30 days and counting......

Mike kicks off the first leg of the Windsurfing Direct Barbados marathon 30 days from now. Barry, Paulo and the boys had 20 - 25 knot winds today and Sunday, so the trades are pumping already!

Hopefully the wind and waves continue to dish up some great sessions like this. We'll keep the action shots coming throughout the winter. Mike and Glenn will be snapping pics and writing about their adventures with Padders, Bodie, Junior and rest of the crew in Barbados. Evan will keep us posted while visiting his brother in Chile from mid January to end of February.

Don't forget, if you are travelling this winter, or have some shots from your home spots, send them to glenn@windsurfing-direct.com so that we can give you fame (but no fortune) and stardom in our gallery.

Easy, Easier, and Easiest

If you need a little help getting the proper amount of downhaul on your sail, these little gems will make your life a lot easier.

The standard tug cleat on top is the least expensive, but the middle two handed tug cleat really lets you get both hands into the action and its design miminizes slipping.

The mack daddy of tools is the Chinook Rig Winch which is just that, a down haul winch. There is no downhaul setting that isn't possible with the Rig Winch!

New photos added December 1st! Where are yours?

Ready for your 15 minutes of fame?

Please send us pictures of you and your buddies using your gear from Windsurfing Direct. E-Mail images to glenn@windsurfing-direct.com in .jpg format with a caption or story about your local sailing spot or travel destination. We'll gladly add them to our gallery.

At the start of each month the best picture will be featured on the Blog in the "Picture of the Month" post!

Backlit Blur

The New Gaastra Poison in the white/blue looks sharp on the water, and even sharper as Evan whips into a late day forward in the early fall.

Thanks to Greg for the picture, taken off Wolfe Island, and to quote Robby Naish in RIP "at a secret spot that you will never find, even if you look for it"

Size does matter

Lets see if this one post can straighten out any and all confusion with tuttle and deep tuttle fin boxes.

a) A board that has a deep tuttle box can use either deep tuttle or standard tuttle

b) A board that has a standard tuttle box can only use standard tuttle base fins, deep tuttle does not fit.

c) To use a standard tuttle fin in a deep tuttle base, all you need is screws that are longer by 3/4" (20mm)

This just in......

Well, maybe not "just in", but a huge milestone when it happened 21 years ago. Speed sailing is very much back in the spotlight, however now the goal is 50 knots!

Want to go fast? Get your hands on a 2006 Gaastra. Dan Kaesler, the designer of the current record holding sail is now the designer for Gaastra. We have been sailing the 2006 wave sails all fall and are blown away!

View of the Day

Glenn (2nd from right) jockeys for position near the peak off Ego Beach in Cape Hatteras, NC.

Triple Time

The great thing about the Chinook Triple Clamp boom head is that you can use it with a standard diameter mast, or a RDM mast. With most booms heads, a shim is needed for a good fit with an RDM, however the Triple Clamp head allows shimless RDM use. The fully articulating head fully wraps around either a standard diamter, or reduced diameter mast for a secure fit.

Yet another great idea from Chinook.

Bills got skills

Here is Windsurfing Direct customer Bill Reid from North Bay, Ontario competing at the 2005 Aloha Classic on Maui. Bill reports 16ft waves and flukey wind at Hookipa on this day. That is Bill riding, and likely Alex Aguera heading out.

$75 registration fee for Hookipa with only two other people on the water for 15 minutes.....sounds worth it to me!!

Old School Evan

Proving that he is a true windsurfing veteran, here is a shot of Evan sailing at Patterson Park........18 years ago!



This was shot in the fall of 1987, a move that Evan still re-creates every time Patterson gets good. The scary thing is that 18 years later, Evan charges harder and goes higher than ever!

Quick Release Made Easy

Ever wonder why Dakine's Quick Release system on the XT Seat would safely get you out of an emergency, but would also send your bar sinking right to the bottom?

A lot of times users don't realize that located in the back storage pocket is a little plastic bag with a tiny screw. Each of the quick release buckles has a small screw hole that the screw fits into, and secures one side of the bar to the harness. The other side is still free to quick release, but the side with the screw is now attached. This way, you are safe and don't have to go diving for your Spreader bar.

View of the Day

Looking down the beach at SilverSands, Barbados on a rare windless day.

Get Serious

If you want to start sailing not only waves, but rolling swell or even just getting your gear set for higher winds, this is the DVD to get. Peter Hart along with pro riders like Nik Baker go over everything from setting your gear (wave or freeride) to make it work properly, getting used to smaller boards, getting out through the white water, wave safety, and wave riding skills. Filmed mainly on Maui, it is a great DVD as Peter Hart is entertaining, and what you will learn will save you (hopefully) from getting knocked around needlessly in the waves.

Four fins out of five!

Mikey likes it!

Fresh shot from this morning! Mike leans into one to head back outside for more. Wound up on a 4.0 Gaastra Manic, Mike gives the new Fanatic Newwave 81 a solid testing. The verdict? All thumbs up and he reports it is light, super loose and great for lofting big, floaty jumps.


Mike and Glenn tried the 2006 Fanatic Freewave 98 and 88 on Sunday - they were equally impressed with those boards in 5.8 conditions.

An Exception to the Rule

As a general rule, used or old windsurfing gear is never impressive. This classic, and fully intact Teak boom is the exception to that. Nothing says stiffness like a tail piece made of rope.

Fin-tastic

Wonder if there are different fins for different weed conditions? The top fin is the True Ames Blade Weed, which has much more angle (5 degrees to be exact) than the bottom fin, which is the True Ames SB Weed. The sharper the rake of the fin, the more weeds it will shed, so if you sail in a really weedy place, the Blade Weed is the one to get. If you want more upwind ability and don't have a lot of weeds (ie some floating sea grass), the the SB Weed that is more upright is the way to go.

Top Speed

Here is Bob, our technical guru, installing and upgrading us to ADSL connection this morning.

This should make our website much faster for downloading and browsing. Let us know your feedback on the speed of the site.

WED. UPDATE: ADSL connection is now working and web hosting should be much faster than the previous 3MG. The 3MG line has been dedicated to Mike's remote desk top connection when he works from home. So he won't be using up half of the band width any more!

Please let us know how downloading and navigating www.windsurfing-direct.com or www.windsurfing-direct.ca works for you now.

The View of the Day

Taken in Maui, from Specks looking towards the West Maui Mountains. No wind or really waves to speak of that day (which is why I had time to take pictures), but some early winter swell and trades followed in the days after.

Which Winch?

Can't decide which Chinook Rig Winch you need, the US or the Euro Pin?

The extension above is the US system, but the Rig Winch is Euro. The Euro Pin system will fit Euro Pin Bases (obviously), but the base of the cup on the euro version winch is the same as the US, so the Euro Pin version fits the US extension.

Want to be able to rig both Euro and US with the same winch, then be sure to order the Euro Pin version of the rig winch.

Ship It

Here is Evan, Windsurfing Direct's shipping manager. Attention to detail in the shipping department is what he is famous for around here. Actually, he is more famous around here for his smooth back loops and huge stalled forwards. (this picture was taken at our home beach on Lake Ontario, 5 minutes from the shop)