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whitevan01



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 607

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Urban, I wish I had started in my mid-40's, I'd be a lot better now!! I started windsurfing at 52 and have been doing it relatively full time (in between working) for about 5 years now.

So, get out there! btw, I come from a boat sailing background also.
Welcome!!
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

UrbanFisher wrote:
Isobars, Yeah, fishing is another passion of mine. Not sure what you looked up

I was hoping I could also try and use it as an SUP for fishing. Wind blowing mount sail, no wind, grab fishing rod and paddle!

I was seriously thinking that it's just a young man's sport

Four vehicles pulled into a very windy park last year, and four drivers got out. Three of us began rigging ASAP; the fourth just watched, then finally walked over to us and said in obvious shock and awe: "I THOUGHT THIS WAS A YOUNG MAN'S SPORT!" What little hair the three of us had was silver or white; I was the kid in the group at 69.

As they say in my cancer support groups: You'll do fine.

A guy told me a couple of years ago that he had tried most SUPs, and the one that impressed him most was the Mistral Superlight ... a superb longboard which is as common as old VW beetles.

What I saw about your fishing was your video of fishing dead smack downtown in San Antonio. While everybody else was scurrying around the city doing city stuff wearing city faces and city clothes, you were making like Isaac Walton, ignoring the fact that you were fishing over concrete guard rails, stepping over collapsing urban fences, making sure your fly rod and line cleared street signs and pedestrians, spotting and pulling big fish out of what most people probably regard as just another piece of real estate they can't park their cars on. It was like skiing wast-deep untracked powder down Lombard Street, hunting pheasants on Wall Street, or logo-high down-the-line wave sailing on the Sunset Strip. You weren't just reading between the lines, you were living between the lines, enjoying a dimension almost no one else can even see. Good on ya!
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CFLPaul



Joined: 01 Nov 2012
Posts: 11

PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Funny about the fishing. When we first started having kids I decided I had to cut down on a lot of my fun activities because I wanted to spend time with the family. But I did not cut out fishing because we could always do that and have ever since he could even hold his snoopy rod. Well now he is a fairly accomplished fisherman and we take the kayaks all the time, but we only have 2 so that leaves my wife and daughter at home when we do. We were actually at a fund raiser for our fishing club when he spotted the windsurfer. I thought to myself......You can strap a cooler / seat to the that for a SUP so you can take the wife and daughter too.

I love isobars post

Tight lines and sail on Very Happy
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spennie



Joined: 13 Oct 1995
Posts: 975
Location: Thousand Oaks, CA

PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My friend Fred learned to windsurf at 76 and died on his board at 81. The average age of windsurfers in the U.S. is supposedly something like 47. I myself am 57, and sail incessantly, getting over 30 days a year, and one year 78!

Too old? Don't think so! Lots of good advice here, take it!

_________________
Spennie the Wind Junkie
www.WindJunkie.net
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dsgrntlxmply



Joined: 16 Jun 2010
Posts: 255

PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 5:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I first tried windsurfing at age 39 (1993) during a trip to Maui, but was too out of shape (250+ lb.) to do much, especially on old-style beginner gear. I tried again 5 and 6 years later on Kaua'i, and had much the same experience. Nonetheless I maintained armchair enthusiasm for the sport, and a seed was planted, though my physical condition continued only to get worse.

At age 56 amidst other major life changes, I decided to use windsurfing as part of my motivation to get into better condition. I spent 6 months with careful diet and rigorous gym work, got into better condition, and tried again on Maui. The new style beginner gear was amazingly better, and my improved condition made everything easier, though not truly easy.

I got bitten hard by the bug, came back home, and finally located local instruction and rental gear. I spent more months with diet and exercise, dropped a total of around 100 pounds, to around 186 now at age 59.

I am now in my third year of dedicated in-season windsurfing: as many weekends as conditions allow, and (now that I have gear and skills to sail a closer site), occasional weekday afternoons.

In this process I have had a few injuries, none serious. As a result of some near-misses, I strongly recommend wearing a helmet and protective eyewear, and using a PFD.

So yes, it is possible to start this sport at a later age, especially if you can use it as part of your motivation toward other beneficial changes.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat Nov 03, 2012 6:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dsgrntlxmply wrote:
I decided to use windsurfing as part of my motivation to get into better condition. I spent 6 months with careful diet and rigorous gym work

I never got near a gym until I moved away from year-round WSing, dropped my other year-round sports because they hurt too much, and wanted to hit the water on a full plane on the first sufficiently warm April day. Maximizing our fun outdoors is a good motivation for paying some dues in the gym. Equally important is finding ways to use the gym productively that are also fun ... sort of. Some people stare at some of the things I do there, but I'm having more fun than they are, benefiting far more than they are, and spending far less time there than they are. If I wanted to be an even bigger ass than some people here consider me to be, I'd love to wear a shirt in the gym that says "I just achieved more in five minutes than you do in a week". And the older and more out-of-shape we are, the more we benefit from (sound) exercise.
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dsgrntlxmply



Joined: 16 Jun 2010
Posts: 255

PostPosted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
... Some people stare at some of the things I do there, but I'm having more fun than they are...


There is a machine at my gym that calls itself "Upper Back", but that I call "Popeye Windsurfing Simulator." If a trainer ever saw me using it the way that I do he'd probably object. I put 115-125 pounds on the stack, grab the handles, close my eyes, and pretend that I am wrangling a very overpowered sail with no harness.

If nothing else, it helps a little toward alleviating my withdrawal symptoms during the winter.
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wynsurfer



Joined: 24 Aug 2007
Posts: 940

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 6:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It seems to me that windsurfing, which is often viewed as an extreme sport, is becoming something of a geriatric sport, in that most of us seem to be at least middle aged, around 50 or so. I started like so many others here in my thirties. I got the bug bad, and moved to Maui in April of 1990, and stayed till the end of November. After returning home to Connecticut, I lost interest in the sport and sailed less and less each year. I had gotten spoiled! Several years went by where I did'nt sail at all, and I nearly gave it up. Now I live a block from the water. I'm sailing more often now, but not enough. Winds here are light. I decided that what I really need is a longboard. A new board is out of the question right now, so I finally found an earlr 90's F2 Strato 360. The condition was hardly used , much like the Comet urbanfisher located. It's bigger though, 360x 66x 218liters. The origional owner never put the straps on the board, nor harness lines on the boom. Here is something I can sail in very little wind! I can also paddle it when there is no wind.

urbanfisher, did you buy the comet? For $75.00 I don't think you could go wrong. The one regret that I have is that I sold my old Ultra Cat. Because of where i live that is the type of board one needs if they wany to sail alot. Does not matter if you can plane ot not, you can still get out there and get fresh air, exercise and enjoyment.

Believe it or not I am excited to have found a 20 year old relic, that many people would never want to step foot on, but they are the ones sailing at most 5 or six times a year where I live. Let them laugh! I'll be having fun.

Age is a state of mind mostly. You start getting old when you stop moving and having fun. I'd much rather die on my board at 80 than in an old folks home, or a hospital.

Windsurfing is one of those activities that makes you feel lucky to be alive. I believe it is keeping us all young.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sun Dec 23, 2012 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

dsgrntlxmply wrote:
There is a machine at my gym that calls itself "Upper Back", but that I call "Popeye Windsurfing Simulator." If a trainer ever saw me using it the way that I do he'd probably object. I put 115-125 pounds on the stack, grab the handles, close my eyes, and pretend that I am wrangling a very overpowered sail with no harness.

One of my "favorites" is an overhead trapeze bar on pulleys counterweighted by selectable weight stacks. It would normally be used for standing or seated lat pulldowns, but I use it as a WSing jumping simulator. I set the stack weight to roughly half my body weight, step 6-8 feet off to one side so the weights are lifted when my arms are extended, crouch a bit, then use leg power and a big pull on the counterweights to get a few feet of air as I fly about 15 feet laterally towards the other side, where I drop into a crouch again while lifting the stack again, and reverse ... and repeat ... and repeat ... in a smooth and continuous rhythm until my legs, arms, or lungs fail me. Observers named it the "Superman", and people give me lots of room pretty quickly. The footwork can go either way ... regular stance or switch stance ... for variety, and I can select the amount of counterweight to emphasize legs or arms/shoulders. It doesn't take long to get your heart rate over 100% of theoretical max, so it's an excellent component of flat-out interval training. You can adjust the rhythm to some degree to match the tunes in your iPod by changing your pendulum period by adjusting your trajectory and range, or you can just go for max height and distance and use the music to pump you up.

It's not suitable for crowded gyms. Very Happy
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Darbonne



Joined: 27 Jan 2012
Posts: 252
Location: Farmerville, Louisiana

PostPosted: Mon Dec 24, 2012 4:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I feel ya. I just started windsurfing in March of last year, and I will be 50 on New Years Day. I love windsurfing and have always been fascinated by it as well.. I took a couple of lessons in the 80's when I lived in San Fran, but I could never get it going forward. Today's gear is so much better and easier to sail. It is still a difficult sport and I feel like I am stuck in learning hell, but it is all worth it. I was at the Pumpkin Cup in Oct. and had a blast. Get a good beginner board and learn to tack and sail upwind. I just got my second board last month and am looking forward to a breakout year. Mariner Sails is an excellent shop. There is also a shop I have been dealing with in Gulfport MS. Tommy Whitman at Gulfport Boardsports is a great guy and has supplied me with inexpensive used gear. At my age I feel like this is the best thing I could do for my health. You will definitely feel it after a good session. Go for it.
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