Gulf Coast Windsurfing ChampionshipLake Texana    by  Cliff Tudor 
     The 2000 Gulf Coast Championships was the first of three Techno Race Series for Texas.  Brackenridge Plantation and Campground on Lake Texana is nestled on Hwy 111 near Edna between Houston and Corpus Christi on Highway 59.  The shoreline is situated so the predominate southerly wind or north fronts blow  up or down the lake without a noticeable wind line.  The camping facilities are the best around and the locals rolled out the red carpet for all. There's nothing like a good hot shower after a day of great windsurfing.  The campground has a great family atmosphere, with lots of kids to play with during the day but quiet nights.  It was truly an epic weekend; the wind blew 15+ for 5 days straight, which started with the ABK Camp on Thursday. 
     On Saturday, it blew 20-30+ from the north; racing was intense as sailors were using up to 8-meter sails to speed around the course.  This made for some explosive slams by ferocious gusts.  Over half of the finishers were riding 150 liter BIC Techno 283 boards. Had we given an overall award, Andy Brandt would have taken home the Gold on a Techno.  There were five races held on Saturday before moving on to an awesome freestyle display by Andy Brandt, Jason Voss, Christian Rodriguez and Ben Kurman from ABK Sports. Christian impressed his viewers with flat-water loops and his ever-improving attempts at Vulcans. Free sailing after the races was fun for those who had any strength left. Lake Texana gets some really nice swell action going so the jumping was good too. The local TV station filmed the ABK Camp, races, and interviewed windsurfers. The evening news showed 5 minutes of windsurfing action, which is more than big city networks, give you. Saturday night was the big party with fajitas, fish, venison, and home made sides.   Afterwards the party dispersed to smaller campfires. 
     Sunday the wind clocked around to the southeast and increased to over 20+.  There were some holes earlier during the racing but it just kept filling in and nuked until late. There was a nice line up of ABK equipment, which was Bic boards with Neil Pryde rigs, to demo with plenty of free technical and rigging tips. ABK did a freebie mini clinic on short board tacks in the afternoon.  We would like to thank BIC, DaKine, Epic Gear, Fin Works, Hawaiian Proline, Murrays, Neil Pryde, North Sails, O'Neill, Power Composites, and Sailworks for the many goodies we were able to give out during the event. 
     I want to thank the many sailors and spectators who made the trip to Lake Texana to attend our event.  I hope you bring more of your friends and family to our next event.  I want to thank ABK Sports for hosting the instructional camp for our fellow windsurfers and WINDSURFING SPORTS of Seabrook for hosting the 5-day event.  The Galveston Bay Windsurfing Association is planning an event at Lake Texana for next October. 
 

OVERALL RESULTS 1st Andy Brandt  2nd Craig Greenslit  3rd Guy Racette  4th Jason Voss	TECHNO WOMEN 1st Sara James  2nd Maradee Robinson	TECHNO MEN 1st Andy Brandt  2nd Jason Voss  3rd Jon J Ernst  4th Skip Johnson	TECHNO MASTERS 1st Cliff Tudor  2nd Nick Antrobus  3rd Ken Merten  4th Jim Bobo
OPEN 1st Craig Greenslit  2nd Guy Racette  3rd Mike (Zing) Sainz 4th Kyle Krebs	MASTERS 1st Gary Caylor  2nd Jennifer Racette  3rd Terry Engle  4th Ken Gunter	SPORT 1st Mark Frary  2nd Eric Christianson  3rd Marcus Mueller  4th Gus Bandemer

Editor's Puffs:   by Roy Tansill     Writers Wanted!!! 
     Change is not something a part of me accepts well and during the past month I pretty well threw the whole deck up in the air.  My part time job at WorldWinds changed into a full time job with a large corporation and my retirement is history for... oh the next five or so years.  That major change for me is rapidly trickling down to others..... ultimately it’ll get to you too.  How you ask?  Well for starters you read this newsletter which is about to get a few pages skinnier if  more of you readers don’t help out by writing articles. 
     Ordinarily I would have followed up a few stories I got wind of this month.  Aprime launch has been closed by the folks who’s property was crossed in order to get from the road to the site.  How many club members sail there ? (NONE now!)  No one even offered to write about this loss of  the best flat water launch in Corpus.  Two weeks ago a windsurfer and a power boat collided out at Bird Island; again no one took the time to write about the incident and I was way too busy to collect enough facts for an article.  I did find out that the sideswiped sailor was not injured but with the increased boat traffic its only a matter of time before another sailor gets badly injured out there because boats are allowed to operate at full throttle right through the area full of windsurfers.  A little common sense on the part of boaters (as well as those ‘in charge’ of the area) could prevent this otherwise inevitable occurrence.   Last weekend the Park Rangers, somewhat arbitrarily,  decided to prevent admission to folks carrying sailing gear because they felt it was too crowded- it wasn’t.  Come on folks, if something is happening at your favorite sailing site let all of the club know about it- write an article or letter to the editor and get the word out. 
      I’ve been the editor for over two years and I still have more fingers than the number of members who’ve written articles throughout my time in this position.  Until my recent return to the world of full time work, this was a minor problem since I had the time to dig up enough ‘news’ to fill the issue- now its going to be different and your input is needed. 
    This goes beyond club members too.  The Park Superintendents have contributed a total of one article in three years and despite that article’s slap at me, I was very happy to print it.  I’d be even happier to print another but none have been sent.  Every month we send the National Seashore’s staff copies.... I wonder if they read it?  Just in case they do, and are now getting a bit annoyed by my singling them out,  I’ll take this opportunity to thank all of their staff involved in the construction of the shade structures recently erected along the beach at Bird Island Basin.  The shade structures are really well made, placed where most of the sailors congregate, and are getting a lot of use- nice job Jock & company! 
     Now I’ll get around to the Bay sailors.  Other than the regular racing crew,  I’ve seen only one article from you folks who like your playground full of wrinkles.  This year I’ve already spent more time along the Bay’s shore than in all the other years I’ve lived in Corpus Christi.  The one thing that stands out besides the ability of the folks sailing there is what a mess it is.  At the end of this month we’ll be hosting the Open along a shoreline that closely resembles a landfill- its disgusting!  The national media will be there, lots of racers and even more wannabe sailors, many of whom will be making their first visit to our sparkling trash heap by the sea.  I know that’s not the windsurfers’ trash;  its the end result of some genius’ idea of running the storm drains into the Bay right at Cole Park.   Its the entire city’s trash and the city ought to clean it up before the National Media shows up. 
     And now for something totally different... Chester would like to borrow an electric smoker to use for the US Cellular US Open Party’s briskets preparations.  If you have one,  give Chester a call at 985-8385.

Whataburgers II & III 
     Saturday, April 15 and the winds at Oleander, unlike the IRS, were working hard all day.  Race director for the day, Craig Greenslit, set up a downwind slalom course then climbed into the committee boat for a long day of rocking and rolling in chop.  Eight races were held and everyone got wet.  With the finish line set up between a near shore buoy and the big palm tree up on the bluff above the launch area,  the troika of scorers (Marcie Greenslit, Barbara Antrobus, and Roy Tansill) had it easy comfortably sitting on shore.  Some problems with local sailors were encountered as a few of the non-paying B&F (back & forth) crowd decided it would be fun to get into the races.  Everyone is welcome but you do have to register and pay your entry fees before joining the fleet.  There were 17 registered racers running the downwind slalom course initially but by the days end the fleet was down to 14 as the conditions took their toll on both sailors and equipment. 
     The season’s third Whataburger race was held on April 29 with Guy Racette serving as the race director.  Despite a forecast calling for 25-30 mph breezes Guy set out a triangle course with the start/finish line about a third of the way along the upwind leg.  There were three variations run on the same course.  The first two heats were simple one lap around the three marks,  the third heat required two laps around the triangle, and the final two heats added an extra lap around the upwind  and downwind marks after one lap around the full course.  Once again Roy and Barbara kept the official scores while perched comfortably up on the bluff recording the finish order via the walkie talkies with Guy out in the committee boat.  The predicted winds never arrived and the course racing was the correct call. 

The results of Whataburger race II & III are in the April newsletter. 

2000 WHATABURGER RACE SERIES RESULTS

Race #5,  May 27

Open Fleet

Name Craig Greenslit John J Ernst Guy Miller Guy Racette Olivier Jallais Walpeka Splivo Zing Barry Ritchie Jennifer Racette David Cothran David Corpus Nick Antrobus Charles Allen Philip Von Keyserlingk Jon Bright Sail # WY-5 US-1166 TX-1 CC-111 US-07 US-459 US-097 NMO CC-111 US-TXT C-41 K-111 US-567 74 CC-4 Heat 1 0.7 2 4 3 6 5 7 8 9 11 12 10 13 17 16 Heat 2 0.7 3 2 5 4 6 7 8 10 11 13 12 14 9 16  Heat 3 4 0.7 5 3 2 9 7 6 8 12 10 13 11 17 16 Total Pts 5.4 5.7 11 11 12 20 21 22 27 34 35 35 38 43 48 Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Division O O M M O O M M W M M GM GM M O

Notes: 1) Did Not Finish scored 16  2) Did Not Start scored 17  OPEN  1 Craig Greenslit  2 J Jay Ernst  3 Olivier Jallais   MASTERS  1 Guy Miller 2 Guy Racette 3 Zing  GRAND MASTERS 1 Nick Antrobus 2 Charles Allen  WOMEN 1 Jennifer Racette

Industry News extracted from AWIA news releases 
     Exel Oyj (Exel), a manufacturer of high-performance composite products for sporting goods and industrial applications, has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Fiberspar Performance Products, the sporting goods subsidiary of Fiber Spar and Tube Corporation. Fiberspar Performance Products is the manufacturer of high-performance composite products for the windsurfing, hockey and marine markets. Exel Oyj (based in Finland) will acquire the Fiberspar sporting goods business effective May 1, 2000. The acquisition is a part of Exel's long term strategy of strengthening its' technical performance position in the rapidly growing market of composite sports equipment.  Fiberspar, founded in 1986, has focused on the development and commercialization of proprietary product designs and methods of manufacture of high strength composite materials. Fiberspar technology has achieved an impressive track record in the markets it has served. Fiberspar products have been used by twelve consecutive world champions in windsurfing, three consecutive leading scorers in the National Hockey League, and three consecutive winning America's Cup teams in sailing. 
     Exel's President and CEO, Ari Jokelainen said, "The acquisition of Fiberspar Performance Products strengthens our position as a supplier of high-performance composite products for both the windsurfing and hockey industries and will allow us to expand our product offering and continue to meet the high expectations of consumers worldwide."   Operations in West Wareham, Massachusetts will continue as normal with the sales, marketing and distribution of Fiberspar brand windsurfing, marine and hockey products remaining in the current facility. Production of the entire 2000 range of products will continue in the U.S.A. through the end of the year 2000. Effective May 1, the facility will become part of Exel USA Inc. and current Fiberspar Performance Products' personnel will be employed by Exel USA Inc. After the transition period, on or about January 1, 2001,  production will shift to Exel's Mäntyharju, Finland factory to take advantage of current production and increased cost-effectiveness.  Fiberspar's Vice President, Sales and Marketing Bob Hunnewell said: 
     “We will maintain the same high standard of service our customers currently experience as we move through the acquisition by Exel. We are committed to providing our customers with consistently high performance and high quality products. It is our intent to maintain the same strong business relationship and communication with our distributors and retailers as we have always had and every effort will be made to make a smooth and seamless transition. We are also excited with what the Exel organization can offer.  Exel has tremendous strength and experience in manufacturing high performance composite products. This will allow us to focus more of our efforts on servicing the needs of our customers and growing the Fiberspar brand." 
For further information, please contact: 
 Bob Hunnewell 
Vice President, Sales & Marketing 
Fiberspar Performance Products 
508-273-1140
rhunnewell@fiberspar.com 
 

Sportsmanship
Dear Editor, 
Thanks for printing the race results from  WHATABURGER I. You were kind to list me in 3rd place, but in fact Olivier beat me fair and square. Our point total was identical at 19. When that is the case, we next look at who had more first place finishes, which is also identical at none. But Olivier  had several 2nds, while I had only one. That means he wins.
Guy Racette 
Ed’s Note:  Thank you Guy, the official standings have been ammended.
 

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25ft. Rowing Scull, one-person , very good condition, fiberglass-$350.9ft. WestWind, 2 masts,  2 booms,  2 sails  $100.Call Conrad (361) 241-3678 or pager 812-1606. 

‘95 7.5 World Sail slalom sail skinny luff, 2 cams, very light and in excellent condition ‘95 3.5 World Sail  single cam adjustable head in very good condition $75 each obo  e-mail: LooseClu@prodigy.net 

Help Wanted: WorldWinds Windsurfing currently has openings for part time summer help.  Pay negotiable (but the perks are unbeatable!). Contact Vicki Duncan at WorldWinds (361) 949-7472