August _____________________________________________ _2003
http://www.triadwindsurfing.com
What’s Going
On:
Check
out our web site:
Our club web master, Jason Wohlgemuth,
continues to do a great job with the web site. Check it out at
www.triadwindsurfing.com for updated information, member forum, links, past
newsletters, and new pictures. Check out all the great pictures taken from our
most recent Learn to Sail Day that Jason posted on the web site. You can link
to it from the home page. Jason also recently sent an email to club members
regarding how to post your own pictures to the web site. Check it out and thank
Jason next time you see him for taking the time out to put the web site
together.
Triad
Windsurfing Club on FOX8:
In case you missed it, Jim McSorley from FOX8, came out to our last Learn to Sail Day
and got us some great coverage on TV. Don Wrenn and
Jim Drake provided on-camera interviews and Jason Wohlgemuth and Tony Lombardo
were shown sailing. Mark Pace was shown standing around….way to go, Mark! Some
club members have a tape of the coverage. Jason is working to put portions of
it on the club web site. Or come out to the next Learn to Sail Day on September
13th to borrow a copy of the tape.
Club events calendar:
Labor Day Weekend Unofficial Hatteras Club Trip Contact Debbie for Info (See President’s Corner)
Sept 13 Learn to Windsurf Day
Sept 26-28 Emerald
Isle Trip Contact Debbie for Info (See President’s
Corner)
Club President – Don Wrenn 869-6256 iidbis@mindspring.com
Club Vice-President – Karol Wolicki 545-8391 ktwdoctor@aol.com
Newsletter Editor – Mac
Barnhardt 545-6355
Send all stories, reports,
pictures, and whatever to: mbarnhardt@triad.rr.com.
Club Treasurer/Secretary – Keny Kirschtein 854-9057 keny@elsouth.com
Trip Coordinator – Debbie Wrenn 869-6256 iidbis@mindspring.com
The President’s Corner – Don Wrenn
The light winds of summer are on us, unless you are willing to take your chances playing with the thunderstorms in the afternoons. The coast has been a different story. There have been only a few tropical storms, but the old Bermuda High has set up off shore. And with the low pressure waves that keep stalling out over central NC, the Outer Banks, in particular have seen lots of windy days.
The week of the 4th of July was a great example. By Wednesday, the systems had taken their place and the winds picked up to sailable levels. By Friday, it was blowing SW 25-30 every afternoon like clockwork. From what I heard, it continued till the following Tuesday.
We had a great time, but were disappointed that we were the only club members out there to enjoy it. What has happened to everyone? All of the events that we have had this year have suffered from poor attendance. The club trip in May usually has 20 + people attend. We only had 10 this spring. The Learn to Windsurf Day, Memorial Day, and 4th of July trips have had very few if any people show up. I can’t even get people to sign up for the mowing schedule at the site. Our last Learn to Windsurf day was a huge success. We had 19 beginners who were very enthusiastic about learning. At last count, we had signed 5 new members out of this group. Unfortunately, we had just enough club members to handle the crowd that we had. The lack of enthusiasm has me concerned about the future of the club. The current officers are trying to maintain the momentum of the club and it is becoming more of a struggle. What happens when there is no one to take their places when they are burned out from trying to hold the club together? If you want to see what excitement about windsurfing looks like, come out to the next Learn to Windsurf Day Sept. 13 at the site.
Mowing Schedule
We have tried several ways in the past for keeping the site mowed. This year I would like to set up a schedule. The way it will work is volunteers will take a month at a time to look after the mowing. This doesn’t mean you have to mow every week, only when necessary. The club has a lawnmower in the container at the site. So contact me if you would like to take a month. I’ll go ahead and take May to get us started and I‘ll make sure it has been mowed again before the LTW Day. We should go ahead and schedule until Oct.
Thanks,
Don Wrenn
May Don Wrenn
June
July
Aug, Sept, and Oct
Upcoming Trips
Labor Day Weekend is not too far away so it’s time to plan
to go to
The Club Trip to Emerald Isle is Sept. 26-28. Debbie is taking deposits now to reserve your place. $50 per person will hold your spot. Send your checks made out to Debbie Wrenn. The reservations are on a first come first served basis. The rooms in Sound Sailor are the first to go, so send it now.
For those of you who don’t know about the EI Trip, we rent a house that is located on the sound at Emerald Isle NC. The house is known as Sound Sailors. It is a four bedroom house and you can sail right out the back door. The water is shallow almost the entire way across and is a very beginner friendly place to sail. The house is fantastic with all the extras you would want in a beach house. When we have filled all the rooms there, we try to rent some nearby houses to catch the overflow. They are usually within walking distance. The cost of this trip is usually around $60 per person, depending on the number of people going, and the number of houses we rent. It usually includes after sailing “Happy Hour” drinks Fri. and Sat. evenings and dinner on Sat. night, and accommodations for two nights. It’s a great deal! For the beginners who don’t have equipment the club trip is the only time you can take out some of the equipment from the container at the site. Just let one of the officers know that you plan to do this.
Ok you know who you are if you haven’t paid your dues. Get on the ball and take care of it now. Write the check and send it off to Keny. I plan to change the combination at the site on the next Learn To Windsurf Day. We will send out an e-mail with the new combination the week before to everyone who is paid up.
(Ed Note: Please send
your 2003 club dues to Keny Kirschstein,
our club Treasurer. Keny’s contact info is 854-9057 keny@elsouth.com . You can mail your check
to Keny, made out to Triad Windsurfing, at
As I mentioned before we have at least five new club members from the last Learn To Windsurf Day. I hope you get to meet some of the other members in the near future and a good way to do that is to join us on some of our activities. The equipment in the container at the site is there for you to use, however, it is to remain at the site and not taken to another location. The only time it is taken somewhere else is the two club trips to Emerald Isle. If you have any questions or concerns contact one of the officers. I would like to encourage anyone who has gear for sale that is suitable for beginners to please advertise it as “beginner friendly”. I plan to do a beginner clinic in the near future to help anyone in the club who is interested. A great time for this would be the Emerald Isle trip if there is enough interest.
As usual we need help for this. It takes a minimum of 12 members to handle an average crowd. Don’t worry if you feel that you can’t teach. There are many other things that need to be done. We need people to greet and direct people to sign in, people to handle sign in, teachers, rescue kayaks, and more. It takes a lot of time and effort to do this event, but we also have a lot of fun doing it. We meet a lot of new people and get to know other members better. If you are a beginner it is a great way to learn more about windsurfing and pick up some new things to try. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.
- Equipment For
1) 7.8 Aerotech
PowerLite sail– Excellent Condition - $150
Call
Mark Pace 336-643-9428 or 336-210-9041 or email: mark.pace@att.net
2) 2000
7.5 Neil Pryde V-8 / Excellent condition / paid $640
new / selling for $250
Contact Jeff Shanklin
887-4928
3) Mistral
Explosion 288, 130 lts., Good Condition, $200.00
Includes fin and footstraps.
Contact David Lee at
336-662-9646 or email dlee@compuconusa.com
4) 1990 Fanatic Ultracat (According to Jim, you won’t believe
the price! It comes with it’s own board bag, cool
graphics, great shape with no dings, and you’ll get a free beer!)
Contact Jim
Crawford at 336-969-6141 to check out the board
5) 98 Pro Tech Convertible 273 93 lts. GC board, board bag, & fin $400
94 Mistrial Shredder 298 128 lts. VGC board ,board bag, fin, & mast foot $350
Elvstrom 210 Complete kids rig includes kids board & complete rig with lightweight
mast, boom, 2m sail, & mast foot. The board works with kids up to 100 lbs. The rig will
fit the kids board or any board that uses a star foot base. $200
Contact Don Wrenn 869-6256 iidbis@mindspring.com
6) Fanatic Mega-Cat board; 250 litres flotation, in great shape, $350.00
North Sail; Infinity, 6.0 meters, good shape,
$55.00
North Sail; Spectro,
7.0 meters, good shape, $75.00
Gastra Sail; 8.0 meters, like new, $50.00
Contact David Johnson, xantos@ols.net
, 727-5174 (day), 983-3606 (night)
7)1999 Neil Pryde Sails-
4.7NR (Like New)
$250
5.3MPR (Like New) $250
5.7MPR (Great Condition)
$225
6.5V8 (Good Condition)
$200
7.0V8 (Like New) $300
7.5V8 (Fair Condition) $150
1999 Neil Pryde Masts (Fiberspar)…
430CM (55% carbon) $125
490CM (55% carbon) $150
Call Keny
Kirschtein 854-9057 or email keny@elsouth.net
8) F2 Ride 282 – great slalom free ride shortboard in excellent condition, early planer, and very
fast. Volume is 115 liters. Board, Board Bag, straps & fin - $600
F2 Phoenix 340 – great lake
& coastal sound longboard, can pull up
centerboard to sail like a shortboard in heavier
winds. Excellent condition – Board, Board Bag, straps, and fin - $600
World Sails 5.6 sail $200 –
This is a great sail for slalom, bump & jump, or waves. It has an optional
camber for those gusty days, has a lot of range, and is in excellent condition.
Call Mac Barnhardt at
545-6355 or email mbarnhardt@triad.rr.com.
If you have equipment for
sale that you want listed in the newsletter, send Mac Barnhardt the details via
email mbarnhardt@triad.rr.com.
This one requires a broadband internet connection (DSL or
Cable) since it provides streaming video. This site is based in
Before the Emerald Isle trip, I had experienced a six month drought of windsurfing due to moving, nasty weather, and a nasty 15 day cold that cost me a week with the guys in Hatteras. Not to mention, quite a bit of harassment in Mark Pace’s article in last month’s newsletter. After seeing a few too many pictures of these guys enjoying the hot tub together, (not that there’s anything wrong with that) I don’t think I missed too much. So after going 6 months without sailing, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning as I packed for Emerald Isle before sun up. All was right in the world and I was salivating like a Pavlovian dog while packing my boards on my trailer…… Then the phone rang. My Dad had some important news to share with me that delayed my trip by a couple hours. I missed meeting Don, Debbie, Karol, & Val for breakfast in Burlington, so I figured I would just eat all meals in my car along the way, and only stop when absolutely necessary.
Somewhere between Raleigh and Emerald Isle in one of the many metropolises I saw blue lights flashing in my rear view mirror. I figured this would be a good time to stop. I had a little time to do some thinking as the cop scanned my record to check out my deviant history. I was imagining white caps in front of Sound Sailors, and I had decided that the windsurfing gods were angry with me, and never wanted me to sail again. When he came back to my car, he just told me to be careful, and to enjoy my trip. I decided against asking for a 100 mph escort to Sound Sailors, and went on my merry way. An hour later, I arrived at Sound Sailors and I remember thinking how accomplished I had become in backing my trailer into tight spots when all of a sudden…..scrraaaatch. What was that? In an effort to miss the owner’s flower beds, I managed to scratch Mark’s gas cap cover with one of my trailer lights. I offered to have it repaired but being the gentlemen he is, Mark told me not to worry about it. Since we shared a room, he paid me back later by snoring louder than a Briggs & Stratten 3.5, which forced me out of the room and on to the couch downstairs.
Anyway, after my 2 hour delay, my chat with the police, and my little incident in the driveway, I went to check out the water only to find……No Wind! Duhhhhh!!!!
We all decided to make the best of it and went to the beach. We took my surf kayak down to the beach, and watched Mark learn the ropes (code for bust his #$$) in the waves. After we got back to the house, I took over Margarita duty, and that seemed to put a smile on everyone’s face even though very few of us had sailed that day. Keny & Joyce had arrived and joined in on the festivities. Don, Debbie, Karol, Val, and I went to eat out a seafood restaurant. I wish I could remember the name so I could not recommend it. Afterwards, we went back to the house and talked until Dave Johnson arrived.
Saturday morning produced little wind but the afternoon
outlook appeared promising according to Doppler Don. Don, Debbie, Karol, Val, and I decided to
take a bike trip from the Aquarium up to
When we all arrived back at Sound Sailors, the wind was blowing 15-20 so we all made a mad dash to the water, and enjoyed several hours of awesome sailing, especially for someone you had experienced a six month hiatus like me. Out on the water with me were Don Wrenn, Karol Wolicki, Mark Pace, Dave Johnson, and Keny Kirschstein who was the lone kite surfer in the group. I swear I could see Mark grinning from ear to ear from 100 yards away, and you couldn’t have knocked that grin off with a baseball bat.
We sailed until late in the day before joining everyone in the house for a typical Sound Sailor’s feast. Debbie, Val, Joyce, and Don cooked a fantastic chicken dinner that put an end to all conversation for 20 minutes. Later in the evening Debbie, Karol, Mark, Joyce, and I started a game of Killer UNO that I’m sure kept everyone awake until late in the evening. Sorry guys, but it is impossible to play this game quietly so you might as well join in the chaos. If you haven’t played this game before, it is like regular UNO with a violent twist as it is played 3 times as fast and seems like total chaos.
Sunday morning only produced a 10 mph wind so Mark and I opted for the beach as others went for another bike ride. Everyone made the most of their remaining hours as we always have trouble leaving this dream house. So Debbie…..when’s our next trip? Oh yeah, September 27th. Count me in!
-Jeff Shanklin-
Summer
Sailing – by Mac Barnhardt
I had the good fortune to go windsurfing twice in great conditions this summer so far. After not having any big 20mph+ sailing days in summer of 2002, this had been a very nice change.
Jeff Clark and I made a 1 ˝ day trip to
I spent the week of July 6th in
According to many postings on rec.windsurfing,
this has been a windy summer on the Outer Banks and most of the NC/SC coastal
areas, not something you usually see every year.