Windsurfing Magazine

iberger
2010-09-05 22:46:42 | 219 views | 2 Comments

It was a big Hudson River get-together at Swamp Hole on Saturday, right on the heels of Hurricane Earl. There were about a dozen windsurfers from all over the Valley, north and south. Ned counted, “Budda Mike, John Spanos, Hardy, Rod S, Ian, Hilmar, Andy and Bobo, Samantha, Larry K, Steve G, Lance, Jony Windsurf, Jehuda, nice guy from Cortland on 6.5, Sven, Brian J. Faruk, and myself.” While Earl did almost nothing here in the Hudson Valley, the day after Earl was pretty interesting. Winds were 18-30 WNW at Swamp Hole, and the really were highly variable. Some people were on 7.0s and others on 5.x sails. Scott was there for a little while on a 4.2.

What was most interesting was what fellow windsurfer Hardie Trusdale called Voodoo chop. I wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but once I got my big (too big for these winds) Kona board out into the river on my trusty 5.3, I discovered. The chop was about 2 feet, but closer to the shore it was bouncing off the rock walls and coming the other way. Then you’d get these double crests and double troughs, which were kind of interesting. The bad part was that there was no rhythm to the waves. They were just coming here and there and you had to really keep an eye on what you were doing.

I never got what I’d call a satisfying ride. I got a ride, but I didn’t want to go full-out on the Kona because of all the chop. Planing was certainly possible even in the 5.3 because the wind picked up through the afternoon, but I didn’t feel comfortable letting it go. Well, perhaps I’m an overly-cautious chicken, but I’ve never really enjoyed screaming forwards at full speed. (I don’t even drive fast.)

Lots of people did get good rides. Ned was there, sailing and spreading wisdom. Larry got some good sails and managed to spread good cheer to Brian, Samantha and myself, intermediate sailors who were struggling a bit on the water. John Spanos blasted his way over the waves, as did several others. We had a couple of walks of shame from Senasqua, and Hardie broke a mast.

I’m getting a little sour on Swamp Hole though When conditions get challenging it just doesn’t have very many recovery points. Basically there’s one, Senasqua. The second, Croton Point Park is a mile downriver, which is way too much of a hike to be feasible. I wanted to be back at Peekskill, with the ability to recover at multiple points, and its tendency on westerlies to funnel any wayward windsurfer into Peekskill Landing. Peekskill can be a PITA to tack out of on a westerly, but I always feel safe there.

A point Ned made, and he’s right about this, is that I should drop the Kona when the winds get high and go to a smaller board. There’s a part of me which says “Darn it, Ned, you’re right! I’m going to advance my skills!” There’s another loud voice in my head which says, “No! Not the Kona! I love my Kona! Please don’t take it from me!” This voice clings to the Kona like Linus and his security blanket, even when the board, clearly, isn’t the right board for the conditions. I have two smaller boards, my Exocet Cruiser and an unknown model Bic I inherited from a Hudson River sailor who moved. It’s time to move up, I guess, or down, in terms of flotation.