US WINDSURFING NATIONAL TOUR
From Nat Siddall, US Windsurfing National Tour Coordinator
Email: nsiddall@earthlink.net
     US Windsurfing is sponsoring  a national windsurfing festival tour and race series in 2002.  This will feature 13 regattas around the country, with windsurfer racing in several classes.  Scores from the individual events will be totaled, to determine the national series winners.  In addition to racing, the national tour events will feature freestyle contests, "learn-to-windsurf" and pro clinics, youth programs and novice races.  Sponsors will be providing cash and product prizes, along with giveaways, T-shirts and coupons.  US Windsurfing is the national governing body for windsurfing in the United States, and promotes recreational windsurfing and racing at all levels.
     US Windsurfing executive director Christine Brooks sees the national race series as part of the organization's new push to develop amateur racing.  "Windsurfing is not necessarily an extreme sport," she says.  "Living in Hawaii and windsurfing every day is one thing, but this is also a great sport for ordinary family people who sail on weekends all around the country.  Racing adds an extra dimension, challenge and camaraderie."
     Mike Gebhardt, an Olympic medallist in windsurfing, and a senior member and advisor to US Windsurfing, concurs with this philosophy.  "Long-run success in the Olympics has to be based on a thriving amateur race environment, that will bring younger people into the sport, and provide opportunities to improve.  Everyone can have a lot of fun at events like these national series events, and a few people may eventually go on to the top level."
     The US Windsurfing national race series will be complementary to the Professional Windsurfing Association series, and the Olympic class one-design circuit.  Gebhardt will be participating, along with a younger generation of Olympic hopefuls, and a number of pro racers, but there will also be many "weekend warriors."  Competition will be strong for the top spots, but the atmosphere at these events will be relaxed and friendly.
  The windsurfing industry will use the national tour as a showcase.  Mistral, which is a major sponsor, is teaming up with US Windsurfing to offer series competition on the new Mistral Prodigy board, which is a developmental one-design class, specifically designed for windsurfers in a wide range of skill levels.  In a one-design class all competitors sail identical gear, and results depend purely on skill and tactics.  Prodigy boards will be available for charter at many of the events, for people who want to try the new class.  Other manufacturers will also feature displays, demos and special events at many of the national tour events.
     The larger tour events are expected to receive television news coverage, and all the activities and results will be reported in the windsurfing magazines.  Most of these events will be very spectator-friendly, and the freestyle contests will be guaranteed crowd-pleasers.  Windsurfing freestyle has developed into a sport of its own, and is getting more and more spectacular.   Skilled windsurfers can make their boards go sideways, backwards and upside down, while flipping their bodies and sails, and weaving it all together in an aquatic ballet.  In high winds they'll do jumps, loops, "willy skippers", "vulcans" and tricks that haven't even been named.
     Roger Jackson, recipient of the  2001 "Windsurfer of the Year" award, will direct a program of free lessons for beginning windsurfers, in conjunction with the tour events.  He and his partners can get kids and adults up and sailing on Windgliders or Starboard Start windsurfers in a hour or less. 
     Series titles will be offered for the US Windsurfing recognized classes, which include "Open", "Formula" "Techno", "IMCO", and "Longboard Limited", and the new Prodigy class.  There will also be titles in a "Sport" class for less experienced racers.
     Formula is a new race format which has been receiving a lot of attention in Europe and Asia.  Competitors in this class can use any production shortboard (a windsurfer without a centerboard) and a choice of any three sails, which they register prior to competition at each event.  This cuts down on the equipment requirements that have made high-end shortboard racing too costly for the average windsurfer.  (For more information on the Formula class and class rules, visit the website at www.formulawindsurfing.com.)  IMCO is the one-design class which is currently used for Olympic competition.  Techno is a race format based on the Bic Techno shortboard, which has been promoted by Bic and their US distributor Adventure Sports.  Longboard Limited class is open to any windsurfer with a centerboard, with a sail size limit of 7.5 square meters.
     Final series awards will be made after the conclusion of racing at the Islamorada Pro-Am regatta, in the Florida Keys, November 7-10, 2002.  Sponsors and industry representatives will be invited to attend and present the awards and prizes.  For more information see the US Windsurfing web page at www.uswindsurfing.org.  Here is a list of the tour events:
    US WINDSURFING NATIONAL TOUR
March 2-3  Midwinters,  Merritt Island, FL
April 13-14 WET Spring Regatta, Hampton Roads, VA
May 4-5  Newport Fun Cup, Newport, RI
May 23-27  US Open/US Windsurfing Nationals, Corpus Christi, TX
June 1-2 Toledo Championship, Toledo, OH
June 22-23 Hoyle Schweitzer Course Race, Kanaha, HI
July 22-29  Pan-Am Cup, Puerto Rico
August 10-11 Gorge Cup, Hood River, OR
August 17-18 San Francisco Classic, St Francis Yacht Club, CA
September 7-8 Toucan Open, Lake McConaughy, NE
September 21-22 Wind Power Championship, Fond du Lac, WI
November 2-3 Fleet 12 Regatta, St Petersburg, FL
November 7-10 Islamorada Pro-Am, Islamorada, FL

Editor's Puffs:   by Roy Tansill
     First things first, I want to thank Gary Motl.  Gary has taken on the job of Secretary for the club in 2002.
The other half of that executive committee position (Secretary/Treasurer) will be handled by a new member, Hans Anderson.  We voted to accept this split which draws upon the initial Commodore’s long time membership and the energy of a ‘new guy’.  We also were happily surprised that Chip would continue as Commodore-with limitations as determined by his health.  Unhappily Chip’s health is not ready for prime time and a repeat of his full time activity level during 2001 is just not in the 2002 picture. Unlike last year,  Chip will receive full time back up from the Vice Commodore and we voted to accept Hans as such for 2002.  Well I did say that Hans is energetic.  This avoids potential problems on the executive committee;  if we adhere to the one person-one vote edict, we won’t have to quibble about splitting the Secretary/Treasurer’s vote.  Other slots are going vacant for awhile... maybe to not ever be filled; among them is PR Director, Race Director, and last year’s additions for Kiting.  You missed your chance to obtain a decent newsletter  editor and will be stuck with my somewhat warped perspective for another year.  Thanks to to all of the folks who were present at the January meeting- we got a lot accomplished but there’s a long way to go. 
     It was unanimously agreed to continue the insurance from US Sailing which is one great membership benefit.  What it provides is insurance for any ‘CCWA event’.  We can make a valid case for anytime 2 or more CCWA members are sailing at the same launch- it constitutes an event.  It also means a non member participating in a CCWA event would be covered by the insurance rather than the club.  Without that coverage we would not be able to have non-members participate at our events. 
     Events are one of those ‘we’ll take care of that later’ issues.  What is clear at this juncture is that the long running Whataburger Race Series is now history.  Our relationship with Whataburger is not necessarily over but the burger folks are not that interested in funding a 2002 windsurfing race series.  Lacking an events/race director, the club has opted to have members set up events with the director job rotating to those who plan the individual events.  Not a bad idea if only the membership would hold up their end and plan some events. What the membership said they wanted were fun gatherings but no one has as yet stepped forward and set up a date, time, and place.   Somebody out there knows what they would enjoy- come on and tell us your ideas, pick a date and lets give it a try!  Now don’t fear proposing a new event- if you think you would enjoy some hitherto untried idea, bring it forward and lets get it on the schedule.  I did that a few years ago with my weird circumnavigation ‘race’ through the canals out here on the island.  No one else seemed to feel that was such a good idea but I had fun and to my knowledge, I still hold the record for circumnavigating the island’s canals at 1 hour 39 minutes (not counting the stop at the Ward’s canal side deck for refreshments).  Eat your hearts out you racer types out there- do you hold any ‘pseudo official records’ from all that racing around the Bay?  I might give you a chance to take my record and give the canal course event another try... but only if someone else will promise to show up this time.  The real purpose of that event was to give the sport exposure to all those folks who have a canal for their back yard and I still firmly maintain that a dozen boards sailing through those backyards would certainly draw attention to our sport from the hundreds of homes we would sail past.  I suspect the times have changed to the point that a rebirth of the Corpus classic Suck Down  Sail off Regatta is out of the question but maybe not....  Come on folks give it some thought and let us hear some ideas.  One thing to keep in mind is the cost of a chase/rescue boat- unless you can also figure how to obtain (and/or pay for) one, the club’s coffers aren’t up to that task this year.  Make it fun and give nearly every participant a chance to at least complete the event/course and they will come- except maybe to the island’s canals.

2002 CCWA Activities Schedule

Feb 19    Monthly Meeting at the home of Nancy & Hal Hamilton 
Feb 27    Full Moon Bonfire, Mustang Island, Contact Nancy Hamilton
Mar 19   Monthly Meeting at the home of Dick & Arleen Ward 
Mar 28   Full Moon Bonfire, Mustang Island, Contact Nancy Hamilton

Executive  Faces of the CCWA
     Its another year and as usual some old members have moved on while some new faces have come onboard. One such new member, Hans Anderson, has jumped in with both feet and I am sure glad he did.  I first ‘met’ Hans on the rec.windsurfing newsgroup.  At that time Hans was residing in Montana and seriously considering moving to Corpus Christi.  He came to town, rented gear from the folks out at Worldwinds and began looking for a home for his family.  His job came with him since Hans is a self employed web designer and so did Annie, his wife, and the kids.  Maybe its the pace of life down here in the Coastal Bend that Hans hasn’t yet adapted too, but he is one energetic man.  You are likely to run into Hans at many different launches in town- he’s tried most of them already sailing whenever the conditions are good enough to plane on his new Starboard Carve 99. 
     Most of us know Gary Motl well- he was the charter Commodore the first year the club existed (it was called Fleet 6 back then).  In 2002, Gary will be the CCWA’s Secretary.  His platform as such was club business should be a part of the monthly meetings but a brief structured  part.  As Secretary, you can bet Gary will see to it the balance of  pleasure versus work will be heavily weighed to the former at our future meetings.  Its hard to argue with a fellow who’s been to so many CCWA meetings. 
     There are other faces on the 2002 Executive Committee but they are the same tired mugs you saw all last year.  Back for additional tours are the Commodore, Chip Biery and I’m still putting out the newsletter.

2002 CCWA State of the Club  by  Chip Biery
     We had our January meeting to plan for the 2002 season. We now have a functioning board including some new faces and some old friends. Despite my pleas for a new commodore, I’m still the chief of our tribe. The issues that we discussed included 1) the meeting format 2)club financial status 3) continuing with the USWA insurance program and 4) our event calendar.
    We are in favor of having the meetings continue on a monthly basis. However, the meetings need to be hosted at members’ homes. We need volunteers to step forward and host a meeting. We are in favor of some weekend meetings to be held in conjunction with a day of sailing. It’s hoped that this will allow the visitors to our area to attend the party. I would like to see some sailors sponsor a day of sailing with a meeting/party to follow the event. It could be a day at Bird w/a beach party afterward or a Day on the Bay with a Bar-B-Q to follow. The goal is to get more people on the water and more together to celebrate the sailing season. 
   The clubs financial status is sound. However, we want to cut some expenses so we’re looking to find ways to get the Newsletter out via electronic distribution as opposed to printed and stamped delivery. There are multiple benefits to this method, primarily a reduction in cost. We will no longer continue to forward copies to members whose dues are unpaid. Many of you may choose to have the newsletter delivered as in years past. Others may like the electronic option. Ideally, we will send a notice to those on-line that the newsletter is ready and you could simply download it to your computer, print it out, and have it to read.     We discussed the option of changing our insurance to meet the changing needs of the club. In the end, the USWA program still offers the best protection for the group members and any functions we may host. In addition, we felt the cost of the policy is justified as a benefit to our members. All club members benefit from the On-The-Beach and Regatta coverage available. We feel that the potential protection from this liability policy is a marketable benefit to would-be members.   The Event Calendar is open for sponsors. 
     We want to increase the participation at events.  It is our goal to model some sailing days along the lines of the Aransas Triangle format that the Williams have hosted in the past. We have a core group of volunteers who will make phone calls to remind members of the upcoming sail/meeting. It’s important to get these dates on the club calendar so those visitors may make arrangements to participate.  The ultimate goal of our club is to promote sailing in a spirit of friendship and camaraderie and we need to successfully bring the group together. We want to make these opportunities fun. In that spirit, we hope to succeed! 

Construction on the Island
     The flashing signs along the Causeway have been warning folks that elevation of the Causeway is slated to begin February 4th.  Look for an added few minutes getting onto and off of the island eventually and for the next few years and hope you don’t get stuck behind some passive aggressive driver who perceives the single lane as the perfect opportunity to drive at 30 mph.  Personally I view such drivers the same as I do Arab terrorist- the world would be far better without them.  Both the slow pokes and their counterparts (the speed demons) are frequently the cause of accidents and between the two they can make the inconvenience of construction flat out dangerous.
     Before the Causeway elevation project got going, there was a parade of  loaded dump trucks heading out to the National Seashore.  Were they finally getting to work on changes out there?  Nope, all those truckloads were going to build a base for yet another gas well along Park Rd 22.  Not the reopening of the old boat ramp road which both boaters and windsurfers want.  While not directly aimed at the windsurfing area, this project will make life at Bird a far more pleasant experience.  It will divert the crack of dawn parade of rattling boat trailers away from the camping area at Bird.  It should also alleviate the parking hassles which got out of hand the past few years as fishermen parked their vehicles and empty trailers in prime spots along the shoreline.  I guess things just don’t get done that quickly... unless there is money to be made as in gas wells. 

The cartoon is on the cartoons page.
 

 ED’s Note  Nancy won’t miss the next meeting- its at her home.

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8.8 Gaastra F1-11 with proper Powerex mast, $195. 
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