The Peconic Puffin

A blog about a group of windsurfers and other water sports enthusiasts, and their friends. Established 1993.

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…

Posted in

5 responses to ““The Walk of Shame” Needs a New Name”

  1. Bunty Avatar

    Well I ended up on the Bozo Beach of Cabarete – and I dont call it a walk of shame at all. The walk of shame came down to poor quality equipment – mast snapped on the reef after I came off a wave. It didnt hit the bottom or anything cos sail was in my hands. But there is no such thing as a walk of shame, cos to get somewhere you have to get thru certain stages. You are not going to get anywhere if you are just worried about your ego! I think a so called walk of shame does everyone a bit of good!

  2. Mike Burns Avatar
    Mike Burns

    Oh man. I had to do the “walk of shame” so many freakin times when I was learning and now we get to do the “stide of pride”? Everything in windsurfing just keeps getting better and better. Oh how I wish for enough wind to be able to do a walk of some kind while dragging my gear back up the beach.

  3. michael Avatar

    My longest walk was half a mile…the wind changed direction while I was a mile out, and I wasn’t good enough at tacking or sailing upwind.
    When I started wave sailing I was reintroduced to the Walk…sometimes you just end up down the beach!

  4. Scott McKay Avatar
    Scott McKay

    Look at the curve of a nice crescent shaped beach. That walk along it? It’s the “learning curve”.
    I’m with Mike Burns. Right now, I’d gladly walk the learning curve, if only there were wind to do it.

  5. Mike J Avatar
    Mike J

    I took the walk last fall, it was a great day of sailing but the wind and current were going in the same direction. After a while I couldn’t keep up wind anymore,figured I’d just keep sailing and end wherever. It was along walk along RR tracks on 2″ crushed stone under thin booties and 70mph commuter trains wizzing by. At the time I was calling it the Bataan death march, but if conditions were right I’d probably do it all over again.

Leave a Reply to BuntyCancel reply

Discover more from The Peconic Puffin

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading