Happy New Year

From Mike, Eric, Glenn, and the rest of the Windsurfing Direct crew, all the best for 2007. Hopefully 2007 is full of wind, warmth, and good health.

Merry Chrismas - Windsurfing Style

Vlad Cam

Local hardcore sailor Vlad sent me this picture from his sailing session this past Saturday. Looking at the angle of the wind in the picture, Everitt Park (aka Vlads backyard) would have been nice bump and jump with nice starboard ramps. What wouldn't have been so nice was the 3C temperature and brutal wind chill, but Vlad looks not to have minded at all with a powered 6.0 Gaastra Matrix in his hands!

Maui Report

Glenn is back from Maui after taking a couple of weeks away. The trades were a little fickle, but did score some very nice 5.3 Gaastra Manic sessions on the Tabou Da Curve 79. Nice clean waves in the head to logo high range, steady winds, and a lot less crowds than in years past. On the days that weren't so windy, surfing was the call and there was some great conditions on the West side, as well as the North Shore. Chest to head high peeling waves help take the sting out of a no-wind day pretty easily!

More pics to come!

Surf Expo 2006

Mike (on the left) and Glenn (on the right) spent a few days in late September at Surf Expo in Orlando. The "on-the-water" part of Surfexpo is alway the best, as we get to try all the new boards and sails for 2007. Light winds dominated for most of the time, but that gave us a great chance to try out great boards like the Bic Hybrid, Bic Nova 240, Fanatic Vipers, Starboard Serenity, as well as the new Gaastra and Severne sails.

Towards the later part of the afternoons the winds were strong enough that we were planing on 7.5's and 8.5's, which really let us test how well these high volume boards planed and handled stronger winds. It blew us away how a board like the Hybrid One Design from Bic can be such a blast to sail in light winds as well as such a good performer on a plane. Versatiltiy is the name of the game with these boards as they can do pretty much from allowing total novices the easiest learning possible, to satisfying planing veterans who want to use larger sails to plane in light to medium winds (they make fun light wind freestyle boards as well!)

Dust-in the Wind

If you windsurf or not, you will find Dustin's story below both inspirational and amazing. and all of us at Windsurfing Direct have been more than honored to help Dustin's wish come true:

Attention Glenn,

We want to send a Thank You to you and Windsurfing Direct.

Our son Dustin was diagnosed with Cancer back in March of this year. He spent the summer going through Chemo and to say the least did not have a good summer. It was a really tough one for all of us. Dustin had started doing some windsurfing with a good friend and as Dustin calls him "Coach" because he is really his curling coach. Richard had lent Dustin some of his second hand equipment and he was really looking forward to using it this summer, but was not well enough to do a lot of surfing. Richard took him out on day trips out to the lake just to get away and do whatever surfing he could handle.

Then, one day the nurses at the Cancer Center had mentioned to us about the Children’s Wish Foundation, so I called them. They asked Dustin in person what he would like to have. He told them he wanted some windsurfing equipment. So along with the help of Coach -Richard who is the one you dealt with, got Dustin all of this wonderful equipment. I can tell you he is absolutely delighted to have it. The package is way more than we could have ever hoped for.!! The sails are beautiful... he laid each one out separately and just sat and admired and checked over each one, along with all of the other equipment. He did get to sail it the day they gave it to him. Richard and Dustin spent a couple hours on the lake as it was quite cold here that day. So... next year, I am sure that as soon as the ice is off the lake, the two of them will be on it... He can watch is instructional videos this winter and be ready to go!

Dustin has finished all of his Chemo and is well on the way to recovery. He has gone for 3 monthly checkups so far and everything is clear.

We want to sincerely thank you again for the part you played in granting Dustin his WISH!!!!! This is something he will have for a many years to come and something we will never forget!! It is a beginning of a new chapter for us.

If you want to help make a wish come true, visit www.childrenswish.ca to find out how you can make a difference

Got Wind?

No shortage of wind over the past 48 hours, the only sail Glenn rigged was a 3.7 Gaastra Manic. Sandbanks early Sunday was a blowout with gusting over 60+mph, it was liquid smoke on the water and Glenn lasted about 45 mins. It was certainly to much of a good thing in terms of wind since it made wave riding nearly impossible as a bottom turn with a 50 knot gust in your sail isn't exactly comfortable.

After thawing out and driving home, Glenn did a classic bump and jump session, on a 3.7 again. Actually, not a lot of bumping and jumping since control on the water was pretty hard to come by in the 50 knot gusts.
















Thanks to Mark van Dam for the great shots! (check out his site at www.imagesbyvandam.com)

Bring it!

Classic fall winds set to visit us starting tomorrow morning, and looks like they may stick around for a couple of days?

Want to know how the 2007 F2 Geurilla 69 or 84 sail? How about the 2007 Fanatic NewWave 74 Team Edition vs. 2007 the Fanatic All Wave 74? Those are going to be first out of the van to test tomorrow, so check back for a full update and report!

Working Hard

For us, Christmas always comes a few months earlier as next seasons models arrive and need to be tested. Mike and Glenn got out for an evening session to try the 07 Fanatics. Mike was loving the new Hawk 108 for its speed, quickness to plane, speed, smooth ride in chop, speed, feather light weight, and did I mentioned speed? Mike rips through a jibe at Everitt park, on the left of the picture. Glenn really has been liking the Fanatic All Wave series in the 75L and 85L version for turning the "so-so" backside riding days into ripping front side days. The All Wave series planes so early but is so loose that lighter wind 5.4 and 5.8 wave days are now a blast, and we can make three times the amount of turns on the same wave!

Lip Smacking Good

A great shot from Craig Butler taken of Glenn sailing Mac's Point last Sunday. Solid 25-30 knots with 70 degree air and sunny skies made it seem like summer,not fall. With side-off winds the riding was all front side with as many hits on a wave as you wanted, and the Fanatic New Wave 75 was right at home smacking off any lip it could find! A great crew with Bill Reid getting the longest drive award (5 hours) and Andrew White with the shortest (10 minutes).

Now he's hooked....

New windsurfer Jonathan Gardam sent us this shot of his first day out on the Bic Nova and Gaastra Pilot. A great combination for Jonathan to learn on, but also a huge amount of room for progression past the entry level stage. Judging by his form, progression is already happening and we will no doubt be seeing pictures of him blasting along in the straps and harness in no time!

Cruising

Porfirio Verde and his family are new to the sport, but are learning quick and ripping it up on their new Gaastra Freetime and Bic Nova. Learning for them was simple and fun, and are already learning to use the footstraps and plane!

Think the summer of 2006 is almost over and you need to wait until next year to learn? The best winds happen in the fall meaning that there are still weeks, if not months left to learn how to windsurf just in time for the fall season!

No Blog Updates = Too much time sailing!

Anytime that there is a big gap between blog posts, it is because we are all sailing....a lot. We have been getting lots of TOW (time on the water) and are more stoked than ever.

Mike and Glenn scored a great afternoon on Sunday with Glenn getting to christen his new Fanatic NewWave 75, nicely powered by his 5.4 Gaastra Poison. A wave board isn't christened until it has been looped several times, and the New Wave is offically christened.

Mike put his NewWave 81 through a solid work out - spending more time in the air than on the water! Mike seemingly never needs to sail anything other than his 5.6 Sailworks Hucker so far this year. The wind range of that sail is like nothing we have sailed before - planing and jumping in light winds on his Fanatic Hawk 110 up to massive jumps in solid winds on the FreeWave 98 or NewWave 81. We would never call it a wave sail, but it's an awesome bump & jump sail!

All were too busy sailing to take pics, but our sailing pal and photographer Craig Butler snapped this one of Glenn last week - mid lay down into carving 360. Check out all Craig's work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/wavespire ....his scenery and ice shots are great!

Windsurfing Patterson Park

Windsurfing at Patterson Park Kingston Oct. 2005 a little wave riding.

Glenn's Cool Turns

Long Weekend Winds

Lots of great sailing over the long weekend here with a strong SW system coming through. 6.0's were the call on Saturday, and anywhere from 5.5 to 6.0's on Sunday. Evan snapped this picture of Dan Michaluk whipping a vulcan on his Gaastra Echo on Saturday.

Family Day

Both Neil (left) and Andrew Devries got out on the water Sunday for a little light air sailing. Andrew (right) tested out is new Gaastra Matrix 6.5 and Bic Techno II 160 that he picked up the day before....and found it much to his liking! Neil (left) took advantage of George Gaudets free land lesson and free water coaching by Glenn and Evan to give windsurfing a try. Neil did a great job, showing people three times his age how it is done!

Not too Shabby

Here is picture of our pal, the irrepresible Barney Huycke showing anyone who wants to learn, a text book forward loop on Lake Huron.

Just not the same without a cute German girl to jump over though, is it Barney? Don't think she has recovered from that one or returned to Barbados yet!

Stoked for 8 knots?

With the past weekends promising forecast fizzling out in a hurry, Glenn grabbed his 6.2 and 180L entry level board and headed out in ultra light wind for a little freestyle action. What was going to be a 45 minute session to get cooled off turned into a 2 hour session of dusting off the lightwind freestyle. Conca tacks, duck tacks, push tacks, rail rides, sail/body spinning, and Glenn's light wind vulcan-ish trick had him stoked and tired after a couple of hours on the water.

Getting out on the big stuff in light winds is a blast.....and sure beats moaning about the lack of wind while sitting on the beach!

Beauties Everywhere

Barbados season 2006 is a wrap, with Mike coming back a few days ago. This is a shot of the Windsurfing Direct Barbados gear....well used this winter for sure!




If you get sick of watching the great wave sailing in front of Silver Sands, there is never a shortage of sites to see!

Secret spot that's not so secret

Glenn and Evan took a little road trip to sail Long Point last fall on a rare NE day. It is a little off the beaten path, with the location a little bit a scene out of Deliverance. However shortly after starting to sail, a few others showed up. The conditions were nice, with 4-5 foot swell and lots of backside riding and some nice jumping.

Where do we sail?

Have you played with Google Earth? It is a great way to check out your local sailing spots.

Here is a file with some of the places we windsurf.

Google Earth File Lake Ontario Windsurf Spots

Tabou Windstyler Longboard

Length: 325cm, Width: 72cm, Volume: 220ltr














Erin (Mrs. Matt Pritchard) chillin' on the Windstyler!













We are starting to receive pictures of the new Windstyler from Tabou. After over a year of development by famed shaper Fabien Vollenweider (as he perfected many prototypes) Tabou has just released the optimal longboard shape .

Mike and Glenn sailed a prototype last fall in Cocoa Beach, and it is a blast. Feels like a classic longboard (including freestyle) in light winds, but planes and totally rips in next to no wind. We are dying to sail it in local light wind waves and will report as soon as we have! (note: Wahines in bikinis not included!)

Lakeshore Crew

The Lakeshore Crew of Vlad, Gord, Jim, John, Rob, Dave et al. sent this pic from the deck of the Hatteras house. Nice to see lots of Gaastra sails, and heard that good wind and good times was had by all.

However.....

Do I even want to ask about the Nyquil, Girls gone Wild stickers, and "Support Strippers", or does "what happens in Hatteras, stay in Hatteras"?

Sobering

A picture that will never be duplicated........

Evan took a couple of pictures of Glenn to show the conditions they had at the Outlet Beach on Sunday. Good waveriding and jumping. Strong winds when they were up. But the wind would back off for 20 minutes at a time after the clowds went through.

Time for Waves

Check out Windsurfing Direct customer Rich Tarsia's website at
www.timeforwaves.com. Rich does all sorts of acrylic sculptures and other art that is all surfing and windsurfing inspired. Plus, he is a great sailor and all around nice guy.

Lip Smack'in

Follow our blog and you have likely seen a couple of pictures of Amine Fadous. Well, he strikes again and here he is bashing his way through a nice set in San Carlos on the Baja Peninsula.

Not what I wanted to upload....

...but a funny picture none the less.

It will be really good....or a total bust

Not looking bad for the weekend on the homefront.....there is potential later in the day Saturday and early Sunday. East winds will either be a rare treat or a total skunk, but likely nowhere in between. With Glenn's sprained ankle on the mend, Evan and him are hoping to hit the water to finally initiate their new boards. Meanwhile, Mike heads south for Barbado-thon Phase 518 on Saturday, and the forecast looks better each day he will be there!

Ripping like a Veteran

Jared Mauldin of Pensacola, FL has not been windsurfing for very long at all....about 8 months to be exact. However, here he is sailing his Sailworks Retro and Bic Techno II like a veteran. He is planing, in the straps, using the harness, jibing, and asking questions about jumping. Way to go Jared, we are stoked to see you progressing so quickly!

Spencer on the mend!

We couldn't be happier for Brian and Kerri Casserio hearing that their son Spencer's battle with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is going well. Latest reports on the Casserios website is that Spencer is ripping it up on late season snow, much to their joy I am sure. I am sure that anyone who knows or deals with Brian and Sideoff Video will be glad to hear that Spencer is doing well, I am sure the last 700 days have not been easy for the Casserios. Continued best wishes from us.

....the keen windsurfer would notice that Spencer is sharing his sled with Kevin Pritchard.

Jibe School with Professor Greg

Need to see how to rip a laydown jibe in light winds? Look no further than this sequence of local sailor Greg Pucher tearing this jibe on his Starboard Carve and Severne S2 7.0.......note the lack of whitecaps on the water. Props to Evan for putting this sequence together!

Forgot the Vent

"Hi Evan,
Maybe you have a solution to my problem.
I sailed more or less 10 minutes with my RRD without the plug screwed tight. I just forgot. When I came back to the beach, I tried to make the water go out. Do you have some tricks to save my board? Do I have to heat it with a hair dryer, a radiator?
Thank you very much..."

Luckily 10 minutes may not be long enough to really fill up a new board.

Find out if your board is the right weight still. Take off the straps and fin and weigh your board. You can compare with what it should be, maybe you will find out the board is ok. If it is heavy you can use the weight to track if you are getting any water out.
In the short term store your board upside down flat on the deck with the vent open. Stuff paper towel into the vent hole. If it gets wet keep changing it until it stays dry. If the towel does not pick up any moisture maybe your board didn't take on any water, or the water has had enough time to spread throughout the entire board.
Ding King in Maui uses a board spinner. They drill a hole in the nose and tail and spin most of the water out, then plug the holes again.
Others use low air pressure to push the water back out the vent. Drill a hole at the far end of the board and pump low pressure air through your board. Be very cautious or you could blow up your board causing a delamination in the foam. Then your board would really be dead.

Here is a link to a conversation on getting water out.
http://www.swaylocks.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=251906;search_string=air%20pressure;guest=4641661#251906

Gook Luck

Hatteras Mystery

Local sharp shoot Craig Butler is just back from Hatteras, and snapped a lot more than just sailing shots (....I looked through your gallery Craig, and needed to "borrow" this one). Anyone who has ever driven through Nags Head towards Hatteras has likely noticed this castle in the sand, sometimes fully exposed, sometimes totally buried.

Sadly, the mystery isn't of a mystical city buried in the sand, but of a mini-golf course that was built in the wrong spot. The dunes here shift, erode, and re-deposit so much that the owners exentually had to abandon the course, but just left the castle standing. Just a bit of knowledge I acquired from a spring season a few years ago spent working mornings as kayak tour guide, and sailing afternoons!

Anyone for Head High Swell?

Glenn stands 6 feet tall, and all that is visible behind this just starting to break Patterson Swell is the the top of his head. 4.7 Gaastra Manic is nicely powered, swells lining up nicely......just didn't like leaving my wetsuit zipper open in the chilly waters!

Spring fling

Glenn and Evan got a quick 4.7 sail in Wednesday after work with winds blowing from 25 to 30 mph. Mike (who is off to Barbadothon 5 next week), stayed dry and relatively warm shooting the pics with the newly repaired shop digital camera finally back in action.

Evan was tearing it up and charging hard today after just getting back from 10 days in Hatteras with Gaastra sail designer Dan Kaselar and assorted friends. An early start that bodes well for a windy spring and summer!

Mast Mount Cam

Rob Born of So. Cal was out on his new Starboard Evo 70 with his camera this past Friday. This one is my favorite, but I wil put all his shots up in the gallery when I have a spare minute. Great shots Rob!

"Old Man Strength"

While he's not an old man, Evan has been known to say his ability to hold on larger than normal sails in crazy winds is because of his "old man strength". Here is Evan on a 4.1 in winds gusting over 50 knots, liquid smoke on the water, and he is still boosting big air. Where are the rest of sailors on this epic day? Blown off the water on their 3.5's long ago!

Happy Pappy

Long time customer Luc Genest of Florida sent a couple of pictures of his trip to Hatteras last week. His 8 year old Alex and 10 year old Pierre Luc were killing it, sailing hooked in, planing, in the straps, and handling the 20-25 knot winds like a couple of pros. Kids stoked, Dad stoked, all is well in the Genest world.

Hatteras

Evan is in Hatteras for the wedding of friends Dan M. and Seanna. The weather could not have been better. With the wedding over they can surf and sail all the time.

Here is new groom Dan Michaluk at Rodanthe after sailing his new 2006 Gaastra Poison 5.0. With Gaastra sail designer Dan Kaseler also attending the wedding (and honeymoon!), Evan used the red 4.7 Poison 2007 proto supplied by Dan K. in the foreground. The wind had just picked up (it must be really windy if Evan is on 4.7!) and the ocean was not pretty but they all had a good time.

















In the morning they had light offshores and small waves so they surfed the shorebreak in front of the house. This is the groom getting yet another of his many rides.

www.windsurfing-the-game.com

This game is pretty cool, even though I have only played the demo version. Definetly worth checking out if you have a couple of mintues for it to download.

Small picture, big commitment

Congratulations to Dan and Seanna (far left and middle), who are getting married in Hatteras this weekend. Dan joins us to sail at home or Sandbanks when it is good and is always ripping, and from what Evan says, Seanna is becoming a better sailor by the minute. Congratulations on the big day, and all the best for many years to come.

New Digs

From the star, which is Glenn's new house, to Patterson Park, local favorite sailing spot, is about 30 seconds. To Everitt, which I can see from the back deck, is about 2 minutes.

The saying "Its best in your own backyard" has just taken on a hole new meaning!