Long Island windsurfers get plenty of 25 knot days with 80 degree air temperatures. In the Caribbean. Saturday's shredfest at Mattituck (Yacht Club launch) featured crazy good conditions, which:
1. We were owed, after a terrible summer for windsurfing,
2. Many of us were out of windsurfing shape for (give the lack of windsurfing.)
I had two kook moments just trying to rig a sail. First my 5.3 found itself plastered against the wire fence by the softball field (I tried inserting the mast in this orientation…hey the sail was flat, just not parallel to the earth) and then after the sail was finally rigged it got tossed again.
"Do you remember how to windsurf?" Scott asked me.
"No," I replied. "Well maybe. I hope so!"
Launched the 5.3 on my 77 FSW, and joy ensued. Mattituck is only good for some very specific wind directions…SSE, S, and SSW, but when its blowing thus, the starboard ramps that set up inside and out are peerless. People who don't even jump on starboard (like me) go for air. And if you DO jump on starboard (like Air Scott) then the good times roll. As does the swell halfway out…wanna do some faux wave riding? Christopher Lord Chimpleton (CD) was carving prodigious "S" turns, making like Maui on the Peconic Bay.
After my first hour I had to rig down to 4.5, which is what I sailed most of the day, with 4.7-4.2 being the middle of the bell curve. Joe Natalie was throwing speed tacks, Kurt Veith was with the speed loops. I was just trying to hold on. At the beach I saw something I haven't seen in ages: a blister forming on my hand. I think the last time my hands were that out of WS shape Big Bill Clinton was President. I looked up and saw Scott wearing gloves.
"Had to. My hands haven't held a boom in a looooong time."
No less than 20 windsurfers were on the water during the course of the day, including (I'm missing people):
Scott
the Wolf
CD
Peconic Jeff
Christian
Marty
Joe Natalie
John Hulse (kite)
Jan
Bruce
Kurt
Bruce Feldman
Tomas
Dennis
Sasha
Christina
Ted
your editor
and several others.
I'd been thinking about rigging a 4.0 but decided to give it a break around 4 o'clock (which is fortunate, because I forgot that I sold my 4.0 at the swap meet in May. Must look for another one this coming Saturday!) and that was fine. Mattituck had given us an outstanding day by any standard, but the hot fudge combination of high
winds and warm wind and water…thank you thank you may we please have another?
(Photos courtesy Bridget Walter/www.LISail.com, except for the last photo of my jibing, courtesy Jeff Schultznbsp; Bridget will no doubt dazzle us with even finer imagery when the LI Sail issue covering the sesh appears. We will let you know when that issue is live on the interwebs. Also, thank you Ross for the apres beer!)
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