Bay Area Windsurf Shops?

[mwood5]

I'm heading up there in a few weeks and thought I'd check out some shops...but, looking at the sfba.org site here:
http://www.sfba.org/shops.shtml
There doesn't appear to really be much in SF. Most of these look like just guys selling gear, er ordering gear as needed. Is that it? Maybe I was just overlooking something on the list, or there's something that's not on the list....

later,

m

[LeeD]

You should also consider SunsetSailboards, run by Kevin, the former NeilPryde/JP rep who ran BerkeleyBoardsports for like 6 years.
He actually windsurfs locally and everywhere, is looking for a shop location currently, and knows his stuff for whatever gear you need for whatever spot around.
www.sunsetsailboards.
As a final testimony, he took over my job in '98, and did a good job keeping the locals with good gear and good advice.

[jse]

Of those that are listed, only Helm, Boardsports School, Delta Windsurf and KiteWindsurf are stores that are a) in business and b) open for browsing.

Steve

[mwood5]

Maybe a broader topic...or one that I'm sure has been discussed to death in my decade's absence from this sport....but, what gives here? Here in Dallas there is one shop. It's the same shop from back in the 80s heyday, but it's still here. There were a few others...I worked at one of them. In Corpus, there is the one on Bird Island and that might be it as well. Is there only a handful of real shops left? I know that in Hawaii and the Gorge there are plenty of shops, but outside of that, is this it?

Reasons? Lack of windsurfing community? Online shops getting all the sales? I understand that if there are fewer windsurfers these days, compared with a decade ago, that a few shops might go away, but come on....letting online shops eat into the business is crazy. It's not like it's cheap to ship boards, right? Adding $100-150 onto a board price starts to eat into "online savings pretty quickly.

This really hurts us all in the longrun. The one shop in town here does a great job of stocking what they can, but there's no possible way for them to have more than one or two brands of boards and sails. I'd love to be able to check out...in person...RRD, Quatro, Tabou, etc....but they just aren't around here. So, if I want them, I've got to mailorder/shop online. Really, that's an expensive experiment, so like most of us, I do a fair amount of used board shopping. I figure, if it's not right for me, I'll flip it for about what I paid.

Are the vendors ok with setting up these guys as dealerships without a real retail storefront?

later,

m

[LeeD]

Can't answer for moves of the vendors.....
I, like you, worked in the industry. Me, from '83 to '03 at various shops around here.
The total windsurfing population here in the bayarea has dropped well over 70% from it's heyday in the late '80's to early '90's.
Datsa lotsa lost customers.
Datsa lotsa lost $$$ and interest.
Shop owners got older and lost interest, or got rich.
Corpus used to have more than 3 shops.
Heck, SPID had 2 shops then and now.
SFBay area is NOT considered a windsurfing destination resort area, due to cold weather and water, so less travellers come here to windsurf.
Naturally, we probably have to longest season with the most planable days with descent air and water temps, if you can stand airtemps 49 and up and same waters......

[human_catapult]

[madspaniard]

I also buy fro Kevin, he's a local sailor with great knoweledge and carries all the good stuff.

[johnl]

I'll give Kevin the big nod also. I bought two boards from him this summer and both were better deals than I would have gotten at the Gorge (no tax included). Plus he is great about allowing you to demo the board BEFORE you buy it. And since hs is all over the bay (just check his posts) he is easy to hook up wth AND will deliver your new board to you at one of these locations.

[geffert]

Come see us! We took over ASD last year and our Coyote Point store is full of every part that you can think of. We even validate parking!

We also demo boards/sails that Kevin does not carry and we refer business to him...and him to us as we have different brands.
Here is a partial list of the brands we carry:

-Starboard
-Naish
-Tabou
-Quatro
-Bic
-Loft
-North
-Mistral
-Hot Sails Maui
-Aerotech
-Chinook
-Dakine
-Mystic
-Prolimit
-Xcel
-Sol
-Ozone
-FOne
-Litewave
etc.

We are a full windsurfing, kiteboarding, Standup Paddle School, Retail shop and Demo Center.

Also, come hang out with us on the weekend of Aug 2-3. We will have Matt Prichard in town for a tips and tricks clinic and we will be offering free demos of Tabou boards all weekend.
We offer a "Try before you buy" program and we also match online prices and provide full service.

Cheers and hope to see you all soon!
-Rebecca
Boardsports School & Shop
Alameda, San Francisco, and San Mateo

[mwood5]

Thanks Rebecca....I'll be there the week of Aug 11-14...I'll be working mostly, but will bring my harness just in case I can sneak out for a few hours. I'll definitely cab it over to the shop to have a look around.

m