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aaron1234
Joined: 22 Jun 1998
Posts: 58
Location: Marin
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 Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| carl wrote: | | aaron1234 wrote: | | Also vela uses stock JP and starboard fins which I was not to happy with. Next time I go even though its a pain I'm bringing my own gear. |
Bringing your fins is about 5000000 times easier than lugging the whole kit thru the airport, let alone customs. Don't forget lots of extra cash for tips to porters and agents and excess baggage fees. Somes planes, shuttles, taxis, buses won't take large items too, (then what do you do? start cussin'!!). |
Very true but I'm not sure that vela will allow you to swap fins on their gear. They are pretty strict with their rules. October is a busy time in Jeri. You can bring your gear on American Airlines to Fortaleza. If you hire transport to Jeri they can carry your gear on the roof. Our guy picked us up in a range rover ready to carry whatever.
The drive from Fortaleza to jeri is like 6 hours or something |
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bbrand
Joined: 30 May 1998
Posts: 86
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| Posted: Wed Jun 18, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject: American Airlines does not fly to Fortaleza... |
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| Only someone who's never traveled that far with wndsrf gear, or has someone else paying for it, would travel with it. |
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carl
Joined: 25 Feb 1997
Posts: 2674
Location: SF bay area
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| Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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| aaron1234 wrote: |
Very true but I'm not sure that vela will allow you to swap fins on their gear. They are pretty strict with their rules. October is a busy time in Jeri. You can bring your gear on American Airlines to Fortaleza. If you hire transport to Jeri they can carry your gear on the roof. Our guy picked us up in a range rover ready to carry whatever.
The drive from Fortaleza to jeri is like 6 hours or something |
Never been to Jeri but Vela HQ is right here in Scotts Valley CA.
Get a permission note from the main Vela office when you book.
If nothing else, I can't believe you couldn't swap fins down the beach with your own screwdriver. Just make sure the "board nazi" is not looking or
no board for you!! |
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karlvelaman
Joined: 20 Aug 2002
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:20 pm Post subject: Jericoacoara / Icaraizinho - Reserving Board Size |
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Hello Marty et. al.
Just adding my comment lest anyone confuse the posting by "carl" (not me) ...
| Quote: | Never been to Jeri but Vela HQ is right here in Scotts Valley CA.
Get a permission note from the main Vela office when you book. |
... with the other "Karl" (me) who is at the Vela HQ (which moved and has been based in Hood River for 3 years as of today).
As for the meat of the matter: RESERVED RENTAL SIZES
You will need to select a category in advance.
SMALL - 68L - 90L For advanced-intermediate sailors, with experienced in waterstarting on short boards
MEDIUM - 91L - 110L For sailors with limited waterstart experience, larger advanced sailors, or advanced sailors in lighter wind conditions.
LARGE - 111L and up Perfect for light wind cruising, for sailors learning to waterstart, to use the harness and/or getting into the foot straps.
Since Marty is traveling over the peak-season (October), if he wants to ensure that he gets something within the range he wants to pre-book that size. From what Marty has explained to us, I highly recommend choosing SMALL, since that is what he wants when it is blowing as expected there: nuking.  Guests are welcome to swap out between categories, but only when everyone else already booked for that category has what they want. On a light-wind day (if that even happens in Jeri during October...) when Marty would want to up-size, he is welcome to do so.
When booking at any Vela destination the rule of thumb to go by is: pre-book the board category that best suits your riding style / ability assuming optimal wind conditions. If, once you get there, the winds are lighter, everyone will likely want something bigger, and the staff at each location is great at helping to get everyone out on the best gear for the conditions.
... and FYI: If you are bringing your own fins down, make sure to check with the staff at the center who may (or may not) allow the swap. The team in Jeri (and let's not forget Icaraizinho too) would be stoked to help you make your experience as great as imaginable, but there are limitations to "customization" of the rental fleet.
Ciao for now,
Karl[/quote] |
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martyrosse
Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 118
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| Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | Guests are welcome to swap out between categories, but only when everyone else already booked for that category has what they want.
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This is why I'm making a decent effort to get the category right. I think I'll want to be on one of two boards in the Vela rack: JP RWW 83 or JP RRW 91. Given my weight and the expected conditions, I'm right on the cusp. So while most other sailors fit neatly in the snall category and thus are assured they can bounce around easily and be assured they can get the board they want, I'll probably have to switch categories to bounce to a different board, and thus only get the board I want after everyone else booked for that category has what they want. If I book SMALL, and find that in the typical nuking conditions (subjective) that the 83 is really too small for me, and the 91s are taken, I'm hosed! I would not be happy to be stuck on too small a board at Jeri for 3 weeks. So I just want to at least do what I can to pick the right category. Given everything I've heard about the conditions at Jeri and my weight, the 91 might be my first preference. Recently I sailed Waddel when average sized guys were on 4.7's, and I was on a 5.8 and 90 liter Evo, and I was not even close to overpowered or feeling my board was too big. If anything, I was feeling underpowered. So that's why I'm looking for some info from someone very close to my size who has sailed at Jeri in October. |
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martyrosse
Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 118
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| Posted: Thu Jun 19, 2008 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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| On the other hand, I wonder who is going to be larger than me and using up the medium boards. So maybe small is the way to go. |
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karlvelaman
Joined: 20 Aug 2002
Posts: 22
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| Posted: Fri Jun 20, 2008 10:32 am Post subject: |
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Hi Marty,
I understand your dilemma, but the good news is: this problem is not unique, either to Jeri or to any other Vela center. The staff will do everything in their power to make sure that you are able to get out on the water with the gear best-suited for your (and everyone's) needs.
In your second post you pretty much answered the questions entirely as I would have: to take the SMALL category from the start as there are more people hoping for 90L and down. In fact, during the high-season months there are typically a couple of people who book late and end up being stuck with MEDIUM boards because the spaces for SMALL rentals are sold out.
If so, and if you want to swap with them for any of the days / all of the days, you will instantly become a hero to that lucky guest!
Hope this helps. If you learn more feedback from others that have sailed in Jeri and want to change categories, no problem at all: just drop us a line.
Salu2,
Karl |
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