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dcharlton



Joined: 24 Apr 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 8:38 pm    Post subject: Who are we??? Reply with quote

So who exactly are we as windsurfers??? As far as I can tell the following profile seems to apply:

1) We are not preoccupied with others perception (we're not the latest 'fad' and we just don't seem to care that people just don't get what we do') We don't care if people are impressed or even know what 'windsurfing' is. We don't care about how it looks to bystanders on the beach. We just live in our moment, in our perception, in our time and our rush.

2) Willingness to delay immediate gratification (this sport is simply incomprehensible, who else would put up with a sport where it takes 2 to 3 Years to learn how to just change direction without falling!!!)

3) Obsession/Addiction/Compulsion: We change work and family and friend schedules to go to the beach and wait for the wind. I heard the saying 'for every 10 years as a heroin addict, you spend 7 waiting around' Sound familiar???? Waiting to rig, waiting to pull the trigger and hit the beach, waiting to see what other are sailing???

4) No room for Posers: There's no one to pose for, we're not out there to pose, we're the real deal. A poser doesn't go out a mile from shore in 40 Degree water, a poser doesn't go out in miserable shorebreak to risk life, limb and 2 grand worth of gear. We don't pose, nobody is looking. We just 'are'.

5) We are planners: we think ahead, we pack the night before, we recognize a single mast base nut or fin screw will derail us.

6) We are persistent: We don't give up, we don't surrender, we've found a way to enjoy blasting 20-30MPH on the water without just turning a throttle. We enjoyed every victory at sea, no matter how trivial, the first up haul, the first tack, the first foot strap, the first jype. Each step taking skill, effort and courage. Each step beckoning the next endeavor.

7) We appreciate nature in a way most will never imagine: Think about it, how close we are to nature, it's fury, it's beauty, it's raw element. The closest most folks get is a power boat. We're in the water and wind, a part of it, we become one with it all out there!

Who are we? We are the warrior poets of the sea, the embracers of nature's wraith, the embodiment of time, spirit, soul, body and life itself, we are windsurfers!

DC
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WaterKook



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 1713
Location: The Dude abides!!!!!

PostPosted: Fri Mar 14, 2014 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I love it! Well stated!
As for the poser thing I have said that for a long time compared to surfing. Surfing you can paddle out to the lineup and never catch a wave and there is a good chance nobody will notice. After you can state "yeah man I was out there that day and it was huge!" Yet you most likely never caught a wave and nobody noticed. But saying you were out there is enough to make people think you actually did something. (I am talking from true experience with people I have known).
Windsurfing you are actually doing it and if not others will notice. (hard to miss a sail being up on floundering in the water). Or you are kooking out. No faking it.
Yes it takes skill and years to get to that level.
I am not saying surfing does not take skill. I am saying it is much easier to hide below the radar. Much better for the poser. Wink

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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:29 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, I can't possibly resist this, and while my friends and I are the absolute
embodiment of every single point you make, plus we're good looking too,
here are a few traits I've observed in other windsurfers.

1. They're whiney:" "It's too cold, It's too hot, It's too wet, It's too choppy, The wind is too strong, the wind is not strong enough, It's gusty, The waves are
too big, The waves aren't big enough, It's too sandy, it's too rocky, There's no parking, it's over developed, It's too salty, It's too fresh, It's too crowded,
There need to be more of us, There are sharks.............................."

2, They're snooty: "What, you don't have a 3.257 3 baton wave sail, or a
hecto-fin double to single cave 70ltr 210 wave board, have you been living in a cave the last 3 months? Oh, and your kiter friends are lazy pussies."
What, you didn't spend the Winter in Baja, Maui, Margarita...................."

3. They're old: "Martha, where's my Tilley, where's the sunscreen, where's
the PFD, where's the body armor, where's the Ibuprofen, where are my
teeth? "

4. They stretch the Truth: "Man, you should have been here last week,
yesterday, 2 hours ago..............it was the best conditions I've ever sailed."

Sorry, but as a warrior poet, I just couldn't help myself. ;*)

-Craig
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dcharlton



Joined: 24 Apr 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well played, sir!
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U2U2U2



Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 5467
Location: Shipsterns Bluff, Tasmania. Colorado

PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

umm

interesting, I must say that some at one time another, BOTH posts, apply to me. Some of the conversation, too cold, too windy .. is common ground stuff.. aside from the new Whizer Quad & 3.275m 3B sails by the Worlds foremost sail designer.

OTOH I have some mates who dont know what a mast nut is, and cant remember vital components.. most stuff can be borrower..so just bring beer

Any sport that continues over a long period of time is a life changing event, for me it is for sure

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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:38 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

And you too sir. I love your list and I want it to be every person I meet!

-Craig

dcharlton wrote:
Well played, sir!
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dcharlton and Craig both nailed it. I love lemonade, but some lemons are just not ripe enough even for that. If some folks want to equate commenting on crappy conditions with whining about them, so be it. Many of us, OTOH, ask people what's out there if we have reason to believe it's crappy; they want others' input before finding and putting on their sunscreen, PFD, headgear, wetsuit, teeth, etc. Sure, people who will sail anything learn faster, but others' objective is just fun; learning is a bonus, not a requirement, for them. Both are legitimate approaches to the sport.

It's a good thing not every person we meet is dcharlton's windsurfer, though. The world would grind to a halt if that were the case, and there'd be no one to support even Jason Greenslate, let alone the rest of us surfer dudes. Who'd pay for our lobster? Hannity was appalled when Jason said, "No" to Hannity's offer to get him an $80,000 job driving a truck in South Dakota. Are you kidding, Sean? Do you not understand that there's more to life than money? Sean's one extreme, Jason's another (and Pelosi supports Jason). There's are several happy mediums, and many of us have found them. What's a little less money, a lesser job title, and refusal to make commitments if it gets us on the water more often?
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SDinPVB



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few of the common factors that I have observed for windsurfers have been mentioned, like fascination with going fast on the water, the adrenaline thing, and definitely with the gear itself. I also suspect that we share a very strong independent nature, which is evidenced by the "lack of care if others are watching", but more importantly, a need to do challenging things that push us to our limits, whatever they may be. I've done a lot of sports and still surf a lot, so I think another factor is that windsurfing really has no upper limit in terms of what is possible. Whether cruising around, wave sailing, or racing, there is always a more challenging day coming, better guys out there to try and catch up with, and new gear to try out to see if that helps move up another notch. Windsurfing is not necessarily better than anything else, but it surely captures a number of the best things you can find in other sports and combines them into a very attractive package. It's just too bad that our sport lost its way in the "middle ages" of the 1990's. If I could make one suggestion, in order to sustain our sport and make sure we have no shortage of the non-stop pop-up ads on the sides of our screens about gear for sale--do what it takes to get someone new into this sport and soon! Give good and honest advice and information to the newbie, avoid selling them used gear that is junk, and sacrifice a few days of your time to sail with them. So whoever we may "be", the end result of any discussion like this ought to put us into action--we need to be good diplomats and recruiters--if it's so great, then we should be able to grow our numbers! The future of our beloved sport and our wallets depend on this!
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dcharlton



Joined: 24 Apr 2002
Posts: 414

PostPosted: Wed Mar 19, 2014 7:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SDinPVB is right on target with the recruiting part. May I add that the most rewarding part of my windsuring experience is to watch a buddy go from uphaul, to footstraps to water start to jybe and knowing I had a role in changing his perpective (possibly his life).


DC
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guest1



Joined: 20 Mar 2014
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hood River – Best View House

The morning presents with perched panoramic view,
A mighty river of intriguing site.
We descend to this utopia’s edge, past most courteous drivers,
Who have abandoned their desire to fight!
As conditions a-line, transporting gentle ebb to powerful fury,
We enter the river with anxious fright.
Flying across the river to fast approaching shore, with smiles abound,
We joyfully revel in achieved new personal height.
Occasionally slipping into the swell, we lift our heads to sense Zen,
As we find Mt Hood revealing her majestic might.
Thank You, Julie, for allowing us to stake temporary claim,
To your comforting nest and its facets of pleasing light.
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