Conditions were nothing to speak of…knee to waist high waves without much left or right to them.
Was it cold? Air 35, Water 42, but it had been 22 weeks since my last SUP sesh, so:
36 + 41 + 22 = 99
and 99 seemed close enough to the Long Island 100 Rule. Besides, I’d driven all the way to Cupsogue, the Wolf was already on the water, Peconic Jeff was about to head out too, and Joe Natalie was on the way. I’ve been nursing my stupid bicep tendon injury (which is damaged in the shoulder and elbow, and has been eluding cures) for what feels like half a year, so the baby-ass conditions on Saturday were just what I wanted.
I had a blast. The first wave felt So Good! As did the ensuing baker’s dozen. I’m not a good SUPsurfer as it is, and I surfed poorly even by my standards, but Jeff was encouraging: “That was your first SUP in 5 months? It’s no wonder you were in shocked-as-a-newbie mode (i.e., go straight down a wave with a big goofy grin on the face).” That’s a good description (though I did work one wave decently to the left). The key thing was the grin.
The next day the arm hurt moderately, but I think I can return to a moderate amount of paddling. The next test will be windsurfing.
(Photo by Jeff Schultz)
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