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CCWA | CURRENTS | May 2001 |
What follows is an edited version of our newsletter "CURRENTS". To get the full printed version, just join the club using the membership form below, and get the complete newsletter delivered to your mailbox every month. Send submissions to the newsletter to LooseClu@prodigy.net. |
Commodore's Notes: What's in a Name! It's been a great month of sailing in Corpus Christi. There have been a few weeks where I got in a session every day. There have been plenty of out-of-towners on the water and the launches have been packed. We've just finished the first Whataburger Weekend with events at Cole Park and Bird Island on successive days. The bayside event included our kite flying cousins. With winds in the 30 to 40mph range all weekend, the club was able to sponsor a couple of great days of sailing and flying. That brings me to the real news. The club has made some moves to include kitesurfers in the group. Peter Nordby is back on board as our Kite Events Director. Our newest member is Jeff Howard. Jeff brings his years of experience in flying and designing kites to the club and is now our Kite Events Safety Director. Another new member, an avid windsurfer turned kitesurfer, Rob Gordon, has joined the club. His role is going to be that of mediator. It will be his responsibility to work to make the waters a friendlier place for all of us. So we've added some new faces and some old friends! Now for the exciting part. At the last meeting it was agreed by all that the club should make the move to formally include Kitesurfing. We are going to amend the charter to make the Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association a multisport organization. I tried to get my favorite new name for the organization passed but others wanted to take a moment to consider the name and banner under which we will all play. I guess we're going to have a contest of some sort to see what name appeals to us. Generally, we agreed that we should try to stick with the CCWA initials for this new inclusive Windsurfing and Kiteboarding organization. We hope that with the addition of the kiters we will have more participation in the club events. It is our goal to use this new alliance to help us in our quest to protect our most vital interests; safer launch sites, better facilities, preservation of our access, and a louder voice within the community. Chip Biery What’s In A Name? (part 2)
Corpus Christi Sailboard Association?
Editor's Puffs: by
Roy Tansill
Bombed Boater Bangs Board at Bird
(sailor not injured)
Sightings by
Chip Biery
Go Fly A Kite Who
says you can't go home again? by Peter
Nordby
Whataburger #II, With a side order
of Kites by Rob Gordon
New Wind Sensors Up & Running
DATELINE, CORPUS CHRISTI:
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Feb., Mar., Apr. '01 |
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To quote Big Rig Bob: "Hay Muchos Grandes Sombreros Blanco!"
Bob got his nickname because he drives a very large truck. Or maybe
it’s just because he rigs about a meter or two bigger sail than a normal
person. No matter, the point is that it’s been mighty windy out at
Bird these past several days and the white caps are definitely not in short
supply. Yesterday, one of our out of state guests cornered me and
demanded: "where’s all this flat water you guys keep advertising?"
The silly grin on his face reassured me that I probably wasn’t looking
at a false advertising lawsuit anytime soon.
My original plan was to write about "BIG WIND TUESDAY" on April 17, when it was blowing 28 to 40+. But then we got "BIG WIND THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY, ETC.". I am quite sure we were having fun because the casualty list included one total decapitation of a 4.0 wave sail (took out the leech all the way through the X ply to the mast sleeve), two broken booms, three broken noses (board variety), one sprained ankle (human variety) and local drag racer, Don Cryer, who returned to the beach with 33% less board than he took out. Actually, Don’s accident wasn’t wind related and is not even funny. He was cruising along in his normal speed-of-sound manner when a powerboat heading back to the launch ramp cut him off. The vessel was approaching from his port tack backside at full speed and he did not see it until the last minute. The good news is that Don wasn’t hurt or killed in the collision. The bad news is that the boater didn’t stop to render aid. I won’t rehash the incident, as I understand that Roy is doing a write up. Being a boater myself, I do sympathize with those fishermen trying to beat home in the ferocious wind fetch in their flat-bottomed bay boats. Having said that, there is no excuse (legal or otherwise) for the boater’s behavior. I won’t bore you with Coast Guard regs, but unless the windsurfer tried to intentionally ram the boat, which we can assume is pretty unlikely, that is the end of the story. Except for the simple fact that being right can still get you killed, Don didn’t really have any options, but if at all possible, ALWAYS try to give way and keep a wide berth if possible, no matter who has the right-of-way. Un-hook and schlog straight upwind if necessary. It is just not worth the consequence. And boaters, PLEASE SLOW IT DOWN and maintain a close watch when navigating through the windsurf zone. All that is necessary here is a little cooperation and mutual respect. On Sunday April 22, we had the 2nd Whataburger race out at Bird. The wind was co-operating, the attendance was great, and as always, the windsurfing community really appreciates Whatburger for their sponsorship of this annual event. ****ABSOLUTLEY FREE DEPT.***** Tell all of your non-windsurfing friends and relatives (you do have some of those, right?) that on May 5th and again on May 19th, Worldwinds will be hosting two free Introduction Intro Windsurfing sessions that are open to the public. These sessions will start at 9AM and will last until Noon. On a walk-up basis, we will be giving on-the-water windsurfing lessons at no cost. This is a great opportunity to get all those really cheap friends to become involved in our great sport. Also, on most Saturdays around 5:15 PM, John Van Leeuwen will be holding Q&A (Question and Answer) sessions out in front of the Worldwinds Executive Office Container. John will drag out the drag board and answer any questions you might have. Did you ever wonder how to go about building a canoe? Do you have a burning desire to know if a fish can ride a bicycle? Ask John. He will also be glad to answer any and all of your windsurfing related questions. These sessions are not just for our paying guests and we encourage everyone to stop on by. Worldwinds is a proud (but small) sponsor of the US Open this month.We will be doing free land simulator sessions each afternoon. In addition, we are also donating windsurf lesson packages as part of the daily sweepstakes drawings. After you watch the "Big Dogs" rip it up for a while, stop by our booth and say howdy. That’s it from here, Don@Worldwinds |
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CURRANTS... Letters to the Editor | |||||
A letter to the Chief of Police
On the Friday afternoon of April 20, 2001 I parked my van on the shoreline side of the 3500 block of Ocean Drive in order to windsurf from Ropes Park. I chose that particular spot to park because it affords the shortest walk to the water, and lately I've been having trouble walking due to foot problems. I note here that there is no indication anywhere of a parking prohibition for the location I chose. I was well clear of the Ropes Park turn-in and to increase clearance for the traffic lanes, I took great care to set my inside wheels atop the concrete curb while making sure I did not trample the grass inside the curb. I rigged my board and went sailing. A short time later, I saw from the water that there were two CCPD motorcycles parked behind my vehicle. I headed ashore to investigate if there was a problem, and was surprised to note that I had been ticketed. Regrettably I didn't take note of the officers' names or badge numbers, but I must commend them both for their professionalism and kindness. I questioned why I was getting this ticket, pointing out that there was no "Red Zone" or no parking sign. At first, one of the officers declared that I was on the grass, but closer inspection revealed this was not the case. Then it was asserted that I was blocking the Ropes Park entrance but this too was incorrect. Finally, one of the officers stated that I should take up this matter with you, because he said he received an order from you to go and issue the ticket. He further volunteered that the Department was "cracking down" on parking at the City's other popular windsurfing spot, Oleander Point. Of course I complied immediately with the officers' request that I move the vehicle to the parking area, at which point they voided the ticket. However I have been pondering this issue over the weekend, and have come to some conclusions. As a private citizen, I must express my dismay at the arbitrariness of your order. If the CCPD wishes to prohibit parking on Ocean Drive for safety reasons, I feel such prohibitions should be indicated clearly. As an enthusiastic participant and organizer for the sport of windsurfing in Corpus Christi since 1988, I'm concerned that such "crackdowns" as the officer described may jeopardize the good relations that the City has cultivated with the windsurfing community since the days of Mayor Betty Turner. I'm sure you're aware that the incredible assets of our City has, over the years, attracted large numbers of windsurfers to Corpus Christi, and that they bring substantial benefits in the form of tourist dollars. Consequently, I would like to offer my services as a liaison with the windsurfing community to serve as a conduit for any policy changes from the City. Having access through the Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association, I can serve to get the word out regarding parking and safety issues without the sort to sanctions that may negatively affect windsurfing tourists' experience here in Corpus Christi. Please feel free to call, write, or e-mail any information which you would like to see disseminated to our group, and I will see that it’s done. Sincerely, Guy Racette, Corpus Christi Windsurfing Association |
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WHATABURGER 2001 THE SERIES | |||||
Race #6 - Jun 10 @ Bird Island Basin ...Be there and 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 US Open. One 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. |
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
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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 |
8'-8" Zijacek slalom
board w/30" Techtronics Goldwing fin
$800.
Gulftech slalom boom (full carbon front end - used about 30-40 times) $200. DaKine triple board bag for wide boards, bring it on it will fit (used on 3 trips) $300. North Sails mast & quiver bag $75. Other sailing stuff - call I may have it Contact: Craig Greenslit, email: HOFFSLIT@aol.com |
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For more web classifieds, check out the Windsurfing Classifieds at "the other CCWA". |
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