Best downwind runs in New England...is anybody out there?

[stoneaxe]

Downwind has never really taken off here. Not sure why. All you need to do is look at a coastal map of NE to know there are opportunities, spots that work but just not much discussion. I'd still like to do more of it but it needs a crew to make it work....at least two to shuttle and for safety.

To get any kind of thing going we would 1st need to find some good spots. It's surprising how some spots you think would work don't and others that surprisingly do.  Next is access....shuttling is key so a good coastal road with multiple access points along it. 3rd...getting together to do it. We'll never have the luxury of lots of folks going at the same time like Maliko or Hood River making rides or shuttles easy. So finding spots somewhat central to what small crew there is would be important.

So who's out there....where have you gone? What do you know of that looks good? I've had a few decent runs, a few terrible ones and many so so. Most fun I've done is Green Harbor to Plymouth Beach in 25-30 NNE...easy launch behind the jetty and a nice near shore run. Best conditions I've seen (but was unfortunately racing the wrong way that day) was in Vinyard Sound between Woods Hole and Oak Bluffs. I was racing from Oak Bluffs back to Falmouth. Woods Hole to Hyannis would have had you gliding/surfing the whole way....perfectly lined up 6'-8' swells with the tops feathering and even breaking. Buzzards Bay has looked good at times and I've done some downbreezers along the Falmouth shore there that showed promise.

I really suck at it...it's my Achille's heel of SUP. My balance is so visually dependent and getting constantly nudged from behind I never feel comfortable unless I'm actually gliding. I've been getting back to my upwind/downwind workouts so hopefully I'll be able to improve a bit. Part of why DW hasn't taken off as well here is winter. Anybody looking to do some summer runs I'm still game.

[Bean]

My balance is so visually dependent and getting constantly nudged from behind I never feel comfortable unless I'm actually gliding.

You've mentioned this before, but reading it this time, it finally clicked.  That's exactly how I feel when I'm downwinding.  I also get the same sensation when surfing, skiing or snowboarding in low light.

Here in NJ, the bottom contour is very gradual so you would have to paddle a few miles off shore to get in line with the natural swell/wind direction for a DW'er.  For example, we sometimes get SSE winds in the afternoon combined with a SSE Swell, which would be great for DW.  But as it gets closer to shore, the swell catches the shallow bottom contour and refracts east toward shore crossing things up. 

[Board Stiff]

Hey Stoney,

I love downwinding (or at least downbreezing, as I rarely get out with sustained winds higher than 20 mph or so and gusts int the 30s). The biggest challenge I've found with trying to downwind in northern New England is that we rarely get winds with both the sustained speed and proper direction, especially outside of winter, when it's really f'ing cold on the water in 30 mph winds! 

The few times I've tried downwinding on the ocean when the wind has been blowing parallel to the coast on the southern ME and NH seacoast, there have always been thigh to chest high waves heading towards shore, which hit me from the side rather than lining up behind me. I paddled from Kittery to York in conditions like this a couple times (once on my knees the whole way!), which wasn't much fun. A couple times Raf and I paddled from OOB to Crescent Beach in Cape Elizabeth with a W wind. One time was an easy downbreezer, the other time had some good sized swell coming at an angle that kept knocking me over, though Raf made some pretty quick progress on a better downwinding board that day.

The best downwind/downbreezers I've done have been inland ones, where the ocean waves aren't a factor and the bumps are aligned with the wind direction. Badger and I have done Little Bay/Great Bay in southern New Hampshire quite a few times. It can work in winds from any direction, but the most common and best run is with wind from the west, which can give a 5-6 mile run if we start in the Lamprey River, with usually 2-3 miles of really good runners on knee to thigh high bumps. The Piscataqua river, from Dover to Portsmouth Harbor is another option for NW winds, which we've tried a couple times but never caught the wind quite right for more than a short burst. Worst case it's a lazy paddle downriver if the wind stays light, but when it starts howling, there's a lot of fetch and we've got caught some ripping glides.

Newfound lake in NH can be fun in a NW wind. When I first started paddling, I did a couple downbreezers on my 11'6" cruiser board there. There are good launch/take out spots that line up for a 5-6 mile run the length of the lake.

Up in Maine, Casco Bay seems like another option with a lot of fetch and some protection from side swells. It lines up for NE winds, which should be good in the nor'easters we get in New England. Falmouth to South Portland is a good six mile run, and it could be extended to 9 miles by launching from Cousins Island. I tried to try it once with Raf but unfortunately broke a paddle on my first stroke (fortunately before I was too far to get back to shore!). Thought about doing that one on Saturday, but the water looked really messy, with giant swells running up into the bay and possibly sneaking in from between the islands farther up.

There's a group of surfski/OC paddlers that do some "downwind" races up in Maine each year that are open to SUP. The Casco Bay Challenge is a 16 mile race in June from South Portland to Mere Point in Brunswick. Unfortunately, the wind rarely lines up that way. I tried the race one year with a few other SUPs when I was training for the CCBC (Kim Reilly came up for it that year too), and it was kind of a disaster. The wind was blowing more from the east that day, especially through the gaps between the outer islands, so it was mainly just a long paddle with stretches of heavy side chop and wind. I ended up getting lost and paddled about 3 miles out of the way in the northern part of the bay before getting back on track! 

Those guys also do another downwind event in the fall, which I think is supposed to be from York to Kittery. The one year I was going to do it, the weather was really crappy (rain, light wind), so they ended up just doing a loop paddle instead.

Anyway, I'd love to do some more downwinding, and I hope more people get into it in New England. If you're ever up for a run north of Boston, give me a shout.

BS 

[FloridaWindSUP]

One thing I remember from when I lived in the Boston area (Lynn and Nahant) was that the driving and beach access / parking situation was hell, especially during the all-too-brief summer. It was difficult and expensive enough getting oneself and one's gear to *a* beach, nevermind tripping between two beaches for a downwinder. Of course, it might not be so bad in more rural parts of New England. Could be some good "Gorge Effect" standing waves in some of the tidal channels in Maine and whatnot when the tides are lined up right.

[Badger]

One run that looks good to me is similar to the one Luke (Board Stiff) mentioned only its longer and lines up better with the prevailing SW winds of summer. A crossing of Saco Bay Maine from Biddeford Pool to Cape Elizabeth is ten miles. I've made that run in my sailboat many times years ago and often had 3 to 4 foot following seas. Ultimately you would want to do it when there is no significant ocean swell running that would conflict with the coastal wind swell.

The problem is that it's nearly impossible to plan ocean downwinders from point to point in New England. You have to jump on the opportunities almost the moment they happen.

Onshore winds usually make the best conditions. If you know someone with a boat all you have to do is have them take you upwind and drop you off. Wind direction wouldn't matter as much and you would be able to choose the length of your run.

Offshore winds are sometimes the strongest and most predictable. Sebago Lake in Maine is deep and has some long runs from the N and NW. It often gets four foot waves.

[stoneaxe]

The problem is that it's nearly impossible to plan ocean downwinders from point to point in New England. You have to jump on the opportunities almost the moment they happen.

I think that's the problem....it's tough to get people together when you can plan never mind when the opportunity pops up.

[Bean]

I've considered getting a boat ride 5-6 miles out into the wind and swell and downwinding back to port.  Has anyone tried that?

[yugi]

I’d be checking out all those ferries near Cape Cod. The private boat drop-off sounds expensive unless you have the right friends. Or make friends with fishermen heading out anyway.

P-town
Martha’s vinyard / Nantucket
Block Island
Long Island

Are they board friendly?

[addapost]

I tried for years. I gave up, for all the problems listed above and more. I don't believe this is the place for it. I sold my 14' Bullet and I just surf now. If it's blowing like stink I play in the sea kayak with my crazy kayak crew. YMMV

[PabstSUP]

When I was living briefly in RI where I surfed but never DW'ed I always wondered about a run from Block Island (based on taking the Ferry from Galilee) to Narragansett on a heavy SW which happens pretty often. Seems like you would be able to take advantage of ocean swells and for part of the run from Pt. Judith to 'Gansett you would be fairly close to shore. Definitely some logistics involved but could be a blast.  Some of the DWing folks in the Tri-state have been talking about a run from Orient Point to New London and taking the ferry back from there but I'm not sure if boards are allowed. 

[stoneaxe]

I could actually ask the guy that owns the Plymouth to P'town ferry and whale watch boats. My wife knows him well and he's provided us with the safety boat for the CCBC for years now.
I also talked about doing this way back with the Vinyard ferry. 10$ to bring a board over I believe. Have to wait for a SE wind back to Falmouth

[burchas]

I usually have a flexible schedule and likely to join you for a good run in the RI area. It's a schlep but good runs with zoners are worth it.
Pretty sure off-shore will be up for it as well, he is on a mission to cover every run in the Tri-State area and I'm usually right behind him

[Off-Shore]

Yuval is right. Having moved from Hong Kong to CT I’m impressed with what is possible downwinding-wise here on the East Coast and I’m determined as the weather warms up to make the most of downwinding this coming season. In particular with the aim to pioneer some new routes over the year whilst getting some more people in the region into downwinding.

If you are like me who have raced and want something that gives you the same sense of community as racing gives but you want to have more fun then downwinding is where it is at. Currently I am involved with two downwinding groups. One out of Long Island near Sag Harbor where our main run is the H2O, Havens Beach to Orient Point and the other is the Tri State Downwinding Group encompassing CT, NJ and NY where we focus on Long Island Sound, the Hudson and Lower and Upper Bay. What I have learnt in the relatively short time I have been here is you need to be flexible and willing to travel to pick the best routes for the conditions at the time. It also is best when you have 2-4 people interested so you can car pool. This year I’m also going to focus on trying to get some boat support as we did in Hong Kong. When you have a person with a boat who can take 3-5 of you not only do you get more adventurous, but you can go in any wind direction and there is a huge safety factor when pioneering new routes when tides and conditions can change.

So if you you want to augment your racing or fitness or just SUP with downwinding, and are in the region of NJ, CT and NY States PM me. If you can imagine it, you can do it.

I’d also be up for a trip further afield if conditions look good and am sure Yuval would be up for it too! As some above have stated we have looked at some bigger runs from Orient to New London and even Montauk to New London which would be done with a support boat.

As an aside, the whole reason I stay paddle-fit now is not for racing but for downwinding.

[JC50]

I’ve been eyeballing a run from gloucester to hull.....would suck to commute through the city and would need a decent group but the NE winds line it up well and would make a good run.

GH to plymouth might work on a NNE

[stoneaxe]

Gloucester to Hull could be a grind...lots of ship/boat traffic too. I've paddled Boston Harbor to Manchester...the rebound gets a bit crazy at times.

GH to Plymouth does work NNE....I've done it twice, once solo and once with my son-in-law.