Why does it seem windsurfing is fading away

[isobars]

[cgoudie1]

First, let me say, that I agree with Mike. You should be able to take
your vacation, and with judicious use, should be able to sail a reasonable
amount (especially if you move to the Gorge, or Maui, or maybe even SF.
But, I must point out that in the real world as it stands right now, a
statement like "you'll get your 40 hours and not a second more", will just
get you demoted or excused. It's a little like refusing to obey orders
in the military, and it doesn't matter how useful you are to the company,
nor how much money you bring in, it's looked upon as insurrection.

The smart money is not to approach it like you were going to bulldoze
your way through your management.

-Craig

p.s. I get in 70-80 sailing days a year, but I gave up a management
position to do it, and I'm good with that decision. ;*)

[johnson_brian_j]

As I see it, the biggest problem is not so much the amount of vacation we have. The problem is that most of us can't just arbitrarily walk out the door when the wind comes up, and then retroactively schedule the vacation time later.

It seems to me that the vacation-time argument is just another way of saying what many others have said about the rise of high-performance windsurfing relative to the longboard cruising that was apparently popular decades ago (well before my time). If you're happy cruising around on a longboard in 8 MPH wind, most people in most places can probably count on being able to do that on most weekends. But if you're looking for 25+ MPH shortboard sailing and you don't live in one of the few places that consistently get those conditions, then windsurfing may be just fundamentally incompatible with having almost any kind of a job.

[steve1]

[w8n4wind]

^^^^^^^
dont know if fewer companies would help, but ya, i agree that fewer lines and models would probably help keep costs down. just so many to choose from now.. kinda bizarre.
and every year theyre all so much better than the previous year..

[WingMan]

Having the job, house and kids does cut into TOW. I decided that if was going to get back into the sport the only thing that made sense was to make the most of the small amount of time I have in which to sail. So I went racing.

At my local yacht club there's a small fleet of us who race with the lasers every week. It is a total blast - even in light winds - becuase of the competition aspect. Aimlessly sailng around in light air is, in my view, pretty dull, but get out in those same conditions with a few others in tight tactical racing and suddeny it's downright exciting.

So though I don't get out much, and don't choose my conditions, I still get a lot of pleasure from the sport.

[techno900]

WingMan,

You make a good point. I began racing in 1984 when everyone had a longboard and we would race in any wind above 0. No fun just sailing, but a lot of fun with 20 other guys/gals on similar equipment.

Last weekend, we had the Texas State Championships near Dallas at a local yacht club. Winds on Saturday and Sunday were mostly 5-10 with occasional gusts to 13-15. We had about 25 racers and all had fun. Slow - Yes, but nevertheless it was fun. I still have my 27 year old Mistral Superlight with its original 6.? regatta sail. The board still kicks butt even against other longboards with much larger sails.

Races are far and few between anymore, but with light winds, everyone can have fun. Of course, the formula fleet was wishing they had another board.

[boggsman1]

Im ready to quit....every windy day in SFBay this year has coincided with my son's little league games.

[3-phase]

http://cabrillobeachenduro.com/

More of this local races are needed. They make WS fun in all condition and bring some action to the beach

Jurg
www.windsurfdeal.com

[johnl]