Commodore's Notes:  The February meeting went off without any glitches.  Several items were discussed including the South Padre Island Blowout on May 1st and 2nd.  Looks like we will have a large contingency headed for the event.  It's lots of fun so plan on going.  For more information on windsurfing at SPI, check out SPI Windsurfing.
Still looking for ideas for the May 8th Bird Island Bash.  Currently, as one event, I plan on setting up some buoys and letting sailors run a timed course.  Get your friend and sail as a heat or sail it alone.  Need volunteers with stop watches to time it.  Additionally, Roy has given me a lead for some gadgets to attach to boards that measure distance and speed.  Hopefully, we can come up with a radar gun for the event also?  I would like to have some sort of barbecue or shrimp boil or fish fry or etc.  Any ideas?
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE MARCH 20TH FUN SAIL AT BIRD ISLAND.  We will have the park superintendent, Jock Whitworth, speaking to the group at noon, then sail afterwards.  I would like to see everyone there.
Craig Greenslit mentioned holding clinics on the Oso for those interested.  Let me or him know and if there is interest maybe we can set something up.  I've tried keeping up with him on the bay, no luck.  I guess I need a clinic.
Hope to see you on the water.    --  Chester

Jimmy Diaz teams with Pryde:   In an AWIA news release yet another big name racer is moving to a new sponsor.  Neil Pryde is refilling their stable following the mass defection announced last month.  Of particular interest to Corpus Christi is the announcement that Jimmy will be attending the US Open again this year.  On a down note for this year's Open Phil McGain felt the prize money at the Open was not enough to attract him this year.  Below is the news release
from AWIA:
Jimmy Diaz, long respected as the hardest working professional windsurfer on Maui has teamed with NeilPryde Sails to better his World Cup results.  Over the last several years Jimmy has become one of the top names to be reckoned with on the World Cup.  His incredible work ethic combined with his thorough knowledge of sail design will be a valuable asset to the NEIL PRYDE Design team on Maui.  In addition to racing World Cup events, Jimmy will also be on hand to attend several mainland events like the Black Dog Pro/Am (May 13-16) and the US Open.  When not racing, Jimmy will be helping to test a variety of NP sails on Maui.  According to Kent Marinkovic of Adventure Sports, "Jimmy is an excellent addition to our team of Bjorn Dunkerbeck, Antoine Albeau, Josh Stone, and Jason Pollakow.  I'm sure that with his skills, and positive attitude, Jimmy will be even more successful than ever before.  I'm really looking forward to working with him".

The article on FIXED HARNESS LINES has moved to the windsurfing tips page.

Editor's  Puffs:  Looking well forward in the events schedule I decided to give sailing the canals out on Padre Island a try a few weeks back.  How many of you have ever tried to sail in such an
environment?  Its a bit like trying to drive a large truck down a very narrow alley- in reverse.  Just to make it a bit more difficult, while we were rigging the wind pulled a gradual shift on us so that the expected beam reach down the first leg in SE winds became a tough upwind battle against an Easterly breeze.  I'm happy to say I could make headway and even developed a new move- ‘the kick tack’ in the process.  The new move was necessary since I was sailing an antique, long race board (well its an ‘89 Fanatic Cat) and the canal walls were more than a match for the board's skin.  In the kick tack you get both feet in front of the mast then use the lead foot to propel you away from the canal's bulkhead and accelerate the lumbering board's turn.  My partner in this adventure didn't fare as well.  Allen Mitchell was sailing an even older long board, a Fanatic Club model, and the combination of a much smaller centerboard and a Ninja weed fin would not permit
him to make any progress upwind in the narrow canals. If we could have made it to the end of that first leg we then would have faced a four block dead run with a low bridge near the end of the run.  I still don't know if there is enough clearance for a sail under that bridge- we never made it that far.  This was a Sunday afternoon and I could clearly hear my partners grumblings of discontent as he repeatedly got caught by head winds and swirling breezes.  As those grumblings got louder, I figured I’d better turn back before the neighbors began complaining.  Given the typical SE winds, that route through the canals should be manageable for most sailors and ought to be fun for a group of us.  I'm still curious to see if its possible to sail under that bridge and plan to give it another try in the next few weeks- I’ll probably have to find another partner for the next attempt. There were no photographers around to record the effort but I was given the ‘artist’s rendition’ below that pretty well depicts the episode.   Click here or on the cartoon to see the full size version.
The first attempt was a learning experience, here's what I learned:  1) the bigger the center board the better  2) even in a light breeze you don't want a huge sail - you need to be able to easily handle the sail or it will handle you in the swirls  3) bulkheads make lousy bumpers, and 4) boy are those boat ramps slippery.   There's no doubt that the canals are a challenge to sail but our test run was rather warmly received by the folks who's backyards we were sailing on.  There are plenty of places to pull out along the proposed route for anyone who decides the full circle is too tough but between the public boat launches ... there's no escape (but lots of places to stand).  On either  NW or SE winds the circle is navigable on a long board but winds out of the East make that first leg really tough.   Dust off your long board and give it a try at the August 21 fun event.
 

Buoy Roundings...the racing scene:	Wind Peaks Dec, Jan, & Feb 98-9
-- By   Guy Miller    I am proposing to initiate a regional ranking system, and would appreciate some feedback.  It is designed to encourage attendance at race events as well as give some meaningful competitive accounting for all level of sailors.  The proposal goes like this :       I plan to use a bonus weighting system  to account for age and sex differences rather than have lots of different divisions for the ranking. This is a similar concept as used for snow skiing through the NASTAR organization. It will accommodate different divisions on race days.   Even novices can do well in the regional rankings since they will only be  scored against other novices to amass regional points. Experienced racers sandbagging as novices will be severely penalized.       Race organizers will be required to track conditions for events, as well as competitor age and sex, and include those with overall divisional scores for the event. Weighting  between slalom, course and long distance races remains at the discretion of the race organizer. Needless to say USWA membership is required to be scored.  No race held in less than 5 m.p.h. average wind will score.  When the wind is between 5 and 10 mph average, only races without upwind legs will count.       When wind estimated average is 20 mph or above downwind or figure eight slalom races should be held when possible. When the wind is between 10 and 20 mph average  course racing should be held when possible.       Raw scores are calculated as points by the formula below, with 100 points being the max.  (Number of racers in division + 1 - position ) * 100 / Number of racers in division.       Divisions with less than 10 participants will have the raw      scores reduced by 20 %       Divisions with less than 5 participants will have the raw      scores reduced by 20 % per person less than 5 in addition      to the above.       Events held in more than 25 mph average wind will receive      a 20% bonus weighting.       Events held in less than 10 mph average wind will be      reduced by 20%  Wind weighting bonuses will be based on the average estimated wind speed for the whole duration of  the event. Thus if the wind is 10 mph the first day and 30 mph the second, the average is 20.  Grand Slam events carry a bonus weighting of 100% of the raw score (double the points in other words). These events will be the US Open, and The South Padre Island Blowout.  Bonus events will carry a bonus weighting of 50% of the raw score.  These events will be the Texas State Championship,  the Corpus Christi Screaming Reach, the Gulf Coast Championship, and the Corpus Christi One Hour Classic. Other big regional events could be added to this list if these are communicated to me within the next month and meet the same organizational standard and size as the above races.  Normal events will include Whataburger races,  GBWA weekend races, and any other local area WEEKEND races that  communicate their race to me within the next month.  Women will receive a 20 % increase in their raw scores if there is no women's division. Age  weightings are in addition to this.  Juniors under 17 will receive a bonus weighting of (17 - age) * 10%  if there is no juniors division.  Masters (> 40) will receive a bonus weighting of (Age - 40)  * 2.5 % if there is no masters division.	Dec     Jan     Feb   1     18mph   39mph    23mph   2     24mph   46mph    18mph   3       4mph   28mph    24mph   4     24mph   26mph    24mph   5     29mph   23mph    33mph   6     39mph   25mph    37mph   7     33mph   31mph    20mph   8     37mph   29mph    29mph   9     26mph   38mph    26mph   10   31mph   20mph    38mph   11   25mph   26mph    51mph   12   28mph   45mph    40mph  13   17mph   25mph    40mph  14   16mph   24mph    22mph  15   11mph   16mph    36mph   16   13mph   30mph    23mph   17   16mph   22mph    25mph  18   40mph   20mph    18mph   19   15mph   21mph    22mph   20   28mph   28mph    41mph   21   33mph   34mph    31mph   22   45mph   51mph    29mph  23   23mph   24mph    17mph   24   25mph   23mph    29mph  25   17mph   26mph    33mph   26   14mph   40mph    30mph   27   11mph   33mph    48mph  28   18mph   32mph    26mph   29   16mph   33mph   30   25mph   36mph   31   16mph   21mph
WHATABURGER  '99   THE SERIES
#1  March 27,  Oleander Point.... BE THERE & Help Out

Volunteers Wanted:  The club sponsored events, both races and fun events, need people to help out on and before the events.  This is particularly true for the U.S. Open.  Last year, the CCWA was a sponsor and had a booth at the Open; but we didn't have sufficient help to man the booth throughout the event.  We don't want that to happen again!  Similarly, other events suffered because of a lack of help.  How about volunteering your help this year?  Just phone an event coordinator and offer some help.

Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association Membership Application Name:______________________________________Phone: (       )______________ Family membership, list names of family members:_____________________________________ ____________________________________E-mail Add:_________________________ Address:_______________________________________________________________ City:_________________________________State:_________________Zip__________ Please enclose $20 for individual; $30 for family (1 year membership) Mail To: CCWA,  PO Box 81453, Corpus Christi, TX  78468

 

Used Gear:

Classified ads are free to members, non-members:  $5.00 Please submit the ads by the 25th of the month. Mail ads to: LooseClu@prodigy.net

Berky LeMehaute custom course-slalom board. 1998 shape.  This board works with  6.5 up to 9.3 Smoke the fleet! $600. AEROTECH Course Race 9.5 1995 Multiple race winner.  Great big course race sail in very good condition  $135. NORTHWAVE RX 7.7 1997 Competitive, easy-rigging multi-cam racing sail, US Open winner $150. NorthWave RX  ‘97 quiver: 602, 5.7, 5.2 & 4.7Each$99. Masts! We got Fiberspar & Dynafiber 460-500cm sizes from $100.  Will accessorize with other cool stuff, Whaddaya need?  Contact: racetteguyjen@msn.com 97 Naish Nalu 5.3,$150. 98 Neil Pryde Gybe Wave 4.7, brand new, never rigged,  $235. Contact:ekw01557@kestrel.tamucc.edu FOR RENT - Small, secluded, waterfront house. Flour Bluff, one bedroom, one Bath  (shower only), one year lease please. Call Bob (361) 937-2375.