Old Soldiers (Etc.)

[GURGLETROUSERS]

I don't know if others who may long ago have peaked yet still stay with windsurfing feel as I do. I suspect many may.

I have a stack of well used boards which carry some occasional happy memories, so now given the choice I often seek out conditions which maximise the pleasure, rather than the out and challenge of best performance.

Today has been a case in point. A north wind, a very messy and surfy sea,(and rain, of course), but I stuck to a less challenging part of the bay and used my old Bic Techno E 112 litre board which dates back to the year 2000.

Clopping it over the swell on an easy stately full plane (5.9 Goya Nexus and R.D.M.) I had a heap more satisfaction than I would have had on a sharper higher performance board tackling the more savage places.

The question is, is that copping out? I don't believe so. It's just that now, at 78 yeras old, I want satisfaction over maximum performance in whatever conditions. Perhaps if some of the others (alone again, as is now the norm) had 'tuned in' to the same way of thinking instead of chasing the image (so called next level) they may still have been ripping up the memories also.

Windsurfing is a state of mind, right!!

[windward1]

I agree, Gurgletrousers. Go for what floats yer boat. Or windsurfer as that may be.

I find myself no longer necessarily going to the place with the highest wind as I look over my choices in the early afternoon. I look at a combination of things as I can extract enjoyment from quite a variety of conditions. Partly because I have the gear for it, but also because I have the mindset for it.

I have 12 years less than you, but have felt the changing of what I seek in my windsurfing. And it varies, and can be different depending on the day. But it is all good.

[NOVAAN]

The whole point of windsurfing is to have fun. What ever it takes is what you should do. After 35 years on the chase that is windsurfing, I find myself looking at less challenging locations to enjoy the ride. Warm water good. Warm air good. Less chop good. Nice rigging good. Easy carry to the water good. A place to rest out of the sun good. More than anything for me is steady wind. It doesn't matter if its steady 6.5 or 4.2 as long as its steady.
Case in point. I just returned from a month windsurfing trip at SPI. It was not the best year for wind. That said it was a great trip. I got lots of water time. So what if I had to rig a 6.5 and use a big board. Some 5.5 and even the 4.7 got wet a few times. Where else can you go in April and get all of the above requirements, stay in the good old USA not need to fly and sail your own gear. I already booked for next year

[cgoudie1]

I love "listening" to you guys, it makes me feel young, strong and virile
(at 60).

-Craig

[DelCarpenter]

I learned long ago (in high school) that my athletic ability was far from high performance. My 32 seasons of windsurfing have always been about the fun. I race competitively (I'm at the USWA Nationals in Corpus Christi TX now), but my competition is with the racers in the back of the pack.... and I'm no stranger to being last.

Some of my windsurfing sessions are about the joy of being challenged. Most of my sessions through the years have focused on the joy of being graceful. There is a joy in achieving a balance with all of the forces. A kind of peacefulness is attained when I've managed to create the sense that I am sailing as well as I can with the given conditions, whether that is at a windspeed of 20 mph or just gliding along at 5 mph.

Without any religious connotation, I like Frank Fox's book title "Zen and the Art of Windsurfing." Early on I used the book to become a more competent windsurfer. Now the title says to me, windsurfing is a journey, not a destination of high performance, but a journey of being graceful, going with the flow.

[U2U2U2]

http://www.iwindsurf.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31143


Just one concept with
Olde Solders

[isobars]

My fun comes from one or more of these things: adrenaline, flow, an altered state of mind, and/or advancing my skills. One at a time will float my boat, but the more of those I can combine at one time, the higher it floats and the bigger the grin gets.

Adrenaline comes with sailing at the edge of control. I know when I exceed it by the sudden stop commonly known as crashing.

Flow refers to those days where nothing goes wrong. Optimally, it means planing hard for much of the day including every slash and every jibe, with plenty of power to do whatever I try to do and no thought required. I might get one of those days per season if my groove and a very steady day of wind coincide ... and both are getting rarer the past few years. A close second is a session like that, even if the rest of the day goes to hell. I had one of those just last week, powered modestly but very steadily for a few hours, completely alone on the river. Then more guys showed up and the wind went to hell.

Ya shoulda been here earlier, as they say. One of the latecomers said he was waiting for it to get warmer. "Dude, it's been 98.6 degrees inside my neoprene since breakfast."

An altered state of mind comes in part with flow, but also can accompany sailing in raging conditions, when the environment itself transports me to another world and I finally quit for safety's sake rather than hunger or thirst. Constant heavy spray, tops blowing off in huge chunks, SLAMMING gusts even on a tautly rigged 3.2, staying upright challenging enough even without a lot of board speed, and always thinking about my ribs, knee, and tendons.

Learning comes with all the above as long as ya pay attention and push yourself.

[joethewindsufa]

FUN and TOW

"we don't remember the days
but we do seem to remember the moments"

my current dilemma is - how to share the mojo ?
when i/we BAF/back n forth some people do not see the fun in it
others try and say - "it is too hard/difficult"

windsurfing is my religion and my connection with nature and ALL
if people don't see it or don't want it, it's ok
i'll keep the stoke to myself and as the like-minded say here
enjoy it for the rest of my days - regardless of age or conditions

now if only we could arrange more water access, clean water, rigging areas, the end to poverty / hunger, hatred, peace

must be time for another session

[isobars]

I was once asked ... by a guy watching a dozen of us tear up a very windy lake ... whether WSing is fun.

"Why else would we work that hard at it?"

He still didn't get it. His fun was in the two bottles of hard liquor he was downing.

[joethewindsufa]

his "time in a bottle"
ours is on the water