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Great day on the water - a little stoke story
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windwiner



Joined: 26 Jun 2002
Posts: 128
Location: Berkeley

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:43 pm    Post subject: Great day on the water - a little stoke story Reply with quote

Sailed the access yesterday, 85lt 4.7m. Solid wind, warm water, ebbing, all smiles. A really fun afternoon of sailing, but that is not what made it such a great day on the water. My buddy Tom stopped windsurfing around 15 years ago. He was pretty into it back in the day, had good equipment, sailed all over the bay area and vacationed everywhere from the Gorge to Baja to sail.
We have been talking about getting him back on the water for the last few years. This year he got serious about it and bought a used wetsuit and harness. His old boards are still in good shape but the rig was too sketchy to use. We had been waiting for the right time/conditions and yesterday everything lined up perfectly. We rigged my 5.3 up and put it on his old Mistral Shredder (he is a big guy). I think both of us had low expectations and the whole idea was to just try it again. After a little refresher on beach start/water starts I grabbed my gear and went to have some fun. After a couple trips across the river I came back to check on him. To my surprise there is Tom, feet in the straps, hooked in and planning along. It was not necessarily pretty, but by the end of the day he was sailing across the river, falling off, and coming back to the same spot he started from. Everything came together perfectly, the equipment, the wind, tide, location. Watched the sunset from the grass with a couple of beers and headed home STOKED!
I'm sure he is moving slowly today, but I am also sure he will be back on the water again very soon. Welcome back Tom.
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beallmd



Joined: 10 May 1998
Posts: 1154

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice story. You know, that's funny, I was telling my wife today, before I read the story, that I'm seeing a small trickle of old windsurfers coming back. Maybe!?
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bert



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 665

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Couple of weeks ago I met a guy who told me he was getting back to windsurfing after a dozen years absence. It was his first day back. Told me he was a bit apprehensive as it was blowing pretty good at Coyote and he was out of shape. He told me that Gary at Helm said he's seeing more windsurfers starting to come back to the sport. Anyway the dude went out and after a hour or so he broke his boom but made it back in. Saw him again last week with a new carbon boom and a more determined look . I think we got another one back Smile
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dllee



Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 5328
Location: East Bay

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Most decent 1999 sails are as good as anything today, but are older.
I have 1995 sails I can match up with anyone using their any year sails, if the winds are 16-27mph, my sail being a 6.0.
Anyone, by that I mean not fully sponsored pro guys like TysonPoor.
Talking board speed and jibing.
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windoggi



Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 2743

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 11:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Great time to get back into sailing...tons of good, used gear out there. Gear that was abandoned by people who have stopped sailing. The circle of life or something.
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/w\
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peter19u



Joined: 11 Jun 2012
Posts: 27

PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 10:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I was an avid windsurfer back in the late 80's and used to spend every free moment looking for wind. I remember Coyote being so crowded you could hardly find a place to launch. Sailed all the time for about 10 years and then kids and a career ended that. Got into boating since that was something kids and the whole family could enjoy. Fast forward about 15 years. Kids are a little older and got the itch to get out on the water and sail again. Pulled out my dated gear and headed to Sherman and had an absolute blast. Felt like i had never left. Funny thing was that all the guys there were the same guys who sailed back when I did so I fit right in at age 50 and i wasn't the only guy there with gray hair! Bought all new used gear over the winter and now try to get out at least 2-3 times a week. Had my first morning session at Sherman Island in about 15 years and was smiling ear to ear. So greatful that I got back into the sport and plan on sailing for as long as I possibly can.
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windowsurfer



Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 13
Location: Chilliwack, BC >> Harrison Lake

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes - count me in w the returning silverbacks. My hiatus not as long, but think I fit the profile too. In my case, loading up the truck...big drive...camping...rigging...de-rig and do it all in reverse put me off the water and on the golf course. I still sailed avidly when at my cottage (w rigged sails) - but that is far away (our retirement Plan A option) and we r only there 3 wks a summer.

Now, with retirement getting close, I have sold-bought-swapped my way back into relevant gear (my sails all still great - just needed some boards, neoprene & fins) and will be back at'er this year as I collect all my gear at one place and get back into a weekly or more outing.

It is a sport for life, afterall.
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windoggi



Joined: 22 Feb 2002
Posts: 2743

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sailing is also a great narcotic. When I'm blasting across our beautiful bay, I don't feel any of my elderly aches and pains I get from blasting across our beautiful bay.
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/w\
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loopy



Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 2:30 pm    Post subject: long hiatus Reply with quote

yeah, just got back after a long hiatus off the water. can't remember the settings on my booms, etc. but was good once on the water. those 7 days of no wind sure felt like eternity.
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cruzanboard



Joined: 14 Jun 2009
Posts: 57

PostPosted: Mon Jul 14, 2014 4:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Similar story for me.
Learned to sail as a kid on El Toro's and Sunfish.
Did WS in college in the early 80's in Santa Cruz.
Quit to get serious and do the job/family/house thing.
Returned to WS 5 years ago.
Just the same narcotic as when I left it. (and yes, better gear)
Only ach a bit more after a session at Sherman.

Like the pitch in the iWindsurf newsletter about learning to WS this summer.
Gotta keep the young blood flowing into this sport.
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