help, great lessons help a lot, and ABK clinics are the best thing going out there. (I am not sponsored by ABK, though yesterday they let me have a second sandwich with lunch.)
This past weekend’s windsurfing clinic at Napeague was a blast to watch, much less be in. From the adults and kids (we hate the kids…they learn so frickin’ fast) working on the basics all the way up to the freestylers, there was a whole lot of learnin’ going on. Friday (and Saturday AM) had the good wind, but as the photos show we were all working on the water Sunday as well.
The worst things that happened were a broken down car and a stubbed toe, but these were more than offset by all the tacking, jibing, chacho anklebiting etc.
I can’t wait to do it all again. ABK returns to Long Island in May 2009, but more drastic measures may need to be taken.
(Photos by Jeff…
Top: Happy Campers.
Second: The Mighty Larry Hoff goes Gecko.
Third: Una. Una learning to windsurf spells nothing but trouble. It’s bad enough that her mom aspires to be the fastest windsurfer on the island, but the little one has world domination on the brain. When she gets into the footstraps I’m taking up golf.
Fourth: Alex (can’t go home) Hering, The Mighty Larry Hoff, and a windsurfer to be knicknamed later sharing too little water during Sunday’s expression session.
Fifth: The editor is a grinning idiot.
Check out more clinic photos by Jeff on his Flickr page.)
There's no reason for any windsurfer to not go to a swap meet.
1. There's no such thing as having too much gear.
2. There's an excellent chance that it's time for you to upgrade some of your gear, and so sell the stuff that has served you well to someone who can use it (for a reasonable price).
3. It's an opportunity to meet windsurfers you don't know, and see what the ones you do know look like in street clothes.
So come to Windsurfing Hamptons this Saturday, September 27th 9-4pm to (in the words of Jonathan "Let's Sail!" Ford:)
"Buy and/or sell used Windsurfing, Kiteboarding, Surfing and Stand up paddleboard gear. Loads of closeout '08 gear avail at huge savings. Sellers: Your used gear must be to the shop no later than 9am Saturday."
Come buy my Naish wave board...85 liters, 2002 vintage, rather bump and jumpy for a waveboard, and featured in many Peconic Puffin (mis)adventures. $150 takes it with bag and two fins. I've got a Fiberspar 430 mast too...
Windsurfing / Kiteboarding Hamptons is located at 1688 County Road 39 Southampton, New York 11968 (631) 283-9463 [w-surf.com].
High on a hill sits the Tillerman. The Tillerman is the “granddaddy of sailing bloggers.” That’s saying a lot, because when it comes to wind powered watercraft blogs, sailboating blogs are way bigger than windsurfing blogs. They’re the big dogs. And the Tillerman is the big cheese.
(I asked the Peconic Puffin art department for an illustration of an enormous piece of cheese, surrounded by large dogs, at whose feet were little windsurfing bloggers banging away at their computers. As of press time the art has not yet arrived.)
Anyway, high on a hill sits the Tillerman. The Peconic Puffin is grateful to the Tillerman, not simply because he does not squash us like a blug, but because in his magnanimity he has listed the Puffin in the latest of his annual lists of worthy blogs.
Sometimes from his hill the Tillerman hands down assignments. The Puffin has never to our recollection actually turned one in, but as we’re entering the home stretch of 2008 it seems like a good time to appease the granddaddy on his hill. We aspire to his 2009 list, and though our worthiness is in doubt, we can still suck up and fawn with the best of them.
Thus asks the Tillerman: “What innovation, new idea, or invention has been most significant for the sport of sailing or has contributed most to your enjoyment of it?” He even offered up some suggestions. To play it safe (and because I agree with it) I’m going with:
“Mr. Darby's idea for using a handheld sail mounted on a universal joint to steer a sailing craft.”
I hereby give the Tillerman (and y’all) three reasons why it (the component that allows windsurfing to be) most contributed to my enjoyment of sailing:
Reason #1: Apartment dwellers can own a windsurfer, and store it in their tiny homes. I was thirteen when I first sailed in a Sunfish. I was instantly enthralled by sailing, but no small boat was going to be kept in the apartment we lived in, and even though I grew up near the water, there was no place for me to store a boat that I could afford. A zillion years later, my parents actually let me stash a board in my bedroom. Windsurfing allows me to sail.
Reason #2: In windsurfing, the sailor is part of the craft. We are part of the rigging. The sail transmits its power to the boat through three points: Mr. Darby’s beloved universal joint, and the windsurfer’s two legs. The board can not sail without us…not for a second. The sailing magic passes through us.
Reason #3: Windsurfing is affordable. Nobody ever says that a windsurfing board is a hole in the water into which money is thrown.
Here ends my humble offering to the Tillerman on the hill. Other sailing stuff considered as the greatest (including such venerable items as marinetex, the figure-eight knot, and beer) can be read about on the Tillerman’s blog.
"Don't ram me! Don't ram me!"
-Scott, making fun of me on the water just hours after my collision post.
Two days in a row of wind…we’re not in shape for this. After the Windless Summer of 2008 (with three sailable days in the last eight weeks!) this morning’s Sebonac session following yesterday’s southerly had a few regulars suffering from soft hands.
It took me a long time (way too long, longer even than Scott who said he waited too long) to realize that I needed to put on gloves. Only when I saw that both Jeff and Scott had gloves on did the dull gong that is my head ring with the appropriate realization.
I don’t wear gloves. I am too much the macho for gloves. Except today with my hands like tender pink paws.
(Jonathan Ford inbound. Photo by Peconic Jeff.)
I did not crash into Bob today. However my board did. As I jumped off of it half a second before the crash, does that still count?
I think it does. Damn. Okay, I did crash into Bob today. I was in the middle of a wide jibe…I had looked behind me before initiating the turn, but obviously I did not look thoroughly, because a few seconds later I was about to ram Bob. I couldn’t turn and couldn’t stop. Letting go seemed like a way to hit the guy with 20 pounds of gear as opposed to 20 + 165. Nobody was hurt and nothing got damaged. I think we were lucky.
It was a fine day at Napeague otherwise. Sailing alongside the ABK clinic on a 6.2, while Peconic Jeff worked on vulcans, Robert started nailing waterstarts, Jill Marr tackled duck jibes…just a bay full of windsurfers getting better.
Except me. Knucklehead outside the clinic, I should have been in it so someone could slap me upside the head and say LOOK ALL THE WAY BEHIND YOU BEFORE YOU JIBE.
"On Aug. 10 1994 I windsurfed the Hudson river and got a view of the Manhattan skyline that no windsurfer - or anybody else - will ever see again."
-Peter Bogucki, editor and publisher of the New England Windsurfing Journal.
(Photo by Peter Bogucki, from the NEWJ issue published following the September 11th attacks.)
I never get to see the cool stuff.
Just this last Sunday we had a warning that waterspouts might materialize whilst the east end crew were tearing it up at The Bowl. Didn't see any, though. Now we learn that yesterday at Hecksher a waterspout came through about one third of the way across the bay ("Awesome but it killed the wind!" said John Sasson in the Yahoo LI Windsurfing Group.) Mike Burns says "it was so sweet because we actually saw it form. The water just started lifting in a spiral and did make it all the way up to the clouds from the front. The back side of the front looked like the eye wall of a hurricane. Really cool stuff."
Top five questions I hear regarding ABK windsurfing clinics:
Q1: How good do I have to be to take the clinic?
A1: Ideally you've never windsurfed a day in your life, and so will learn the right way from the start. Barring that, people who have tried windsurfing a few times and been frustrated are ideal. After that, anyone from folks working on basic tacks and jibes, through people who want to loop are best suited.
Q2: Wouldn't I be happier with a few private lessons?
A2: Private lessons are great! But a group setting has three major advantages: Watching other windsurfers try to learn the same stuff you're working on, you gain insight. The struggle with windsurfing's challenges are a lot more fun when shared, and you'll make new friends of similar ability with whom you can sail with and practice in the future. Also, Andy Brandt and his team are probably the best windsurfing instructors in the country ("don't forget Bonaire" Andy says!)
Q3: Wouldn't I be happier spending the money on a new sail?
A3: No. (I learned this lesson the hard way, believe me...for years spending my money on better equipment rather than better skills.) Ask any ABK graduate about the value for the money.
Q4: What if there isn't enough wind...won't I be wasting my time and money?
A4: No. ABK has an enormous amount of technique to teach (both onshore on windsurfing simulators, as well as on the water) that requires almost no wind. Whatever the weather is (barring tornados and hurricanes) there will be a full clinic's worth of stuff to learn. Ask any ABK graduate about this.
Q5: Will a harness make my butt look big?
A5: No. Your butt will look fantastic planing across Napeague Bay!
So pick your weekend and sign up now, joining Andy Brandt and company either for this coming Friday-Sunday as well as September 19-21 (which will feature a separate group for freestyle students.) The editor will be skulking around...please don't throw things at him.
We waited all day. The forecast said Tropical Storm Hannah would arrive "later in the afternoon." Windstarved and bitter, some of us began to fear that the wind would never come, or come after dark. Then at 4:30, Jon Ford and the Wolf decided that while there was still no wind, by the time we got to The Bowl and rigged the storm should arrive.
It did, and we hit it hard! Scott, Bill, Jimi, Eric, Bruce, Fisherman, Peconic Jeff, Jon, the Wolf and your editor were on the water fast and furious, getting our first wave day since who knows (May?) and working it for every second we could. Pouring rain? Who cares!
The early call was 5.8's and bigger boards, but as Hannah moved further in there was rerigging and reboarding (by the time it was too dark to sail 4.7 was way too much wing.) The waves got as big as overhead, and the jump ramps were sweet and verticle.
What stuck out to me (besides how utterly fantastic it felt to be windsurfing in primo conditions) was how everybody was on the water all the time. With the exception of two moments (when the wind came up ten knots in ten seconds, and during a brief spell of blinding rain) we were all on the water at once. Between the impending darkness and trying to make up for the windless summer there wasn't a second to waste.
All in all it was a great session that ended way too soon. Let the fall windy season begin!
(Top photo: Running with the waves at The Bowl.
Bottom photo: Fisherman, Scott, Bruce and The Wolf during a squall. Photos by Peconic Jeff.)
Tomorrow begins (hopefully) the Weekend of Hannah. All day today posts were going back and forth about tomorrow...I even ran into the Wolf at a deli (during which I was tutored on how much East we'd need in order to sail the ocean instead of the bays) with full focus on Saturday. But then late in the day whitecaps were spotted on the Peconic. I called Peconic Jeff, and the rush to South Jamesport was on.
It wasn't much (caught about an hour of 6.2 sailing...in the gusts) but if you have forgotten how good it feels to get into the footstraps and plane after a long time without, I am here to tell you it was magnificent. I howled with joy. I was laughing at myself for how stupidly happy I was just to sail in a straight line for half a minute. Not a good session by usual standards, but to a man emerging from the desert, the first sip of water is exceptionally sweet.
I love windsurfing.
August 2008: Worst Windsurfing Weather in 16 years (that's as long as I've tracked it) on Long Island. Number of planing days available to me in Peconica: Zero. Frickin' NONE. While it's possible that there was an hour here or there where if I'd been in the right place in the right time I might have been able to hook in for a minute, this August was a complete bust. My van is bone dry. The Wolf never called to tell me to head to Sebonac or South Jamesport or Ponquogue or whereever. Nothing.
"I need wind really baaaaaad."
-Scott, commenting in the Peconic Puffin.
Me too, bro! Scott's biggest sail is a 5.8...I KNOW he didn't get out if I couldn't catch a ride on my 7.0 (we sail the same sized gear.)
August is usually a weak month for windsurfing, but we got out h dozen times last year, including some wave sailing at blessed Ponquogue. There appears to be a real forecast for wind this coming weekend, but Peconic Jeff has reminded me that they lie...
Yeah, I said it. The cool guys refer to it as the B2BBB3. Even cooler guys (and ABK graduates) call it the Siamese. That's Andy Brandt throwing the B2BBB3/Siamese...he'll be teaching this madness (and lots more freestyle windsurfing besides) during the second week of ABK clinics on Long Island out at Napeague September 19-21 ("regular" windsurfing instruction also goes on this week.) Or catch up with Andy and the funk mob the Friday-Sunday before for a windsurfing instruction extravaganza (WIEX). I know the missus and I will be checking it ALL out. (CiAo!)
He's baaaaaaack...
Most of the time James successfully passes amongst us appearing as a talented but garden variety young scientist and windsurfer. He has a blog in which he chronicles his adventures with windsurfing, the pursuit of a doctoral degree, and his dad.
But there is a Mr. Hyde to his would-be Dr. Jeckle, who sometimes emerges on a windless night with mad ravings about windsurfing minutia and detail that would drive Aristotle to drink. I last chronicled the monster when it appeared in January, but the time has returned to restate the horrible truth: James is crazier than I am.
Behold "Types of Windsurfing Racing" in which Crazy James bombards us with hundreds (or a dozen, give or take) charts, photos, diagrams, and his unique original artwork. A man who has to register his spreadsheets as lethal weapons, James reasserts himself as the bull goose windsurfing nerd blogger. I'm proud to link to him.
Trying to kite in Tropical Storm Fay in Fort Lauderdale, this kitesurfer nearly dies when he's slammed into a building. Imagine windsurfing full speed into a brick wall.
Kites can not be depowered like a windsurfing sail. Kitesurfing is a fine sport, but it is not as safe as windsurfing.
(Video courtesy WKRG. Here's a link to the Miami Herald report about the accident. Kevin Kearny is listed in critical condition.)
The forecast for our Long Island waters:
Today W winds 5 to 10 kt.
Tonight N winds 10 to 15 kt with gusts up to 25 kt.
Wed N winds 5 to 10 kt
The video above is an encore presentation of a clip I shot last November in Bonaire.
P.S. Number of emails I've received from Peconic Jeff since the last time we had planing conditions, identifying potential good days that have failed to appear? Five. It's not Jeff's fault...we're just all desperate.
Anybody who has ever seen me derig has probably noticed that I wipe down my boards with a towel after each session. "That's love!" I've heard more than a few people comment. I reply that I'm not pampering the boards, but that I'm trying to keep the inside of my van from becoming a mildewed rust bucket. The one thing you can't really dry are the footstraps...those absorbent little puppies resist my efforts (I give them a squeeze with a towel anyway.)
I've been fortunate in that over the last few years I've been able to get on the water almost any time it's been windy. Consequently I've always had at least one wet set of footstraps in the van for well over a year. Until now. My gear is bone dry...even the footstraps.
(Photo: "We wanna come out and play!" cries my gear.)
Excerpt from a recent post by Amy in the Yahoo Long Island Windsurfing Forum:
"As I begrudgingly marched into the west wind yesterday past two fields of our home beach of Hecksher, I was brutally attacked by green flies. I was berating myself for getting myself in this position and having to drive my car down to meet my rig. But today I have a new opinion of the whole experience. I don't think of it as so much of a walk of shame, more like a stride of pride. It made me happy to know that I was walking the painful footsteps of all the greats of today."
Damn right, Amy! "The Stride of Pride" is good. I've heard it referred to as The Walk of Pride as well. In order to take that walk, you must get with board and sail and push yourself beyond your capabilities. We've all been there. Many of us will be there again, if we don't play it safe.
The Walk of Pride, the Stride of Pride...maybe there are some other worthy names for it out there.
Whatever we call the walk, it still begins at Bozo Beach. It helps us maintain our sense of humor...