Cold Water Beachstarts!

One of the things that makes Peekskill Landing an annoying place to sail out of is it's awkward placement. Unless the winds are coming from a certain direction, no beach starts are possible unless you want to immediately run into rocks or a jetty (more rocks). What makes matters worse is the constant wind shadow with any wind from the south or north.

Tuesday I got lucky. I planned an afternoon session right after school. I packed the car and my Exocet 150 liter Cruiser before school. The whole day there was almost no wind, and when I finally arrived at the site, the wind was maybe 6 mph. Scott joined me and as we rigged some dark clouds rolled in. Soon the wind was at 20.

The water was a balmy 52º F. I wore my whale blubber suit and a hood. I had an old hood from the 1980s sitting around, still in good condition, which I gave to Scott. My booties are showing some serious leaks. I also tried out a pair of neoprene mittens for the first time.

The water was choppy, which is tough on a wideboard. It was also straight from the west, which is the only direction possible for beachstarts. I did about eight or son with the 6.5 sail, then sailed back and forth in the cove, getting familiar with the wideboard in these conditions. I popped onto a plane a couple of times, and I probably could have done more except that I was a little nervous. Because of the conditions Scott and I also were keeping close to shore. The winds were a little unpredictable. I got in the straps then got dumped a few times when the wind went down.

A word on the mittens: They're not great. No matter how hard you strap the cuff, they leak at the wrist. This isn't so bad because your body heat warms the water quickly, but it's disconcerting. They're also limiting. The first time I fell backwards while hooked in I reached to unhook myself and realized I didn't have the available fingers to do this. I managed, but it was a lot more awkward. I think I'm going to go with some gloves soon.

I hope this wasn't the last sail of the year.

Not from this session (clearly) but I do look funny underwater. My hair makes me resemble Medusa's younger brother.