Finally, A Windfest Report

I should have written this earlier but the school year is almost up. That means: no time, and I'm grading mucho papers! (Then I have the summer off. Poor me.)

Windfest was a lot of fun. I spent the day with Scott and Dave Rogers as well as Dave's family. Dave's family was very generous with food, even though I had made sure to provide for myself pretty well. Here are photos:

Scott and Dave setting up Dave's Bic Hybrid board.

Glad I wasn't the only person uphauling.

I love seeing all these boards laying about on the beach.

Gorgeous conditions.

Lots of sailors.

Setting up for freestyle.

People who sail much better than I do. I was struck by how big the freestyle boards were. Somebody was on a big Starboard Start. Another had a Go.

The judging stands. The dude in orange, just to the right of the green sign, is Michael Alex, the Peconic Puffin.

These are the rigs of the experts.

Men's professional freestyle.

Women's freestyle.

I did enter two races, and I wish I could say I made the Hudson River Rats proud. I had bought a new weed fin for my Kona just for Windfest. When I unwrapped it, it looked a little small, but I figured the guys I bought it from knew what they were doing. It turns out I got sent a really small fin. I tested it out before the race with my 8.5 rig, and I fell all over the place. I assumed that was just a result of my stupidity: not an unreasonable assumption.

Turns out it wasn't my fault. The fin was a 29 cm fin and I needed about a 40 cm fin, even with the 6.5 sail I rigged for the race. (The winds picked up a little.) I fell all over the place. I even fell right by the buoys. It was a very embarrassing situation, especially when the experts were planing past me at about 25 mph. When I said they were planing past me, I meant they were planing right past me! Then, (Oh Joy!) I had a mast-base separation. Could the situation get any worse?

I limped back to shore after finally reacquainting my mast with my board. I felt like a fool, and Dave's encouraging words actually made my feel worse. Then we talked about the fin, and realized how small it was. What a relief! I slipped the old fin on and went sailing. It was like a religious experience. I could sail! And I nailed my beach starts.

The rest of the day I sailed around on my Kona and hung out. It was a wonderful time.

One criticism: I wish there were some non-competitive events. I'm honestly not into the competition. Maybe some group sails or something like that?