A Problem?

[techno900]

I am sure that there are plenty of people that spend more time on the water than me, but there could well be some misleading or overstated estimates. I have recorded every session since 2005 on a GPS, including moving time, av. speed, top speed and distance. The last four years I have only got in 40 sessions a year. The prior few years, I got in 90 sessions a year.

Session means a day on the water including breaks.
Moving time means that the board(me) is moving. Sitting/standing in one spot without moving, the GPS stops recording time.

The longest day I found was in 2006 on a formula board - 220 minutes or 3:40.

My most recent (last few years) longest day was on 12/29/16 where I spent 2:03 moving on a 6.0 & 5.2 on a 105L board (very flat water).

Several other sessions in the 2-3 hour range, but my average session is between one and two hours.

I call it a day when: the wind dies, I get tired and sloppy, the day comes to an end, I had enough to get my "fix".

I stay in pretty good shape, but with age, I have my limits.

[wdsurf]

One month from being 62 years old youngster compared to you guys!!been doing it for over 30 was out 3 times in the last week of December our windiest month of the year always on Lake Erie I got a safe fun onshore venue with chest deep water so I go!

[isobars]

[techno900]

Iso,

No doubt you are on the water A LOT more than me, and if I had easy, close access to good sailing, I would be in much better sailing condition and add a lot more time to my sessions. I envy anyone that is in outstanding shape & gets their fill of windsurfing.

My prior point is that spending a day sailing for some may seem like they were on the water moving for hours on end, when in reality, it is much less than they think.

There's no doubt about my moving time.

[isobars]

[GURGLETROUSERS]

Thinking about things, a different mind set has taken hold theses last several years. N.W. prefers quality over quantity, but I now find the opposite.

With three seperate obsessions to satisfy (windsurfing, kayaking, and biking) I feel compelled to out 'doing', every single day. Fortunately, stamina is not an issue since I rarely nowadays exceed about 7 tenths effort in any of them, except for just an occasional all out effort for a couple of hours, so a good nights sleep is usually all the recovery/rest time needed to keep it up. (About one day every ten or so off for essential chores- house etc.)

Strangely, some otherwise quite average days stick in my mind and are fondly remembered. It's all down to how I was feeling at the time. One such, and on/off moderate planing day with a rainy sky had me feeling inordinately pleased with myself, and life, because I felt that the effort involved, regardless of reward, was confirmation of what life has come to mean for me, and I was up and running and still fully capable of doing it!

I suppose what I'm saying is that I'm now a bomber pilot, droning away on a routine mission, and no longer a fighter pilot ace, all flash and show. (And pulled muscles, torn ligaments, crocked backs, and forced premature retirement! )

[DelCarpenter]

In 2016, in my 33rd year of board sailing, at the age of 73 I had my largest ever number of sessions, 126.

In spite of a few diminished abilities my level of contentment continues to increase. That is not a matter of getting higher highs. Maybe windsurfing actually gives me a less intense pleasure than it did 20 years ago. Whatever the chemical changes are, the pleasure function I need windsurfing to fulfill is smaller than it used to be. I am more satisfied in the rest of my life (or just less irritated) so the contentment level windsurfing achieves for me is higher than it was. Think of that as similar to someone who now finds half the pay is more than adequate because the expenses went down by two thirds. (That was just an example, maybe my windsurfing “pay” didn’t go down at all.

I am and always have been much lazier than Isobars. Perhaps I've always been less affected by adrenaline, dopamine, ecetera. Or maybe my particular expression of determination was always aroused by something else.

[isobars]

As a doctor, your career offers a whole different set of obligations and priorities than mine did. That, or you're simply not as obsessed as I.

[DelCarpenter]

Passionate, without the blessings or aggravations of obsession, and not a doctor. Hoping to stretch my 33 seasons to 50, at least 3 more than Jim Drake. (An unlikely dream.)

[isobars]