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rigitrite
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Posts: 520 Location: Kansas City
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Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 5:10 pm Post subject: |
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Cannot be a dead kiter: board shorts are not worn over wetsuit. _________________ Kansas City |
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flaherty
Joined: 01 May 1997 Posts: 437
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olebsailor
Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 2 Location: North Andover, MA
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Posted: Fri May 09, 2014 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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amarie wrote: | ...
For me, the choice to do and stick with this sport is based on perspective. I came from a youth/high school/collegiate sailing background and needed an outlet for water sports after college. People tell me windsurfing is cumbersome and equipment-intensive. If I were looking for a replacement for, say, running or even cycling, I might agree. But when replacing the maintenance, expense, and logistical issues of an entire boat and coordinating schedules with a crew, believe me, windsurfing feels pretty carefree and portable. Not to mention faster and more fun. ...
People wishing to recruit new windsurfers may benefit from recruiting from sports even more cumbersome and expensive. I say this only partially tongue in cheek. |
Exactly what drove me... I got tired of having to hook up with crew and get down to the wharf, etc. I got me a "sailboat" that didn't need more crew, and could go anywhere I could drive. Back in the day, regattas up and down the coast took you to new interesting places. My original WS went on top of the car at the beginning of summer, went to work, and then anywhere I had time for. |
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PeconicPuffin
Joined: 07 Jun 2004 Posts: 1830
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Posted: Sat May 10, 2014 7:12 am Post subject: |
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Eight pages dedicated to depression and misery...boy this will attract new windsurfers.
Perhaps letting this buzzkill fade away would be helpful. Posting here is counterproductive. _________________ Michael
http://www.peconicpuffin.com |
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rigitrite
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Posts: 520 Location: Kansas City
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2014 12:25 pm Post subject: |
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Yes,as its creator, this thread has my permission to die. _________________ Kansas City |
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Darbonne
Joined: 27 Jan 2012 Posts: 252 Location: Farmerville, Louisiana
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 7:29 am Post subject: |
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Going to FL to visit my sister Thursday, and taking my Start so I can introduce my nieces and nephews to windsurfing. It's worth a try. |
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isobars
Joined: 12 Dec 1999 Posts: 20935
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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And yet more evidence was this weekend's Hood River swap meet, normally regarded as the biggest in the country. This one struck me as down by 40% in sellers and maybe 60% in buyers from the last umpteen years of May swaps. Not a good sign.
The shoppers were a different crowd, too, with many expecting stuff to be danged near given away. Only one person even looked at a pair of top-of-the-line carbon booms in near-new condition, and he felt 40% of new discount/internet price was out of line. Not a good sign.
Roosevelt is normally SWAMPED this time of the year. Not this weekend. WSer attendance was off by maybe 80%, maybe even more, despite an excellent forecast. Not a good sign.
Even worse, from my perspective, was the the overwhelming avalanche of them kitey things. A few, even a few dozen, is not a problem if they're all good, solid advanced to expert sailors. But this year the place was flat mobbed out with strings (even the kiters were getting tangled in others' lines on the ground, where black lines are invisible), on the lawn and on the water, leaving little room for WSers. Not a good sign.
But worst of all was the alarming (in)competence level of many kiters. I reallyreallyreally wish novices and intermediates would go learn their sport at less risky, less unique venues. People playing hard in the swell and people learning how to operate their toys -- whether they involve strings, poles, or paddles -- is a risky mix. A telegraphed wind dropoff and direction shift stranded many lesser kiters offshore, where only a PWC saved them from a LONG swim with or without hypothermia (one guy was in a shorty when many others were in 5mm drysuits or steamers + vests)... not to mention a 120-mile rescue drive by highway. One very tentative kiter sailed right across my nose as I waterstarted, oblivious to the fact that a powered-up WSer can pop from neck-deep to a full plane within one second. Another was surprised when WSers cranked hard turns off the lips in front of him as he followed them in their blind spot. Tip: it's gonna happen; don't tailgate.
Not a good sign.
But there was a ray of sunshine penetrating the zoo: this was the best-behaved, most conscientious, least confrontational mob of humanity I've ever seen there, on both land and water. Folks who wanted to sleep actually could, almost all dogs were leashed (a good thing considering the $ix-figure$ array of fragile gear on the ground and the dog-owners' liability if any of it is damaged), and I saw or heard of zero conflicts anywhere.
That was a good sign. |
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outcast
Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724
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rigitrite
Joined: 19 Sep 2007 Posts: 520 Location: Kansas City
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Posted: Tue May 20, 2014 9:42 pm Post subject: |
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My God......what have I done??? _________________ Kansas City |
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outcast
Joined: 04 May 2004 Posts: 2724
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