Some More Pics From Tobay

I really like this panoramic one that Iggy took.

And this bottom turn and top turn that Ted took.

And finally, paying my dues.

Tobay Pictures

Ted was nice enough to take a break from sailing to shot this cool sequence. I was way powered and that ramp was so steep! If only I had made the landing.

Two Days At Tobay

Though Long Island does get windy, it's rare that there are two windy days in a row. And even more rare for it to be on the weekend and with sun, and side shore wind with waves. So this last weekend was a real treat.

Tobay was the call since the WSW winds would be side shore there and the shore break not as bad as at Robert Moses.

Here's some more terrible GoPro Boom mount video I took. At the end is a back loop attempt. I think I'm getting close to landing them. I had one that I hope to get shots of where I bailed when I saw how high above the water I was.

This years Pozo contest was sick with most riders landing double loops and young Philip Koster attempting a triple loop and landing the cleanest push loop forward on video yet. Sick!!! This video rocks!



Back here on Earth a fun session was had at Heckscher today. The Slalom guys even had to ditch their 8.5's after 6 or so. And before that there were several obvious Andy disciples working on their non-planning freestyle making it much more fun since I was not the only one.

Stoke and Starstuff

A while back someone shared this video of a very stoked surfer being interviewed and his enthusiasm I found contagious.

Strangely enough it was called a 'surfer fail' interview while I completely felt and understood his emotions.  It just made me want to charge the surf.  Paired with the video was a hypnotic remix using Autotunes.

Then to make it better, DennisG the High School Physics teacher found that the same people http://www.symphonyofscience.com who made the remix also had science themed mashups like this one

Far out! Now I like autotunes.

Demo Video Clip

I'll never forget my first time windsurfing in the Ocean.  It was in the summer of 1982 that I decided to put my Sailboard Windsurfer on the roof of my 70' Mustang and head to Robert Moses State Beach.  I had sailed lots on the North shore of Long Island in the Sound and Bays and had grown up body surfing the waves on the South shore so I was anxious to see if I could ride those waves on my windsurfer.  Luckily for me there was very little in the way of waves and I was awestruck by the size of the Ocean once out sailing on it.  It was not Epic by any means but the first time at anything seldom is.

Fast forward almost 30 years and I still yearn to combine the forces of wind and waves.  Yesterday we had some serious heat with temperatures in the 90's so the Thermal winds at Democrat Point really kicked.  I sailed my 5.0 Ezzy Wave Panther 3 on my RRD Wave Cult 85 and was over powered by around 7 pm.  We had a great crowd, warm water and air and waist high building to almost head high waves.

I attached my GoPro to my boom and did get my first wave ride of the day before the memory card filled up.  Of course the rides got better as the day went on but the video does give some feeling of the experience out there.  No music, tilted camera, water on the lens and terrible glare so don't expect much.

Summer Demo Session

Yesterday K-dog and I met at Oak Beach to make the assault on Democrat Point.  Demo as we call it is located on the South Shore of Long Island NY and provides the best wave riding on Long Island.  There is no easy way to the Pt so we must sail across from Overlook Beach, Cedar Beach or Oak Beach.  The channel we sail across empties and fills the entire Great South Bay so the currents are substantial.  And we use these currents to our advantage sailing the SW thermals on the outgoing tide and Noreaster's on the incoming.  SW offers backside riding while the rare Noreaster combined with a good SE swell makes for some of the cleanest frontside down the line riding there is.  The shape of the Pt which curves in to the channel makes the waves wrap around the Pt making for long rides when it's working well.


View Larger Map

For me it's always the intangibles that make a great session.  It's not making a move or how windy it was.  Yesterday it was the Seal hauled out on the very tip of Democrat Pt that I cruised by within feet, the incredibly flat water just inside the crescent shaped cove behind the Pt. and the rainbow showing up as I blasted back to Oak beach on screaming downwind reaches.  All capped by the show a storm put on while driving home.

Of course the wave riding was fun too and I managed a few backside airs.