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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 10:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

swchandler wrote:
You might find it interesting to visit the ocean and spend some time in real waves. Not that that's really better than sailing in the Gorge, but I don't think that it would you take too long to realize the real difference, especially with regard to sailing in bigger half mast to mast high waves. To truly understand the flip side of the coin in sailing real waves, the responsibilities and difficulties getting out through the surf says tons about the realities of the scene associated with sailing real waves.


I've sailed the OR coast from Pistol to north of Newport many times, including full-on 3.0 conditions, but have almost always encountered such a rip current and such holey wind that going down the line left me no way to get back upwind. I wasn't smart enough to use much bigger boards there than I use in lakes including the Gorge, but now that I've learned that lesson I'm more interested in returning to the coast. I've also spent several months spread over several trips to Maui, with wind from 6.0 to 3.0, but the swell there is smaller than a good Gorge day, the actual waves were jam packed with people, and I got no bidness at Ho'okipa when it's closed out and 15 feet (by HI standards). 16-17 hand-picked weeks scattered over several years at Padre Island got me one dying morning of surf. Grand Cayman isn't a wave spot. My couple of days at Morro Bay were fun, but not wave sailing. My 3.5 day at Tampa was offshore and flat as a fogged mirror. The Great Lakes get real surf, but were literally icy last trip there. One short trip to northern Sea of Cortez was a bust, as was Chrissy Field. San Diego ... 'nuff said.

Tens of thousands of miles, hours, and dollars for a few hours in "surf" Wardog would legitimately call "moderate chop"? This $#!+'s only worth so much effort, and my effort so far has produced little more than excuses as far as down-the-line wave sailing is concerned. ;-(

Maybe in my next life I'll grow up in Maui rather than Alabama.

OTOH, I wouldn't give up my thousands of days of world-class dirt biking and snowmobiling for all the windsurfing I've ever done, seen, or read about. It all evens out.

\m/
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madspaniard



Joined: 23 May 2005
Posts: 380

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 12:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

coyotewindsurf wrote:
windoggie wrote:
In his last post, it sounds like Iso knows this sock puppet but won't admit it.
isobars wrote:
I know nothing about the sock puppet comment other than the definition of the term: a person who hides behind multiple persona and argues with himself.


If memory serves, \m/ wasn't directly involved in the rec dot sock puppet thing. Maybe his comment has more to do with iW's (and a host of other forums) resident loonie toon.


Confused



you are right, Mike wasn't even posting when the sock puppet thread happened. I still remember the whole thing because it was the year I discovered rec.windsurfing and had a blast reading through all those threads with a bucket of popcorn in my hands.
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windoggi



Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 2743

PostPosted: Fri Feb 22, 2008 1:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:
swchandler wrote:
You might find it interesting to visit the ocean and spend some time in real waves. Not that that's really better than sailing in the Gorge, but I don't think that it would you take too long to realize the real difference, especially with regard to sailing in bigger half mast to mast high waves. To truly understand the flip side of the coin in sailing real waves, the responsibilities and difficulties getting out through the surf says tons about the realities of the scene associated with sailing real waves.


I've sailed the OR coast from Pistol to north of Newport many times, including full-on 3.0 conditions, but have almost always encountered such a rip current and such holey wind that going down the line left me no way to get back upwind. I wasn't smart enough to use much bigger boards there than I use in lakes including the Gorge, but now that I've learned that lesson I'm more interested in returning to the coast. I've also spent several months spread over several trips to Maui, with wind from 6.0 to 3.0, but the swell there is smaller than a good Gorge day, the actual waves were jam packed with people, and I got no bidness at Ho'okipa when it's closed out and 15 feet (by HI standards). 16-17 hand-picked weeks scattered over several years at Padre Island got me one dying morning of surf. Grand Cayman isn't a wave spot. My couple of days at Morro Bay were fun, but not wave sailing. My 3.5 day at Tampa was offshore and flat as a fogged mirror. The Great Lakes get real surf, but were literally icy last trip there. One short trip to northern Sea of Cortez was a bust, as was Chrissy Field. San Diego ... 'nuff said.

Tens of thousands of miles, hours, and dollars for a few hours in "surf" Wardog would legitimately call "moderate chop"? This $#!+'s only worth so much effort, and my effort so far has produced little more than excuses as far as down-the-line wave sailing is concerned. ;-(

Maybe in my next life I'll grow up in Maui rather than Alabama.

OTOH, I wouldn't give up my thousands of days of world-class dirt biking and snowmobiling for all the windsurfing I've ever done, seen, or read about. It all evens out.

\m/


All that and still had time to perfect the dulap.
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River-Lizard



Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 188

PostPosted: Sun Mar 02, 2008 10:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

isobars wrote:

$500 per sail? Jeez, I pull out all the stops when it comes to sails. I pick from the very best sails I can find on the U.S. market, specify the very best materials available for performance, durability and/or lightness, sometimes even have them tweak the shape to suit my sailing style, specify my own colors from a huge color palette for body, trim, monofilm, and kevlar reinforcement, buy NEXT year's models in the winter, and pay the same publicly advertised price any Joe Blow from Elba. Alabama pays ... and even my biggest sail costs less than $500. Then in a couple of years I'll sell them for a couple of hundred bucks less than they cost, for a net cost of something like a hundred bucks per year per sail -- lower annual cost if I keep them longer.

\m/


Who/where are you able to get these sails from?
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 5:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Northwave, in Hood River.

\m/
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River-Lizard



Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 188

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks! Hey, thanks for pointing out those guys... I didn't know that they made all their sails in Hood River, thats great! I sure wouldn't mind supporting some "made in the USA" product for a change. I'll definitely give them a whirl this year. I'm surprised with all the "made in China" controversy that Northwave doesn't get more attention. They should put a little American flag decal on their sails so people know where the sail was made. Thanks again.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

River-Lizard wrote:
I didn't know that they made all their sails in Hood River, thats great! I sure wouldn't mind supporting some "made in the USA" product for a change. ... I'm surprised with all the "made in China" controversy that Northwave doesn't get more attention.


They did have some sails made in Sri Lanka for a couple of years, but they quit doing that something like 3-4 years ago.

But ... "get more attention"? They're swamped with orders most of the time despite not advertising or submitting sails for magazine tests. I've seen some days on which Northwave sails outnumbered all other brands combined at some Gorge sites.

\m/
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's my understanding that Blake Richards is still responsible for Northwave's sail designs. From my past experience, Blake has been one of the core Gorge designers for so many years (since the mid 80s at least). I think that his expertise has stood out in the Gorge and in the Northwest, and I think that's truly unquestioned overall. Getting a US made product is quite unique in the marketplace, and that's definitely noteworthy in today's market. I'm glad that the recognition of a Northwest sail designer is still important.

Frankly, I've been a dedicated buyer of another Northwest windsurfing manufacturer and board designer since 1992. In fact, I just ordered and bought a new Open Ocean 8'2" board that should be delivered this week.

Frankly, I think that many talented folks are working and producing great stuff in the Gorge. From my perspective, that's worthy of our focus and consideration.
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River-Lizard



Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 188

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Is Brian still using the blue foam core for his boards? I saw a couple of new boards of his at Viento last year... brand new, you could smell the resin. Great looking boards. The artwork last year looked really cool.
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swchandler



Joined: 08 Nov 1993
Posts: 10588

PostPosted: Mon Mar 03, 2008 11:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Brian Hinde has been making boards from extruded styrene blanks after the shutdown of the Clark blank operation some time ago, but he has more recently received polyurethane blanks again from a new source. I've been waiting for some time for this milestone, so I'm quite stoked overall. Brian's boards are very unique on the marketplace, and I'm awfully glad that things are getting back on track again with his polyester product. Being a dedicated customer since 1992, I'm really happy to be back in the groove with the signature stuff.
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