Triad Windsurfing

The Official Newsletter of the Triad Windsurfing Club

October   _______________________________________________  _2002

 

http://www.triadwindsurfing.com

 

 

 

What’s Going On:

 

1) Attached is the latest club member list. A few folks are overdue on their dues. Please send it 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.  Please don’t delay.

 

2) Upcoming events:

Club Christmas Party  - Friday, December 6th at 7:30pm at Karol Wolicki’s house (see President’s Corner below)

 

3) Don Wrenn shared some bad news with me and asked that I include this in the newsletter. Ward Barnett, owner of Frisco Woods Campground on Hatteras Island, died about two weeks ago. Ward was a big supporter of the windsurfing community. He and his family run a top notch campground that provides for a great camping/windsurfing experience. Our sympathies go to his family.

 

4) Fox Watersports gave the club two small trainer sails to use for the Learn to Windsurf Days. While they last, Fox has a rare deal on Fiberspar carbon masts and booms….20% off their price,  in addition to 10% off of retail for a 30% reduction off of retail. That makes a carbon boom around $400….a great price on a new carbon boom. Support the folks who support our club….big thanks to Fox Watersports for their continued support in our club.

 

 

President’s Corner

The latest from your club president – Don Wrenn

 

Hopefully the summer doldrums are over and its time for the fall winds to begin to blow. The summer has not seen much in the way of good sailing unless you have spent time at Hatteras. Even then the good days have been scattered. At the lake the wind has been as hard to find as the water with the drought making a serious drop in the water levels. We finally started to get some substantial rainfall Sept. 14 at around 11:00 am. Unfortunately the rain began about one hour into our fall Learn to Windsurf Day. Even with the gray skies threatening, our loyal crew of regulars were there to do their best to promote our club and the sport. Thanks to Jeff Shanklin, Karol Wolicki, Charlie Prewett, and Mac Barnhardt for being there to help. Thanks to Frank Stovall for the use of his kayak. And thanks to Paul Hughes for being our only participant. You know that you have someone who is really interested in learning to windsurf when he arrives in a downpour that is so hard you can’t see the other side of the lake! We waited out the deluge and learned that Paul had already purchased windsurfing equipment but was not having much success in teaching himself. After the rain finally let up Paul wanted to hit the water and catch the last few puffs of the remaining breeze.  With a teacher to student ratio of 5:1 Paul picked things up quickly and was off sailing across the lake saying it had never been this easy before. It looks like we have another sailor hooked on windsurfing.

 

Those of us who went on the fall Emerald Isle trip were able to find some of the first good winds of the fall season. Even though we had one of the smallest groups ever to go on the EI trip everyone had a great time. If there is anyone out there who enjoys windsurfing and socializing and an inexpensive trip to the beach, you should mark your calendars now for the next club trips. They are usually the first weekend in May, and the last weekend in Sept.

 

Thanks to Jeff Shanklin, Charlie Prewett, and Keny Kirschstein for volunteering their time to keep the grass mowed at our site this summer and fall.

 

It’s still only Oct. but the date has been set and plans have been made for our annual club Christmas Party.  It will be at Karol and Val Wolicki’s house at 2708 Southwick Dr in Greensboro. The date is Friday Dec. 6th at 7:30 pm. Val says they will furnish the meats and ask that those attending bring a covered dish. It’s also BYOB. And as is our tradition we will have the infamous windsurfing gag gift exchange. It should be an exciting night now that we have given some of our enthusiastic gift givers a two month head start on their gift selection. This is one event no one should miss so make plans to attend. I’m sure Val would like a count of the number of people who plan to attend so she can have enough for everyone. We’ll send a reminder a little closer to the party requesting RSVP’s.

 

 

 

Club Contacts

Club President – Don Wrenn  869-6256   iidbis@mindspring.com       

 

Club Vice-President – Karol Wolicki  545-8391  ktw@infi.net

 

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

 

Club Web Site -  http://www.triadwindsurfing.com

If you have some good windsurfing photos for the web site, please send them in “jpeg” format to Jason Wohlgemuth, Club WebMaster, at jason@wohlgem.com , or to Mac Barnhardt at mbarnhardt@triad.rr.com. Feel free to send us other suggestions for the site too.      

 

Trip Coordinator – Debbie Wrenn  869-6256  iidbis@mindspring.com

 

 

 

 

New Member Profile – Jim Drake

 

The Triad Windsurfing Club is especially proud to welcome Jim Drake as our newest member of the club. For those you who aren't familiar with your windsurfing history, Jim is basically responsible for your windsurfing enjoyment (or in my case, addiction). He has windsurfed longer than anyone else on this planet and is largely credited for creating and developing modern windsurfing.

 

Back in the late 60s in Southern California, Jim was an aeronautical engineer with a sailing background. He joined forces with Hoyle Schweitzer to play around with some design ideas and concepts they had for a sailboard -- or as he puts it -- a wind powered water-ski. On May 23rd 1967, Jim sailed the first prototype in Jamaica Bay at Marina Del

Ray harbor. Then in 1970, Jim and Hoyle received a U.S. Patent for what would later become trademarked as the "Windsurfer." And the rest is history. Jim has many other accomplishments including designing the X-15. The X-15 was the first manned airplane to reach Mach 6.7 in the late 60s and this world record still holds today. Jim continues to do consulting work in the aeronautical field for the Department of Defense. He is also

still very involved in windsurfing, doing design and development work on boards, fins,

sail, kites and kite boards for Starboard and has a close working arrangement with Curtis Hesselgrave of Curtis Fins.  Look out for the new Hypersonic board from Starboard that is already getting great reviews. Check out his explanation of why it will probably revolutionize Slalom/Freeride for us mere mortals in the next issue of WINDSURFING magazine.

 

Jim and his wife, Sam, recently moved to Pfafftown, NC from Santa Monica, CA to be near close friends who live in the area. Jim still sails and is eager to have a local place to sail when the wind blows. Please welcome Jim to the Triad Windsurfing Club and be sure to thank him for his pioneering contributions to the sport of windsurfing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Equipment For Sale -

 

 

1) 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.Neilpride 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 

 

2) 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

 

3) 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

 

4) 98 Pro Tech Convertible 273   93 lts. Good Condition

board, board bag, & fin $400

 

94 Mistral Shredder 298  128 lts VGC

board, board bag, fin, & mast foot $400

 

Contact Don Wrenn 869-6256   iidbis@mindspring.com

 

5) 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)

 

6)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

 

7) Mistral Competition 12' 4"

Great beginner board, stable and fast.

5 sails, 2 masts, 2 booms

All for $495

 

490 Fiberspar 4200 mast, EC  $125

7.0 Gaastra 2X, Very good condition  $125

 

Contact Jeff Shanklin 887-4928

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- Web Site Profile -

 

http://www.buzianis.com

 

This is the official web site for Micah Buzianis, one of the world’s best windsurfing racers. If you’re interested in racing, Formula is the newest racing format and one that will most likely be here to stay. The rules have each racer entering a race series with only one production Formula board and three sails. This helps attract many more sailors to racing since the low number of equipment allowed and the production only boards keep the cost down. It also puts everyone on a more even playing field. Buzianis’s web site includes tips for Formula racing, great photos, videos (soon to be put on the site), and you can even buy his used gear. For more information on Formula racing, check out:

http://www.formulawindsurfing.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing is Going to Ruin My Hatteras Vacation

By Mac Barnhardt

 

I threw my back out over 2 months ago. I bent over to pick up a shirt and next thing I know, I was lying on the floor, writhing in extreme pain. It felt like someone stabbed me in the back. I instantly thought of my Hatteras vacation that was to come in 2 months and how this sudden misfortune better not get in the way of me windsurfing on the Outer Banks. I took it very seriously, went to the doctor, and followed his advice of proper rehab. “But I wouldn’t recommend sailing with all the twisting and everything your body will go through”, he said as I winced at the thought of being on Hatteras Island and not being able to sail.

 

I followed my physical therapy routine and my back, as well as abdomen, got stronger over time. It never felt 100%, but it was certainly better than it had been. All of a sudden, it’s the Thursday before we leave. My wife, Kris, calls me and feels ill. This is not good. I rushed home and on the way picked up some medicine. We were supposed to leave on Saturday. As of that morning, she still wasn’t herself. I had packed most of the truck the night before and took the dogs to the boarding vet early that morning. I was ready to rock and roll. We loaded the kids and off we went, confident that she would feel better once we got there.

 

We arrived on Hatteras Island and made our way to our sound side house in Avon. Rob and MaryBeth Cornwell stop by as they are staying just a few houses down from us that week. Then Jeff Clark and his family stop by since they were in Nags Head the past few days. We hang out that early evening on the grassy yard facing the sound and the beautiful sunset, soaking in the island feeling. Kris is feeling better and my back feels good. Life is good.

 

Later that evening, our 3 ½ year old daughter falls down the stairs and hurts what appears to be her shoulder.  She calms down and we get her to bed thinking she bruised her shoulder. The next morning, it dawned on me that she may have broken her collarbone. I feel her collarbone and it definitely doesn’t feel right. Great….time to go to the hospital and get some x-rays. By the way, it’s also my birthday and the wind is kicking in to the forecasted 20-25 mph. Kris looks at me and feels my pain. “Well, we can’t leave yet. I have to nurse Jake (our son). You might as well get out there and sail until we can go”. That’s all I needed to hear. Besides, our daughter had just taken some Children’s Motrin and was enjoying a Disney video. There wasn’t any mass bleeding pouring out of her head or anything….so I went. I could hear the child safety advocate groups screaming at me. What?…..You know you would have gone too if your spouse told you to.

 

I sailed for about ½ hour in 25 mph winds. It was good, but I kept thinking how ridiculous the situation was. It wasn’t going to be great until I knew my daughter was OK and we knew for sure what she had done to her collar bone/shoulder. I came in off the water and took off for the new Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head. 4 ½ hours later, we were back and the verdict was in: a broken collarbone. The remedy was to continue the Children’s Motrin and wear a special figure 8 strap around her shoulders to keep them held back and straight so the collarbone would heal properly.

 

What else could go wrong? Were we destined for a week of bad luck?

 

That afternoon, I got back out on the water. The wind had subsided slightly to 20 mph. I rigged the 6.5 and got out there for more great sailing. Did I mention we weren’t wearing wetsuits? Board shorts and a rash guard shirt was the call and it definitely felt great, considering it was October. The water was still warm.

 

Monday was a light wind day but my trusty wide style shortboard and 9.6 sail had me planing that afternoon. Tuesday’s forecast looked great as it called for 25 mph all day. It didn’t disappoint. The week was looking up. My daughter was in good spirits and she didn’t let her broken collarbone get in the way of having fun. She thought wearing the strap was cool.

 

So I ‘m sailing out there on Tuesday having a blast in 25 mph. I’m working on my chop hops. I get a little bit of air, the wind picks up my board and slams it vertically into the mast. I hear a crunch….Uh Oh! I get up out of the water and check out the rig and find a nice hole a little bigger than the size of a quarter. My mast base has a metal ring on it and it had apparently poked a hole in my board when the wind slammed it against the mast. Lesson learned - if I had a mast pad, I might not have a hole in my board. Or better yet, buy a sail that has a built-in mast pad. Most of the new sails have them. I had bought the board just last April and was not happy about my continued misfortune. It was only morning and the rest of the day called for continued 25 mph. I immediately took my board to Fox Watersports and had the master board repairman on Hatteras Island, Donnie Bowers, repair it. But it wouldn’t be ready for a couple of days. So I did the next logical thing, I rented the very same board from Windsurfing Hatteras for the afternoon. That’s what’s so great about Hatteras Island…..you can either buy it, rent it, or get it repaired there.

 

That afternoon was the best sailing of the week as the 25 mph winds continued and I sailed with club members Rob Cornwell and Jeff Shanklin, who was also there that week. We had a blast racing each other back and forth, trying to outdo the other. Soundside sailing in Avon behind Windsurfing Hatteras is great in good winds. The winds were out of the Northeast, so the island provided a slight wind buffer on the inside, providing for unbelievably flat water. It was great for working on your moves, particularly Rob, who was working on his duck jibes. Watch out for Rob as he is starting to hit those duck jibes. On the outside, there was some great chop. My dad and stepmom had stopped by to visit on their way up from a vacation on Emerald Isle, making their way back home the long way. That evening, we all made the mandatory stop at Mad Crabber for some great seafood.

 

Wednesday was lighter with a solid 15 mph in the afternoon but still great sailing. Thursday was our 10th wedding anniversary and fortunately for Kris and I, no wind. We could concentrate on each other and just have a great day of relaxing at the beach. Kris’s mom and stepdad came to visit after my dad had left. They watched our kids that evening as we went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary. I had heard about a great restaurant at the very end of Highway 12 in Hatteras Village. It’s called Austin Creek Grill and sits next to the ferry landing. It was incredible! Probably the highest end restaurant on Hatteras Island, but well worth it. Right next door is the Austin Creek Bakery Shop…..unbelievable desserts!

 

Friday produced some gusty winds out of the Southeast, which gave us one of those frustrating sailing days where you can’t seem to rig the right gear. Finally, I got it dialed in late in the afternoon and caught some good wind to end the week. Late that night, Tropical Storm Kyle came rumbling through with 40 mph winds and quite a lighting show that rocked the house. I had already packed the gear on top of the truck and parked it in the garage, anticipating the high winds that night. The next morning, our back yard facing the sound was flooded. Rob Cornwell even had a nice Mistral Prodigy wash up in front of his house during the night. There was nary a scratch on it. We took it to Windsurfing Hatteras and started a “lost and found” spot there. Hopefully, the rightful owner found it there. Another lesson learned – pay attention to the weather and strap your gear down good if bad weather approaches.

 

The wind was blowing a good 20 knots that morning. I wished I hadn’t packed my gear, but we had to pack up the house and check out by 10am. However, there were some hearty souls out there sailing. Even though we had many a misfortune, the week was not ruined. In fact, it was one of the best Hatteras Island vacations I’ve ever had.