The Peconic Puffin
A blog about a group of windsurfers and other water sports enthusiasts, and their friends. Established 1993.
Category: The Prudent Puffin (Safety)
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You’re out on the water and a line breaks. Inhaul, outhaul, downhaul, uphaul, harness line…something you need snaps. You’ll be happier if you’re carrying a piece or two of downhaul line to put yourself back together. In twenty years of windsurfing this has only happened to me once (I’m fanatical about checking and replacing worn…
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Christian arrived at the Bowl around high tide. Scott had already been sailing for a few hours (and I for one) but we were mostly waiting for the tide to go out and the waves to come. “I have 90 minutes,” Christian announced, so he quickly rigged a sail, grabbed a board, and launched. A…
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Joe Rocco, “the Mayor of Heckscher” died windsurfing Hurricane Irene on Sunday. To meet Joe once was to have a great new windsurfing friend, generous with information, stoke, spirit, you name it. The new article in Newsday begins “Joseph Rocco, the only Long Islander to die as a result of Tropical Storm Irene, was a…
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It started out as my best wave ride of the day. It ended with my nearly taking Peconic Jeff's head off. It all began when Peter and I caught a nice head-high wave on the outer sand bar. Jeff was about halfway in toward the beach shooting video and taking photos, so my only Jeff…
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None of us had windsurfed in waves since December. Sweet long lefts were breaking 4-6 feet at the Bowl (with the occasional meaty seven-footer rolling through to really catch your attention) in side off winds. The Wolf was out first, and he was back first, as he’d hit the water with his drysuit less than…
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I’ve spoken to quite a few windsurfers since the terrible news about Stephen Schafer, the kite surfer in Florida. There’s probably nobody who’s ever sailed the ocean who hasn’t had The Fear at one time or another when a waterstart wasn’t coming together. We all hear about the overwhelming odds against being attacked by a…
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Steve had every right to clobber me. He whacked me in the hand with his mast when his helitack came undone. You may ask why he’s throwing a helitack so close to another windsurfer. The answer is the other windsurfer was believed to have already tacked, but instead was in fact crowding Steve. That other…
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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…
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http://www.wkrg.com/news/video_external/caught_on_tape_wind_blows_kite_surfer_into_building/17014/ WKRG.com Video 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…
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I’ve heard quite a few Long Island windsurfers rave about the wavesailing at Democrat Point, or “Demo”, on the western tip of Fire Island. But every time I hear talk about Demo, invariably there’s also a story about someone getting into a jam…if the wind drops or your gear breaks, word is that the currents…