LOCALadk Magazine

Fall 2019 LOCALadk Magazine 39 LOCALadk Autumn Windsurfing at Point Au Roche By Michael Zeugin with photos by Terry Barrett It is October. The summer beachgoers are gone. You stand on a cliff, letting the wind-driven rain sting your face. Below you a long sandy beach extends to the left, meeting rocky rubble and sand beyond. Seagulls hunker against the ground; their beaks point into the weather that's sweeping in from the south. It is blowing hard. Four- to six-foot swells line up in white- capped rows that stretch across the water to the horizon. In the distance, gray mists break open to frame the mountains of Vermont and New York. To the left, rough gray cliffs drop into water that shadows the blue-green colors of the spruce line above. On the right, a broad bay extends to forest, farm- land, and houses that speckle the shore. Looking south you see the northern flank of the Cumberland Head peninsula as it reaches across the water for Vermont. On the rocks below swells form perfect barrels and break at your feet, beckon- ing. There are no boats on the water. For now, this place is yours. In the summer months the expanse of grass and sand at Point Au Roche State Park is reser ved for swimmers. But af- ter Labor Day the roped-off swimming beach reverts to its natural state, perfect for windsurfing. Autumn is when Point Au Roche, just outside the Blue Line ( Valcour Island to the south is the northernmost Adirondack Park inclusion on Lake Champlain), becomes a destination for wind-addicts from both the North Countr y and Canada. Although most people think of windsurfing as a summer sport, the prime season for experienced windsurfers starts in September, when the clash of warm and cold air masses signal the change of sea- sons and higher winds. Although Point Au Roche works for windsurfing on a hand- ful of wind directions, I reser ve it for Lake Champlain's south winds. Southerly blows are frequent and predictable in au- tumn, when winds can reach up to 25- 45 mph. On a stormy October day like this, I first check the Aus- able Point windsurfing site just off Exit 35 on the Northway. There are large waves but almost no wind, which makes lit- tle sense with near-gale warnings. I pull out my binoculars and see all hell breaking loose just off shore. A small board and sail are needed to maintain control in the strong off- shore winds, but the lack of wind close to shore would make launching difficult. Dedicated windsurfers carr y a quiver of boards and sails for a variety of conditions. The 35 mph winds offshore re- quire a "sinker" (a board that won't float your body weight without planing) and a small sail. Without a minimum of 20 mph near shore, however, I will not be able to use the right board and still reach the wind line visible over deeper waters. But Point Au Roche beach is lined up in the center of the lake, where it's blowing hardest. Plus, the onshore wind di- rection builds waves that can be surfed. Windsurfers can se- lect the best option for the wind, especially because Point Au Roche is just 15 minutes away from Ausable Point, 6 miles north of Plattsburgh, New York. Heading up the Bear Swamp Road from AuSable Point, I spot my friend Bob Wrazin driving downhill to check the wind, as I already have. I wave him to a stop. A few words yelled into the rain across the highway turn him around to follow me north, though he knows the way. The Point Au Roche Park is easy to find. From the northbound side of the Northway, take the Point Au Roche exit just north of Plattsburgh and follow the park signs: a right at the exit onto Route 9, the next left—about a mile down the road— and then a right into the park entrance. Bob stands in the amphitheater of grass and sand at Point Au Roche looking into the wind, waves, and rain with a scowl. But I know he's up for this. He earned his windsurfing wings near Buffalo on Lake Erie. I'm looking at the shore break, which runs for miles along the cur ved bay. This is the kind of playground windsurfers dream of: slick green-gray swells

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