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As I type this report my fingers are swollen and still ache from the last two days of sailing. Wednesday the gang had a blistering day at Long Pond but yesterday the winds clocked and we had a wicked day at Durand Beach on Lake Ontario!
Arriving at the beach with the fresh scent of asphalt still lingering on the nasal synapses I glance out on the water and immediately think; Hmmm… lots of west in it today, should be interesting! Out on the lake beyond the wind shadow near shore the water glistens with white, the caps are everywhere, you just got to get to it! Joe has beaten the group to the water and after one pass comes in and reports loudly over the howl of the wind, ” Rigging Down! Too strong!”. I immediately roll up the 5.3 I was rigging and go for the 4.7 and Ted goes for his 4.2. Gary likewise. When Columbia River Joe says its too strong it just too strong.
The meter at the outlet of Irondeqouit Bay reads 26 NW gusting to 34mph! After I slog my way away from the wind shadow at shore I start ripping and immediately return to down rig! Its a bit unusual for me to sail the same size as the boys as my girlish figure usually put me a half to full meter larger but when it blows hard that gap narrows and this looked like one of those days. Joe and Ted were sailing nicely on the outside well powered up. Joe was eating up real-estate riding huge swells. Ted got so distracted by the wave riding he found himself a bit too downwind but enjoyed it so much did it twice more! Gary finally got it dialed in and was seen with a big smile on his face.
I put up the 4.2 and rigged it a little loose, waited in the break for a puff and gingerly poked my way out to the wind line. Although I’d had some powered up sessions this season but they were mostly on Long Pond, the big lake always gives me trepidation, you know like that little voice that says, if you break something you’re screwed, if the wind dies you’re screwed if it picks up…you’re, say it with me…screwed. POWERED up and getting the feel of the water, the waves, current and wind the anxiety slowly melted away but not in an overconfident way just like, OK I got this. So I picked away at the day riding my 4.2 and my 85 Goya with a brand new fin. Finding nice waves to throw jibes at and some ramps to test the air with.
In the meantime the gang at the beach got bigger as Keith and Bill arrived and no doubt went through their own calculus of the conditions and mental state. But kudos to Bill who arrives for his first session of the season and has to rig a 4.2! He rode his JP, Teddy his Doyle, Geoff his Goya, Joe his Quatro and Keith his shiny new Simmer, later Dan showed up and put up a 4.8 on his Mistral.
Sometimes, just sometimes, your day is defined by the last session and as the winds started to die three of us fools (Dan excluded as he arrived late and rigged for the waning winds), thought we’d just throw on bigger boards and catch one last ride with our 4.2’s and while it worked for a couple passes (not for me) Kieth’s prediction hit hard and the wind backed and dropped to the beaufort equivalent of a gopher fart and after much swimming and subsequent hiking I can truly say the day was just TOO GOOD and gophers be damn that last ride was just a footnote in the book I’m writing about funny stuff that happens to your sailing buddies!
Ride on homeys!
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Love to have you guys! Its near to Charlotte or Seabreeze where there are nice places to eat and drink! Or there are BBQ grills for picnicking. Also, a stones throw from launch is a public beach with life guard for the kids. This beach is quite long so if you get in trouble (that never happens!) you still wash ashore on a beach. But its no Lake Erie waves usually a lot smaller and quite a bit of chop. But it like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’ll get! If if its a thermal flatter than if it’s been blowing all day and night. And depending on the mix of west in it it changes.
P.S. Seabreeze has an awesome amusement park with wave pool, slides , roller coasters etc all within view of the lake. For craft brews check out Bill Grays just down the street or Marge’s for a more laid back intimate experience right on the lake at our other lake site Montana Beach! Did I mention the oldest miniture golf course in the country?
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Nice Scott!
You should write for Outside Magazine, or Windsurfing Now (windsurfing sesh report), and AAA (location, accommodation, attractions report). Oldest Mini Golf in the U.S.A., who knew?
Eric, Durand can be tricky though if the wind has too much West in it. The above was a super nuker, and their was still a wind shadow. The water doesn’t get as big as Hamburg, and it doesn’t break (ride-able) in an organized way near shore (sand bottom compared to rock shelf at Hammy). But out there, the swell can jack up nicely. I love to ride there when it’s touching in.
Wd
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