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CCWA CURRENTS July 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: 
The Greatest Sailing Sport in Corpus Christi   by  Chip Biery
         The last few weeks I've had the opportunity to teach our favorite sport to the kids at the Corpus Christi Yacht Club Summer Camp. These are the sons and daughters of the big boat sailors that sail along side us out on the bay. Most of these kids had only seen a windsurfer from afar. I was approached with the opportunity to teach a windsurfing program to these kids as an option to their small boat sailing operation. It was a great chance to spoil these kids. My son Dylan was hired on as the other instructor.  That meant that Dylan had one of the rarest of job opportunities; a paying job in the windsurfing business. Judging from the response of the kids, we must have done it right. The windsurfing dock became the place to be. Kids were
lining up for a chance to practice. We often had to mediate arguments arising from one child getting more sailing time than another. Dylan and I worked to make sure that every boy and girl had a chance to learn to sail.  We have now brought more than one hundred new sailors into the fold.
     So, as every summer camp comes to an end, there is always an Awards Ceremony. And that is how I found myself, holding the microphone and acting as Emcee of the big event. Now all of you know that I wouldn't let an opportunity like that pass. I made a great speech of what a treat it was to bring the sport of windsurfing into the forefront of the camp scene. I was able to expound on the virtues of teaching the youth of Corpus Christi the joys of windsurfing. I paused before my closing remark and took a moment to look out at the moms and dads. Before me were arranged the finest in the local sailing scene. It was then that my closing remark came to me. I looked out upon the crowd and said, " I'm just happy that I had the chance to teach your kids to enjoy the greatest sailing sport in Corpus, Windsurfing."   Well, it was a great speech! Kind of left the crowd stunned. Weren't they here to celebrate Yacht Club Camp? They didn't realize they had sent their children to Mr. Chips Windsurfing Camp. I enjoyed my ultimate success when the son of a boater told his mom that he enjoyed Windsurfing more that boat sailing. Mom looked at him and said, " That's really great but don't tell dad that!"
Chip

Editor's Puffs:   by Roy Tansill   New(s) ‘n Stuff
Hotdogs!
Your next trip out to Bird will take you past a new sandwich shop just over the bridge on the Island.  The new shop is called Bub’s and its worth a stop.  The menu is limited which has made my task of trying everything on it easily covered in one week.   I’m a closet hotdog addict and have found every hotdog outlet in Corpus lacking until I tried Bub’s.  This is no wimpy Circle K hotdog- it takes two hands to keep all the fixins contained in the oversized deli hotdog roll and the fixins are relish, mustard, full length sliced dill pickle,tomato and sport peppers.  You can get either sweet or hot peppers and the latter is not mis-labeled.  They also have Polish sausage, Italian beef, Italian sausage and a combination of Italian beef and sausage which by itself will terminate even severe hunger attacks.  Look for Bub’s bright yellow facade in the first group of store fronts on the right just over the bridge- they’ve got the best dogs in Corpus!
Web site address change:
     Another new item is the CCWA’s website.  Its address has again changed and it is now found under Yahoo’s communities at:   http://www.geocities.com/txccwa/  our webmaster has been working overtime transferring the web pages to their new address.  Apparently NBC’s venture into the free web sites market has seen enough red ink and that service is about to terminate.  Much like the rest of life, there are fewer free lunches left in the web world.  The Central California Water Authority or some such organization already had the CCWA name at geocities.  He decided (with a nudge) to go with ‘txccwa’ so we should no longer be confused with the Cape Cod Windsurfing Association’s web offerings.  If you go to the old site, before it expires, it will pass you on to the new page and you can make the switch in your favorites list without having to type a word- great advantage if your typing is like mine. 
 1 New (large) shoulder
Long time CCWA member Bob Anderson appears to be coming along well while getting acquainted with his new shoulder.  The replacement joint is about a month old now and Bob is getting his range of motion back gradually while working on his rehab routine.  If all continues to go well we can expect to see ‘Viking Bob’ back out on the water sometime after he gets back out on the road. 

Sightings  A Response From the “Southern Boys” 
Hey Chip,
 This is Stan LeCain fm (LA), that's Lower Alabama. Great article about Port  A. Except the guy w/ me was "Rick Falgout". No big deal, however, you left off the other part of the story. The previous day we sailed at Cole Park.   Rick was hastily pulling his brand spanking new Aerotech wave sail out off the bag when he started cussing up a storm. All I heard was )(*&ing  Aerotech, *&^&^&#$#@!)((*&&&&, What the *&^% are they thinking blah! blah! blah!). At this point we have bikers, walkers, windsurfers and general on-lookers stopping in their tracks.  At the same time...I'm pulling out my two year old sail and couldn't help but notice that it's in mint condition (as  in new). I proceeded to bust out laughing but Ric's getting madder and  madder about the fact that Aerotech sent him a obviously used sail. He  points out the rusty grommet, the milky and almost torn monofilm and the very aged luff sleeve.  I finally can't take it any more and roll out his new sail for him. Now we're both dying laughing and nobody knows why. They probably just figured we were from LA and that's the way we are down there.
 PS  You left out the part where the LA guys ripped apart the waves and actually took the time to show a couple of guys how to go down the  line..........
 Later   DA PREZ.......Mobile Bay Windsurf Association

New Guy in Town....
     Brandon Kuhn has opened a new windsurfing instruction service on the Causeway.  Brandon is a San Antonio native who is commuting to Corpus to offer wannabe windsurfers beginner instructions on weekends.  He hopes to be out on the Causeway Thursdays through Sundays and will soon have a bread truck to haul more gear out to the 'mud hole'.   I watched and listened to Brandon’s rapid instructions with a student Saturday and the student was on the water after a quick intro to the uphaul onshore.  He utilizes waterproofed wireless intercoms to stay in touch with students while on the water without having to shout.  As I watched, a total beginner was out sailing and receiving additional instruction at the student’s pace.  For example nothing was said about turning until the student was well offshore and it was time to come about.  In the brief on land introduction, maintaining the across the wind position was given emphasis as well as the ‘bend your knees- back strait’
mantra. 
     The student I watched was young and athletic- in short, he was an ideal student.  He was out on the water within 15 minutes and got well offshore quickly without wandering downwind.   He had a bit more trouble on the return port tack as the reality of our sport’s demands for ambidexterity became very apparent.  When Brandon returned to shore while the student continued out on the water, the two were  able to communicate via the radios. 
     You’ll all get to meet Brandon soon since joining the CCWA is included in his plans for operating in Corpus Christi.  If you wish to contact him you can catch him off the side of the Causeway or phone him at (201) 885-3839.   While there is a ‘new guy in town’ offering lessons, there are plenty of potential students around.  This bodes well for windsurfing in Corpus Christi.

   2001 Whataburger Wrap-up:
race results
race results

Final Plan for Bird Released
The Final Bird Island Basin Recreational Use Plan was released May 25th and the phased development schedule is reproduced below.
 
Year

FY 2001

FY2002
 

Oct 2001 to
Sep 2002
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

FY 2003
 
 
 
 
 

FY 2005

Title of Project 

Submit for design of Master Plan for BIB 

Construct boat bypass road and boat parking (32 tandem spaces and 10 single spaces)

Place vehicle barriers (30 bollards) 

Install 2 Public restrooms

Construct shoreline road and camping spaces (30 RV spaces)

Construct tent camping areas (6 sites)

Construct Day Use Parking area (15 single spaces, 10 tandem spaces)

Place vehicle barriers (100 bollards)

Restoration of wetlands

Total for FY 2001 & 2002

Construct southern RV camping site and vehicle parking spaces (45 RV spaces and 25 single spaces)

Restoration of wetlands continues

Total for FY 2003

Utilize as needed to complete remaining project elements

Estimated Costs

$50,000.00
 

$371,000.00

$2,000.00

$34,000.00

$101,000.00

$4,000.00

$70,000.00

$6,600.00

$2,800.00

$640,600.00
 

$320,000.00

$3,200.00

$323,200.00

$140,000.00

That’s the plan and as you can see we won’t enjoy the improvements until next year when some things will begin to take shape.   Undoubtedly there will be some problems and conflicts as vacationers and construction activity vie for space on the beach but after these ‘growing pains’ are over, a nice place to sail  should become an even nicer place to sail, camp, fish, swim or just to spend a day at the beach.  The final report does mention that many decisions are yet to be made (both the bollards and cable as well as the road surface are specifically addressed in the May 25th report as items yet to be worked out).  I’ll bring along my copy of the Final Plan to this month’s meeting at Crab Lumley’s home so any of you who weren’t on the NPS mailing list can get a look at it.  Meanwhile if you have any thoughts about what would be better than steel cable and bollards to keep vehicles off the most sensitive beach areas please drop Jock Whitworth or Ken McMullen an e-mail or letter and share your thoughts- they will consider any reasonable alternatives.  You can also peruse the plan on the NPS web site:  www.nps.gov/pais once on the page, click on “in depth” then “park planning” 
 

~~~ Navy Regatta ~~~
Coming:  August 4, Corpus Christi Naval Air Station
Windsurfing and sailboat races on the bay from the beach at the NAS
Awards ceremony and party afterwards
For information or registration Contact:  Chip Biery  Baysailors@swbell.net

 
Bird's Eye View:
Wind Peaks
 Apr., May, & June '01 
Bombs Away!   ....The other day I picked up the Corpus Christi Caller Times (Saturday, June 23) and read with some interest that the Navy would like to turn Padre Island National Seashore into a bombing range. 
      I’m sure you all have been keeping current with current events and won’t be one bit surprised to know that the Navy has worn out it’s welcome bombing the squat out of the tiny island of Vieques in Puerto Rico and is consequently shopping around for a new target of opportunity.  It only seems logical for them to change their sights from the Spanish Virgin Islands and zero in on our little island.  I have spent time on both and the similarities between Vieques and Padre Island are uncanny. Both are beautiful, unspoiled, undeveloped, unique, and have great beaches.  Both have lots of plants, birds, turtles, and other endangered species. Both obviously share ideal conditions for a bombing range. 
      In fact, I have a small secret to share with you.  For months, I have been negotiating with the Navy and we are very close to coming to terms on a long term and very lucrative contract.  Worldwinds and the US Navy will joint venture a  “Go Big or Go Boom Adventure Sailing” program at Bird Island Basin (and we all know that adventure anything is a very big deal these days).  Details still need to be worked out, but the general concept is to paint bull’s-eyes on all of our sails and then have the Navy use our customers as moving targets.  An early sticking point was the use of our beginner classes.  This could have been a deal breaker but I had to draw the line in the sand somewhere - I am very much a humanitarian at heart.  Well, that and the fact that it is just way too hard to replace that much beginner equipment.
      In future newsletters I will keep you updated as to the cost of this new thrill sport.  It is still too early in development to know for sure, but I am kind of leaning toward cash in advance……….
      OK, I CONFESS that I did make part of this up.  The Navy only wants to use Padre Island for amphibious landing training. Big deal. Nesting turtles have to be smart enough to get out of the way of large tracked amphibious vehicles.   The bombing range itself would be limited to only about 100,000 acres or so of South Texas mainland.  Whoa, maybe they can figure out a way to combine the bombing range and the proposed spaceport.  Now that would be one serious tourist attraction!
      Even without all the bombs, missiles, and amphibious assaults, Bird continues to be exciting.  Typical afternoon thermals have given us many days in the 6.5 to 5.0 range.  And don’t forget  “Freaky Friday” when the morning winds were Northeast at 35-45mph and the mid-3 meter sails were way too big. The Worldwinds staff was under tremendous pressure board testing some new 85-liter Tigas.  Unfortunately, the wind didn’t last long, and after a couple hours we had to go all the way up to 4.5.  I’m sure you can understand just how disappointed we were.  For almost real time reporting on the day-to-day happenings out on the beach, check out the forecast page on our web site.  John gives frequent (and very insightful, I might add) running commentaries on our recent sailing conditions.  Also, don’t miss John’s Tip of The Month for pointers on how to improve your sailing skills at whatever level. 
      WORLDWINDS ARUBA ROAD TRIP UPDATE:  August 6-13th.  We still have some space left so don’t miss out on a good deal.  $699.00 including accommodations, equipment, airport transfers, and a BBQ party.  Plus John will be giving daily clinics all included in one incredibly low price!  How do they do it? - They’re crazy.  Well, I don’t know about that, but we certainly do intend to have serious fun and we want you to join us.  There are still a few spots available so call or e-mail soon. 
      BIRD ISLAND DEVELOPMENT UPDATE:  The final Recreational Use Plan for Bird Island Basin has been completed and signed off by superintendent Jock Whitworth.  It has been determined that an Environmental Impact Study is not required for this project and will not be prepared.  It appears we are on the way toward engineering and construction drawings.  I visited with Jock recently and he felt some work could begin as early as in the fall (probably the construction of additional permanent toilet facilities) while the necessary drawings are being completed.  Jock is out of town this week but I will meet with he and Ken McMullen soon and get a better idea of what will be happening next.  I did ask Jock about any changes to the Alternate 1 plan and he noted that there is one addition of a tent camping only area at the north end of the shoreline road. Issues such as cable and bollard barriers and road surface materials will be worked out during the engineering phase and they are taking these concerns seriously.  This is all good news for the windsurfing community and when you throw in the Navy’s desire to help out with the demolition/earthmoving work, the project might even come in under budget. A real win-win deal for everybody! 
Don Jackson              (361) 949-7472       www.worldwinds.net 

Webmaster's note: The word is that the bombing range is now a dead issue.


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  Apr
23mph
30mph
24mph
18mph
28mph
30mph
29mph
26mph
28mph
32mph
18mph
17mph
21mph
25mph
20mph
16mph
29mph
29mph
28mph
30mph
26mph
31mph
26mph
24mph
18mph
20mph
22mph
20mph
16mph
21mph
  May
16mph
20mph
22mph
22mph
23mph
21mph
23mph
17mph
15mph
18mph
17mph
11mph
20mph
27mph
23mph
34mph
32mph
29mph
23mph
34mph
35mph
31mph
19mph
25mph
26mph
24mph
27mph
36mph
26mph
24mph
22mph
  June
24mph
27mph
33mph
29mph
35mph
23mph
42mph
21mph
24mph
15mph
22mph
33mph
32mph
33mph
52mph
18mph
17mph
18mph
25mph
25mph
21mph
30mph
20mph
23mph
24mph
30mph
25mph
28mph
27mph
26mph

Ed’s Note: Peak wind data 
taken from the iwindsurf.com 
daily reports for their sites 
within Corpus Christi. 
Therefore these figures 
represent winds recorded 
during daylight hours only 
and are winds experienced 
at one of the local launches.
 

CURRANTS... Letters to the Editor
U.S. Open
    Thanks for putting on another great event. And you even got the wind gods to cooperate. This year's event was much improved from previous Opens. In addition to thanking the staff and CCWA volunteers, I would also like to put in a good word for two specific people who invested a lot of time and energy to promote windsurfing - Ellen Faller and Roger Jackson. In the four days of the Open, Ellen and Roger must have exposed over one hundred people to windsurfing, through their land simulator and on the water classes/clinics. As a fellow instructor, I can really appreciate the nearly 12-hour days that they put in. Although the racing was challenging, I had it much easier than they did. And you never know. Maybe some day one of their students will be back at the Open to compete.
Barry Ritchey

MOWIND NEWSLETTER
June 4, 2001  Vol. 3, No. 3

MOWIND is a volunteer group of active racers and windsurfing event organizers in the Midwest.  We help coordinate the yearly Midwest event schedule and provide a standardized set of rules and scoring methods.

MOWIND Events are covered by regatta insurance.  Purchasing regatta insurance to hold one event is very costly.  In the past,  this expense discouraged people who wanted to organize a new event.  Now, for a minimal fee, a Midwest organizer can run a regatta as a MOWIND event and save hundreds on insurance costs.  For more information on MOWIND event insurance, contact Rick Guindon at: rguindon@omegatechnical.com
EDITOR 
Renee Linskens  WI 53
Wheelspray@worldnet.att.net 

THE MOWIND NEWSLETTER IS SENT VIA E-MAIL TO ITS MEMBERS AND TO ANYONE ELSE WITH A PASSION FOR WINDSURFING 

WHATABURGER  2001   THE SERIES
See you next season.
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.
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
Annual memberships are from Jan. through Dec.  Members Joining after Oct. are credited for the next year.


 
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
‘99 Seatrend 260  85ltr ‘All Terrain Vehicle’ excellent condition- no dings  $500 Call: Roy Tansill  e-mail: LoseClu@prodigy. net 

Mast: Powerex-Z-Axis-Wave 2pc 370 one year old $195 Call (361) 992-2274  ask for Louis

For more web classifieds, check out the Windsurfing Classifieds at "the other CCWA".

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