summer windsurfing trip stories?

[freecal18]

just wondering if anybody out there has firsthand experience spending a summer or longer at a prime windsurfing location on a tight budget. if so how did you pull it off? sleeping in a car? finding a temporary job on site? what did you eat (canned beans all summer)? i would like to do something like this someday so any detail involving logistics or cost is appreciated.

[beaglebuddy]

Not exactly sure about Maui, I'm on Kauai.
But food banks are pretty good here, my church runs one every week, stand in line and you will receive enough food to survive no problem.
Local people but lots of haole beach bums, no shame, no questions what so ever, just free food!

I know that it is administrated from Oahu for all the islands.
Lot's of places in Hawaii you can stay on the beach at county parks, just need a permit.
One warning however, keep to yourself as many of these beach bums are drug addict thieves, opportunists and con artists.
Lots of people come to the islands with nothing, some wash out but many find their way.
Get an old island car or van, you can sleep in it at the county park and all your gear will be secure.
In Hawaii you can live outside year round.

[isobars]

I spent 3-6 months each year from 1988 though 1999 in the Gorge area, chasing wind from the coast to >300 miles up the Columbia River, living in a van I converted for that purpose.

Expense? Van fuel.

Food? Not beans; real meals. I did all my own cooking ... big meal at breakfast for all-day energy, cold lunch and supper. I installed a two-propane stove in my van, but a portable Coleman PROPANE (gasoline stoves can catch fire) stove would work fine. My van also had a microwave oven, but that's certainly not necessary. It also had a very small 12V refrigerator, but a good cooler works fine. I fixed many one-skillet or one-pot meals, so even one burner gets the job done. (I usually still use only one burner in the motor home I use these days for overnight trips after moving to the Gorge area in 1999.) I kept canned food in the van in case I didn't pass by a grocery store often enough. I had running water in my van, but a 5-gal water bottle with a spigot works fine, and I just washed my dirty dishes in the largest pot or pan I had used. Ya don't need no steenkin' sink.

Logistics? None. Just park'n'play, then park'n'sleep.

Priorities? WSing, then eating, then sleeping.

Holy CRAP but I got in a ton of sailing. I set my alarm for well before dawn, checked the wind, and either drove or went back to sleep in the cool morning air ... a welcome break when I had sailed until 9:30 the night before, then de-rigged, eaten some supper, and driven to a sleeping spot. I don't remember having to close my windows or sliding side door more than 3-4 nights per season because of rain or bugs.

Utterly fantastic! Every wind addict who can spare the time and income should do it! All you really need is a van or pickup'n'shell, a bed, a stove, and a cooler; I've seen some even more serious wind bums make do on less. (Tip: I wouldn't even consider it in the eastern half of the mainland; too many/much bugs, heat, humidity, rain, private land, etc. Nor would I try it again in California, where you're squeezed between criminals, crowds, and crushing governmental constraints.)

I'd feel guilty living off the unearned dole, such as food banks or unemployment benefits. That's intended for people down and out involuntarily, not deliberately, IMO and that of most donors. I did mine after retirement, living on my pension, my wife's salary, enough military disability benefits (~$4 a day at present) to buy my bowl of cereal most days, plus contract income I earned some years testing WSing gear for a magazine. Additionally, I've estimated many times that I got more hours of sailable wind most seasons than Maui got.

[outcast]

....but....it can make you go nuts too.

[hilton08]

[isobars]

[hilton08]

[isobars]

Most, yes, but many still fit the OP's criteria and would make good examples for him. Some have summers off from decent-paying jobs and choose to live in vans or pickups all summer, others grab low-paying, short-term jobs when not WSing or snowboarding, then scrimp like paupers between gigs ... whatever it takes to maximize their play time. It's still doable without full-time or even full seasonal well-paying jobs. Of course, fuel costs have compounded the challenge. Freecal's biggest expense beyond a vehicle may be the cost to get from MN to whatever prime location he has in mind.

That raises another question: what summertime WSing destination options does he have, and how will he pay for the gear he'll need?