Who caught the wind last Monday?

Well, we (Steve, James and I) did at Shirley. Another perfect, summery "lunch break" after a stagnant, windless and hot weekend. The best way to start the week. SW winds in the 25mph range. 5.9 was probably the best call but I was on a 6.3
I'm seriously thinking of getting a 5.9. The gap between my 5.5 and 6.3 is indeed too big...


(Catching a little air)

Supersession at Shirley Beach

Yesterday sunny skies and sustained WNW winds brought to Shirley Beach the largest group of windsurfers I have ever seen there. On top of the local sailors there where some more from the Patchogue-Bellport area who were dragged to Shirley by the wind direction. Even the King of the East, the mighty Mike Burns, was there spinning around. It's equally possible that there is a crowd constantly following Mike, who knows?

The wind was really "holey" and dropped later in the day but I still had fun on the 92L/5.5m2 combo. Perfectly powered at times, slogging at others. The setting was great though and it was nice to see the beach packed with gear (see pics).


(beach packed with gear)


(a windsurfer's dream: sandy beach on a warm, sunny and windy day)


(Da twist)

West Meadow with the SSW

Another great day of summer windsurfing yesterday. A strong SSW breeze powered by an approaching cold front provided ultra-fun, worry-free sailing conditions. No sign of the thunderstorms and tornadoes NOAA had foretasted for the region which is truly surprising because the risk was indeed high. Just another reminder that the weather is still difficult to predict accurately.

These wind conditions are ideal for me because I can go windsurfing West Meadow beach, which is less than 5 minutes drive from my house. A total of 3 windsurfers and about 4 kiters were at the beach yesterday. I guess that most people go to Heckscher park when it blows from the SW. By the way, let's hope everyone will be blessed with the same conditions this weekend (well, actually a little less wind otherwise it will be a little boring for the formula guys;))). See you at the beach!

A taste of summer

Temperatures in the upper seventies, blue skies and constant SW breeze made yesterday the best day for me to start the 2010 season. Yes, I admit that it took me a lot to get out of windsurfing hibernation this year but I have also being quite busy in the past few months.
After seeing on the radar a front of thunderstorms coming our way, I decided that the wisest option was a quick lunch session at Shirley. It turned out that the wind was stronger than I had anticipated/hoped (gusts up to 30 mph) and I ended up overpowered on the 111L/6.3m2 combo. If I had the choice (or a van) I would have rigged the 90L/5.5m2 even though a 5.7m2 was the call.
After blasting for 2 hours and being blown off the board a few times while jibing, I called it a day. I was pleased to find out that the water is already so warm in the South Bay, it makes the 3/2 wetsuit superfluous...perhaps a sign of the hurricane season to come? Hopefully we'll stay out of the path of dangerous storms.
After a quick de-rig & lunch staring at the whitecaps I was back to work just in time to avoid rain and thunders.
Hope Steve (who pulled in with his trailer around 2:40 pm when I was about to leave) had a little fun before the rain.
A savory taste of summer.

Snowboarding Austria

Quite a few trips for me this month. Let's start from the fist one to Germany/Austria. I had the chance to go snowboarding on the Austrian Alps near the lovely capital of Tirol, Innsbruck. I was happy to end a long period of inactivity lasting since Copper Mountain, Colorado 2007 (shame on me!). I was also proud to have tried the half pipe and have made it back in one piece. Next time I will push it a little harder (I really had to avoid the hospital this time around). The snow was good and abundant but the weather could have been better. One day the fog was so thick I could barely see the tip of the board. Awful! Below are few pics.


Houses in Innsbruck


City overlook



Little sanctuary by the slopes

Blog closed for "winter weather"

This weekend snow storm has reminded me it's time to close the blog due to "unsuitable weather conditions". Well not completely closed, I'll still post something entertaining for my (2-3?) readers (especially those interested in winter sports). If you really want to read about winter windsurfing (and debate on the meaning of the word "crazy") you can always check Mighty Mike's blog.

Yesterday night some parts of the island got 25" of fresh powder. Completely wasted. Why LI is so damn flat???!!!

A short december session

So, yeah, I haven't windsurfed at all in the past two months. The first month and a half because of my foot injury and the rest because of too much other stuff going on, specifically a lot of work to do. With the winter around the corner the chances to squeeze in a session were thinning every day. So last week, when the forecast called for strong SW winds and warm temps on Thursday, I decided that was my day.

As usual NOAA forecasted too much wind. By noon the wind had shifted from SW to WSW and dropped to about 20mph. In the morning I had grabbed my 90L board and the 6.3, 5.5 and 5.0 sails and that wasn't good news. I went to the usual place, Shirley beach on the South Bay. Not only the wind was dropping, the direction wasn't optimal either, too onshore. But at the end it didn't matter, I just wanted to get out there.

As the Peconic Puffin pointed out recently, this time of the year the water in the bay is definitely colder than the ocean. I could tell because I didn't wear gloves and my hands were freezing after I fell in the water a couple of times! The 4/3 mm wetsuit seemed to do the job though.
I tried the very popular boom-tail-mount with the gopro and it worked just great. Much better than my jibes. Boys I'm rusty! I edited a video and tried many times to upload it on youtube and directly on the blog website without success. Since I have no time for dealing with such s*** right now here are a few pics from the movie.