Triad Windsurfing

The Official Newsletter of the Triad Windsurfing Club

May _____________________________________________ _2003

http://www.triadwindsurfing.com

What’s Going On:

1) 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 3102 Ardoch Court, Greensboro, NC 27410. Or, you can also send your dues to any of the other club officers as well. Please don’t delay.

2) Big thanks go out to Gerald Steinmayer and Tony Lombardo for showing up at the Site Clean Up Day April 5^th on such a rainy morning. They brought a chain saw and cut up the downed trees from this past winter’s ice storms. We were able to place all the cut wood and branches in a pile off to the side.

A second clean up day took place on May 10 to finish off what was started on April 5th. According to Don Wrenn: “The clean up day was very successful. The site now looks fantastic. The trailer has been organized and all the Learn to Windsurf equipment is rigged and ready to go. I want to give a big thanks to Charlie Prewett, Jason Wohlgemuth, Mark Pace, Tony Lombardo, and Jeff Shanklin for all the work that was done. It looked like Tony and Jason were getting their rewards as I was leaving. They were beginning to plane on their 7.5's.”

3) Club events calendar:

Memorial Weekend Hatteras Trip Contact Debbie for Info

May 31 Learn to Windsurf Day (See attachment)

June 14 Follow up Day (Learn to Windsurf Day attendees can return to the site for more sailing)

July 4^th Weekend Hatteras Trip Contact Debbie for Info

Labor Day Weekend Hatteras Trip Contact Debbie for Info

Sept 13 Learn to Windsurf Day

Sept 26-28 Emerald Isle Trip Contact Debbie for Info

4) Look for the Spring Club Trip report in the next newsletter, as well as a recap from Learn to Windsurf Day. Speaking of which, be sure to get out there and support the club on Saturday, May 31^st at our Learn to Windsurf Day from 10-3. We need help with anything: signing in folks, rigging equipment (please be there at 9am), rescue kayak duty, instruction, etc. You don’t have to instruct if you don’t want to…we just need bodies there to help throughout the day with different things. See the attached flyer to pass along to your friends and family.

5) May 9-13 brought good winds to Belews Lake. I actually made it out there on Monday, May 12 after work and caught some good, albeit gusty, wind. It was the most members on the water sailing at one time that I can remember. Don and Debbie Wrenn, David Lee, John Calvin, and Tony Lombardo were out there. Tony had sailed for 4 days in a row out at the site and was planning on a 5th. Is that a record? I know other club members were out there over the span of those 5 days catching the wind.

Club Contacts

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

Triad Windsurfing Club

Do’s and Don’ts

We are entering the season that that our lakeside site sees the most use from our club members. We feel it’s a good time to remind members of some of our club rules. Please obey them, and if you encounter any problems at the site. Please notify an officer so that it can be handled.

• No launching of any motorized watercraft from our site. (boats, jet skis, sea doos, etc.)
• Please don’t encourage any landing of motorized watercraft at our site. (if you have friends who would like to stop by to see you have them anchor in the cove on the left side of our beach)
• If you invite guests to the site please have them fill out a wavier (found in the container) if they plan on entering the water or using any of the equipment from the container. All guests should be accompanied by a member at all times.
• Membership includes immediate family members living in the same household. Please do not give the site combination to anyone who does not qualify as a club member. If you are at the site and someone claims they have forgotten the combination please verify that they are a paid up member before giving them the combination. We try to keep a current membership roster on the bulletin board in the container
• Any member may store equipment in the container. If you do, please clearly identify it as yours. However, remember if you leave anything in the container it becomes fair game for anyone to use. Please take care of anything you borrow from the container as if it were yours. If you damage it please see that it is repaired or notify the owner or an officer.
• In the container you will find beginner equipment that the club has purchased. Most of it stays rigged and ready to use. Help yourself to any of it while at the site. Please do not remove anything from the container unless it belongs to you. The club does not lend any of the beginner equipment for off site use. The only exceptions to this are official club trips to the coast. (Emerald Isle Trips)
• Please help keep the site and the container neat and clean. Remove any trash you might have when you leave. If you have used things from the container return them to their proper place.
• The combination for the gate and the lock box for the container key is the same number. Please do not leave the lock hanging open in the gate or the lock box. Even if it will only be for a few minuets. More than once we have had to replace looks that were taken because of this. If someone else is arriving after you and you want to leave the gate unlocked for them. Snap the lock shut on the pin so no one can take it. Please make sure that everything is secured when you leave the site.
• Occasionally you may arrive at the site and find non-members on our property. Please ask them to leave in an appropriate manner. And explain to them they are on private property. Most will do so without any problem. Sometimes someone will not be as agreeable. Do not argue with them. Simply tell them that you will notify the sheriffs department. If they still resist, the phone number for the sheriffs dept. is on the bulletin board in the container. As far as I know no one has had to dial the number. The sheriffs department does patrol the area and are aware of our site. If they notice cars parked outside of our gate they will investigate.
• If you arrive at the site and find a non-member windsurfing there. Invite him to be your guest and have them sign a wavier. Explain to him it is private property and encourage him to join the club.
• On the water Right of Way Rules. All sail powered craft have the Right of Way over motorized craft.(unless the motorized craft is working i.e. dredging trawling trolling etc.) The sail powered craft on a starboard tack has the Right of Way over a sail powered craft on port tack. (on a windsurfer starboard tack is sailing with the right arm forward) Having Right of Way means that you should hold your course to avoid collision. Not having Right of Way means you should alter your course to avoid collision. Having Right of Way still does not exclude you from having to avoid a collision. If someone who does not have Right of Way does not yield to you. You must avoid them in any way possible.

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.

Oct.

- Equipment For Sale -

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) NEW DaKine XL Waist Harness (black) with back support straps & Reactor bar: $80

Used once: 2000 North Volcano 5.8 sail, no cams.....$250

Used once: North mast 430/21, 30% carbon....$150

1996 Powerex Constant curve mast 460/25........$50

1996 World 5.5 Slalom Sail........$95

Contact Doug Kon - work 774-1767, home 768-8568, email: dougkon@triad.rr.com

3) 2000 7.5 Neil Pryde V-8 / Excellent condition / paid $640 new / selling for $320

Contact Jeff Shanklin 887-4928

4) All gear fits in a durable padded canvas bag designed for two boards and
gear. Willing to sell all at once for $1400, or in pieces which leave compatible sets intact.

Inventory Description                   Specs                              Condition
Masts
1.ART Wave Pro Carbon Custom Curve   410CM,IMCS21           ex
2.Fiber Spar Tidal Wave Carbon       430CM,IMCS 25/21 w/case  ex
3.Neilpryde Carbon Kevlar    CK95    490CM,IMCS 28 w/case       ex
Sails

1.Neilpride Combat                 3.3                                 new
2.Neilpride Combat Wave            3.7                             ex
3.Neilpride VX2                    6.8                                  ex
4.Ezzy Transformer                 5.3                                 good
5.Ezzy Transformer                 4.2                                  ex
6.Ezzy Transformer                 4.7                                  ex
Booms
1.Neilpride                         200-240                             good
2.Neilpride                         180-220                             good
3.Neilpride                         160-200                             good
Boards
1.F2                                255c                               good
2.HiFly RC                          274L 54w                 good

No fins or boots      Contact Bob Kober  Wk 336.812.8801 HM 336.665.0770        
bkober@bizlife.com

5) 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

6) 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 at 336-969-6141 to check out the board

7) 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

8) 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)

9)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

10) 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.

April Trip Reports Story and Photos by Mark Pace

Avon April 8-13

You never know what to expect when you go sailing at the Outer Banks in the spring. This year we had a plan. Let's rent a luxurious house in Avon, sail wherever the wind blew until our knuckles dragged the ground, and then rejuvenate every evening with a therapeutic hot tub, fine dining and poker. So a few of us (Mac Barnhardt, Rob Cornwell, Karol Wolicki, myself) rented the Sea Queen in Avon, a massive 7 bedroom home with all of the luxuries we could afford (hot tub, 2 fireplaces, 7 baths, ants in the kitchen.)

Most of us arrived Tuesday night, each of us armed with our own varying forecasts for the week ahead (NOAA, IWindsurf.com, Intellicast.) Wednesday morning we sailed at Canadian Hole, where the water was a chilly 60 degrees and the air temp was a chillier 50 degrees! The wind was gusty, 15 to 25 out of the north making the sailing quite challenging. Did I mention the heavy rain? The conditions were so gusty that Rob lost control of his F2 Ride as he was trying to remove it from the top of Mac's truck in the parking lot, damaging the tail and forcing Rob to rent a new board (how convenient!) for the week while the folks at Fox Watersports did a beautiful job repairing the damaged Ride. (Rob, don't try to sell that board as "never been wrecked!")

Wednesday night the wind howled as the squalls continued. The power went out early next morning as we found the Orange Blossom in Buxton capable of building us a breakfast without electricity. We waited for the wind and rain to subside Thursday and when it finally did around 3 o'clock, we hurried to Frisco Woods campground, where we rigged small sails. The wind had been NE 25 to 30 with gusts to 40 all day! We found ourselves rigging bigger sails after only a short while on the water, as the wind fell off rapidly to the point where the sound was like glass by 7:00. Finally, a little sun broke through as we were packing up and provided a beautiful sunset as we drove up the stretch between Buxton and Avon. The sky and the water melded into a seamless haze as I raced a pair of pelicans who were traveling the same route just a foot above the water at 50Mph! Awesome!

Friday was a repeat of the cold, it never got above 50 degrees! The wind again howled from the northeast 25 to 35 and our intrepid heroes, Rob and Mac braved the elements TO DO WHAT THEY HAD COME TO DO…SAIL! Our guests, Brian Webb and David Smith made the same choice that I did…STAY WARM AND DRY! I stayed in the van and listened to Ween while capturing on video the twenty or so desperadoes on the water at Canadian Hole. Rob wins the Ironman award for hanging in there under the adverse conditions. As his jibes became harder to make, he decided he'd had enough and packed it in for the day. By this time, even the Canadians had said "later for this" and went to wherever Canadians go when they're not at the hole. Basically, Friday was a hot tub day, with dinner at the Mad Crabber in Avon followed by MAKE UP YOUR OWN RULES AS YOU GO POKER. As I watched the weather reports, I learned that Hatteras had received more than 5 inches of rain in the past 54 hours! Apparently the whole state was getting drenched as a low pressure sat over NC for several days.

Ah, Saturday! Beautiful sunny day! West wind at 20 early in the morning! We sailed at Hatteras Island Sail Shop in Waves until lunch. The water was chilly but felt good as we sailed our big rigs until there was no wind left. A one pound hamburger for lunch at the Top Dog Café across the street and a little nap. That's why we were here! Jim Crawford found us at Barton's shop as we were coming off the water. Not surprising, he had sailed there in the gnarly conditions Friday. Alone! Insane! Finish up the day with dinner at the Mad Crabber and more poker before bed.

We left Sunday, and although we didn't sail as much as we had hoped, I have rarely left the Outer Banks without feeling satisfied, physically and spiritually. If you haven't had the fortune of sailing or just exploring the Outer Banks, I recommend that you make plans right now to do so, it may change your outlook on life.

I should mention that this trip had been carefully planned and that we originally had eight guys committed to making this a GUY'S WINDSURFING TRIP TO THE OUTER BANKS. Predictably, we had some no shows and I will now proceed to chastise them. Let me introduce them to you:

First, meet Jeff Shanklin, who called Saturday night during our poker game to tell us that he wasn't going to make it! We missed your money at the poker table, Jeff!

Next, meet Jeff Clark, who never showed, never called! No wind for you! Next!

Then, there's Todd Morris, who's name I shall not mention. He's the only one who even came close to having a good excuse for not making it (his wife, Cami, is pregnant and had to be rushed to the hospital while Todd was packing for the trip. She is confined to bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. We wish you well, Todd and Cami) Does that mean you can sneak away for a day trip to the coast, Todd?

With the Outer Banks in our back yard, we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to sail there as often as we do. I would encourage everyone to make an effort to do so very soon. On any given weekend, you'll probably find someone who is going or wants to go, so don't be shy! Besides sailing, there's plenty more to do while you're there; fish, see the lighthouse, shop, kayak, surf, swim, sunbathe, fly a kite, ride a bike, just relax!

Here's some data that I have compiled on how long it may take you to get the OBX from Greensboro:

Greensboro I-40/85 Elm St exit to Rocky Mount I-95 = 126 miles, approx 2hr 15min depending on Raleigh traffic.

Greensboro to Williamston where the new freeway ends = 175 miles, approx 3 hrs.

Greensboro to Nags Head = 265 miles, approx 4.5 hrs

Greensboro to Hatteras Island Sail Shop in Waves = 300 mi, approx 5 hrs.

Greensboro to Frisco Woods = 328 mi, approx 6 hrs

Last minute update: Todd and Cami had a boy, Jacob Todd Morris on Saturday, May, 3, somewhat premature. He will have to stay in the hospital for a couple of months until he's ready to go home. We wish you the best!

(Ed Note: Friends of the club, David Smith from Greensboro and Brian Webb from Raleigh, also joined us. What a great trip despite the rain. We still sailed 4 days in a row and had a great time. Besides the always consistent Mad Crabber and Top Dog for restaurant choices, the Pickled Steamer was also very good.)

Windfest April 24-27

Yeah, that's right, another excuse to go to the Outer Banks. This time it was the 8^th annual Windfest at Frisco Woods Campground, where hundreds of windsurfers converge to sail and party for 3 days. The campground is the sight of the original Windfest. With plenty of room for camping, you can stay there or anywhere you choose on the Outer Banks. The idea is for you to test drive the latest equipment, which is provided by the sponsors who attend the event. This year's event was not as big as last year's because of some jockeying by the major players in the industry who want to be king of the windsurfing world. Windsurfing Hatteras in Avon did not have a presence at Windfest and as a result, many manufacturers were not represented this year. North Sports, who owns Windsurfing Hatteras, pressured the Windsurfing Association not to sanction this event, so many people thought the event was cancelled. This is unfortunate because it violates the spirit of Windfest and is a slap in the face to the windsurfers who come to Windfest in good faith. The reason why I sail is to get away from the manipulation that the business world perpetrates upon us daily. It's their loss, because we had fun, anyway. I mean, they can't take away the wind, but I can think twice about buying their stuff. If you really want to know more about it, you can check the newsgroups where there's no shortage of opinions.

As for the wind, well, it wasn't exactly nuclear. Thursday was light and so was Friday. Beginners took advantage of the free lessons and clinics being offered. About 5pm on Friday the wind picked up and suddenly windsurfers in shiny black suits were scrambling out of the woods like roaches. Did I mention the rain? Torrents of rain had started to come down by dusk. By 9pm the wind was howling 25+ out of the south. The campground turned into the land of lakes, or more accurately, it was like the Florida Keys where I had to hop from island to island as I made my way down to Charlie Prewetts' soundfront campsite where he and his son and daughter, Roy and Erin were weathering the storm in their tents. I offered them refuge in my dry cabin, but the kids were already asleep and Charlie was enjoying the rain. The squalls continued all night, on and off. The wind turned off again at daybreak Saturday and most people just hung around doing stuff that campers do when they camp. I enjoyed talking to the pros who were there, along with the sponsors who attended this year. I made some new friends and saw people who attend every year. The lack of heavy wind is not enough to deter me from coming back next year, so of course I will return and I hope more people return next year to support the campground and the sport of windsurfing.

Frisco Woods Campground is one of those "things to do" when you go to the Outer Banks. If you can't windsurf, you can always bring a sailboat like Charlie did. You can bring your kids and your dog, even your mother-in-law! The campground is well maintained. It has a beautiful pool, also. So check out their wooded campsites or their 1 or 2 room cabins and enjoy the peace and quiet. Just go, already!