It’d been a while since I went to Democrat Point, the western end of Fire Island. The point forms an offset inlet from the sea to the bay behind the barrier island, providing an area of ever-variant seas and conditions. While I’d talked about going there with several members of my club, in the end only one other could make it – DA, a fellow instructor and experienced paddler. With just the two of this, I didn’t need a trailer to move boats, which allowed us more direct routes to the put-in.
It’s been a while since I did any truly active water, and to be very honest my rolls are not what they were, so we were conservative in our plan, setting decision points ahead of time. We even stopped in a cove to practice some rolls, after which I added a layer of neoprene. While it was a hot day, once wet and in the breeze, I got a little chilly.
The wave predictions were short on height and a bit short on period. We ventured around the point and were on the ocean side, watching the waves come in from afar. They would break on a distant sandbank, then continue a bit more gently in. On the beach they were not too dumpy, but neither was the beach long and sloping. Landing and launching were both a bit touch and go.
We got some good rides in, until things got tricky with the flood. A steady current ran parallel to the beach, meaning that was one surfed, there was a steady drag to the left, requiring paddling back out against that current to the good spot. After a couple of loops of this, we went and played in the tiderace that formed near the mouth of the inlet – fast, very choppy, with current racing in while the water was low, swell popping like firecrackers on the tide. I got a couple of rides in but mostly it was just maintaining position and keeping upright.
Speaking of which, we did have one rescue, which was pretty textbook and was over by the time we drifted out of the tiderace and into the bay. We decided to call it a day and paddled back, spotting an osprey nest along the way.
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