Vis/Anima
Please tell John Chao that his Forecast essay/editor’s notes are absolutely inspiring. Now beginning my second year as a windsurfing “professional”, I have come to count on his succinct, yet informative and piercing, perspective on the currents and issues that swirl through the world of windsurfing.
I want to feel good about my involvement in this industry. (Do we really have to call it that?). It's not unusual for all midlife career changers such as myself to look for meaningful purpose in our endeavors. I hope to be in position some day to contribute significantly to the sport at large, and I do not think it is overreaching to hope that, through my involvement in windsurfing, I can find a way to help make the world a better place.
I share John’s tendency to look at most everythng in life with a philosophical bent and I’ve found that I can often return to his philosophical opinions in these columns as sort of a daily business devotional. They remind and inspire me to be responsible to the industry and to the environment on which it is dependent.
After all, windsurfing is always “soul surfing” if you ask me. We must respect the foundation of this activity: windsurfing is nothing less than a private dance with the “soul-motive forces” of this planet and the Universe. These forces were first described in a sacred manner by the 17th Century astronomer, Johannes Kepler. Contemplating the night sky a century prior to Newton's Law of Gravity, Kepler attempted to understand the nature of the force that moved the planets about their orbital paths. He used the Latin terms “vis” (motive power) and “anima” (soul) to describe this force. And that is what windsurfing is about— each session a brief joining with the actual “vis/anima” of all creation. Awesome, huh? Damn right. No wonder that first experience on a full plane, hooked in, in the footstraps, is so overwhelming to mere mortals—and utterly indescribable to the uninitiated. It’s a very rare and precious privelage, this dance with the vis/anima. Cherish it each time; protect the alter.
Steve Scoville, a wave surfing writer who understands these things, once wrote in Surfer’s Journal (v.8, Summer 99) the following description which I shall slightly rephrase: “(Wind)surfing is an orientation, an approach to life. A way of addressing challange. A culture of open-ended cheerfulness. A secret world where dedication, practice, and an understanding of the ocean (and wind's) subtle language are rewarded with moments of pure, fluid bliss. A kinetic converstion with (the wind) and the sea. An ongoing process of stylistic, technical and cultural innovation to broaden and enlarge that conversation. Exploration of frontier. A relentless search for a relationship of joy with the (wind and water).” Amen and amen.
Chuck Hardin
Whitecap Windsurfing Inc.
706-860-0639
www.whitecapwindsurfing.com
Love of Fellow Man
This is the first I’ve heard of the TAWR2000 and I must say I’m very excited about it! I’m looking forward to being “involved” in the race from a spectator’s point of view. I began my love for sailing on these hard to master ‘devices’ years ago and to envision someone to sail across one of our oceans is, to me, a remarkable feat to say the least! I am presently sailing a Santana 21 on a beautiful lake here in the land-locked state of New Mexico called Heron. We love our sailing as much here as anyone with H2o to spare! The brotherhood of sailing knows no boundary, no state line, no border, no country, we live for the wind, the water, the sail and most important of all the love of fellow man.
Bob Hopper
Rio Rancho, NM
Preserving Beauty. . .
I share your view that the urgent problem of species extinction and the conservation of biological diversity should be addressed. The first step in saving any plant or animal from extinction is to become aware of and respect the fragile ecosystems that make up our environment. I believe that the treatment of all living things is a reflection of the true compassion and maturity of a society.
All animals and plants help make our natural surroundings more diverse and should be protected to ensure the preservation of a healthy environment. Please be assured that I will be working to protect all endangered and threatened wildlife and plants.
Again, thank you for sharing your interest in preserving the beauty of nature for future generations. Please accept my best wishes and sincere hopes for your continued success.
Al Gore
The White House
3 Laws of Windsurfing (with apologies to Newman Darby)
Once upon a long time ago, the world’s first windsurfer (Isaac Newton) sat down under an apple tree, taking a well deserved break after a two hour session in 4.0 winds. The break didn’t last long, as the magnetic effect of the high winds refused to let poor Isaac get very relaxed. Rising to return to the water, he failed to see the large apple speeding rapidly downward toward his head. The apple, having been displaced by the unusually strong winds, and assisted on its way to Isaac’s head by a yet to be identified quirk of nature (later named “gravity”), conked old Isaac right on the bean, knocking him out cold.
Regaining consciousness an hour later, our hero began a systematic analysis of the sequence of events that had not only temporarily removed him from the realm of reality, but had also caused his rig and board to be swept out to sea as the tide came in. He thought, “I was resting under this tree while that apple rested above me on its limb. As I began to return to my board . . . by the way, where is my board?. . the apple jumped on my head and knocked me out, forcing me to rest some more.”
At that very moment, Isaac realized that two fundamental principles of windsurfing had miraculously been revealed to him. He shouted to the empty beach, “A body at rest will remain at rest, and a body in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by an external force.” (Isaac was a pseudo-scientist and talked like that all the time.) It was immediately obvious that his had been the “body” at rest and in motion, while the apple must have been the “external force” that acted upon the “body.”
Now Isaac was no fool. Back in his laboratory, he began to realize that an apple cannot be a “force”. His two original principles were undoubtedly correct, but he had perhaps been a bit hasty in describing the role of the apple in all of this. The apple was simply another body that had been the medium by which a mysterious, unseen, yet powerful “force” had influenced his actions at the beach. What was that force? That force was the key to everything. He must discover that force!
That’s when his wife came in and asked, “What happened? Did the wind blow an apple out of the tree causing that knot on your head?”
The wind! It had been the all-knowing, omnipotent force that had made such a profound statement (via the apple) at the beach.
Isaac then proclaimed what is today known as Newton’s Third Law of Windsurfing: “For every force (wind) which acts on a body (the apple) there is an equal and opposite force which acts upon some other body (Isaac).” This third law defined and refined the first two laws, thereby completing the conceptual circle of pseudo-science.
Note: There have been those who have trivialized Newton’s three laws of windsurfing and used them for useless activities like space travel. However, windsurfers around the world recognize, and pay homage to the man who first recognized the wind as the true guiding force in our lives: Sir Isaac Newton.
John Crumpley
crumpley@leading.net
3 Laws of Windsurfing (respond to pages 16,18 of vol 7, issue 1)
Okay, so Newton’s laws of motion appear to apply to windsurfing. But let’s remember that they are like a few hundred years old and about 50 years obsolete. Sure, the Newtonian thing works for ‘slow approximations’ but that’s the limit. That’s right, remember the big Al came forth with the bizarre twist of General Relativity which sent Sir Isaac over-the-falls, so to speak. If you somehow missed this in physics, just know that space, time and space-time take on some pretty interesting relationships as objects approach the speed of light. Without going too far, it can be deduced that time slows down as speed speeds up. Think about this, ...the fountain of youth- right!?! Now, when on the water, and I am definitely no speed freak, but maybe I should be...the faster you go the slower you age! Hey, where can I get me some of them there cambers and pointy fins...
Robert Netsch
Kitty Hawk, NC
Not Impressed
I hate that you have down-sized the mag to a “normal” magazine. I found the larger format much more attractive. I also hate the demise of Wind Tracks. So far, I am not impressed by the “marriage”.
I view windsurfing as the “outlaw bikers” of the sailing world. Since Memphis, TN is such a hotbed of windsurfing.... We are only 12 hard-core sailors. There are 12 sailors who migrate to windy spots each year, sometimes twice in a year. I think that commercial windsurfing has ignored the smaller areas such as my hometown. For crying out loud, US Windsurfing includes TN in an area with Florida. In My Humble Opinion, there are too many folk looking to make fortunes in windsurfing. The market, has shown that outside certain hot spots, the people will not be real interested in funding the industrial trust funds of the founders or corporate officers of the windsurfing industry. Some of us just love windsurfing and don’t have to sail as fast as a pro or do the latest gimmick (kite sailing). A WindTracks slogan, “ It is always best in your backyard” should be heeded. I hope that ya’ll love what you do and that you feel better for your efforts. But, if you forget your audience, then I hope your skills are transferable. Myself, it took me 8 years to get my job and I only make 40k after 10 yrs. on the job. But, I am challenged by what I do and every now and then actually do something good. I hope that ya’lls jobs give you better satisfaction.
Robert Butterick
butteric@ixlmemphis.com
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Mike and Annie
I just got done reading your interview with Mike (Gebhardt) and think his candor combined with Annie (Leibovitz’s) photography make for one of the strongest pieces of windsurfing journalism I’ve seen in my sixteen years in the sport. As you may know, we title our catalogs “Ride It” because we have personally come to know the secret to windsurf happiness—expect nothing, be prepared for anything, have faith and just go out and ride it! Certainly, the strong spirit Mike shares with us, communicates a spiritual connection that hopefully will motivate all of us to be grateful for the experience of the day, whatever the conditions.
If there were a cancer in our sport, it would be the consumptive illusion that more is better and bigger is necessary. I was very pleased to see less of this type of thinking when visiting the Gorge this past summer. Sailors were actually taking the 5M wind given to them without hanging onto the 3.5M wind of yesterday. A Buddhist monk used the phrase “You can’t stop the wave, but you can learn to ride it,” which we put on the cover of our ‘97 catalog. With two outstanding heroes in our sport like Robby (Naish) and Mike, I’m personally inspired to ride whatever wave comes my way, to appreciate the moment of the day, and to share my gratitude for the gift of the most incredible sport ever created. Hats off to you and all involved in sharing the real “soul” of the windsurfing experience.
Randy Johnson
The House, St. Paul, MN
Great!
Just received my issue of the new, merged publication. GREAT! You have managed to retain the best of both entities — keep it up!
As a Boston-area sailor who has managed to get in local sessions during each and every month of the past 8 years, I hope that AWS’ Northeast roots will be reflected in its editorial/ pictorial content . . . Again, thanks for a quality publication.
Bob Clark
windwardpartners@msn.com
What Arrogance?
Enclosed is a check for a one year subscription to American Windsurfer. I am extremely impressed with the direction your magazine is headed. I did not subscribe in the past as I have had subscriptions to Windsurf magazine, as well as Windtracks. Windtracks has taken a direction that I neither liked nor approved of. Never have I seen anyone give its customers less of what they want or need than Windtracks. What arrogance!
I like the tests, etc. Keep up the good work. I am dropping Windtracks, don’t disappoint me.
Edward L. Montgomery
Sparks, Nevada
Sung Praises
Some really great stuff being written in the magazine, especially about the coming of the Aquarian Age. Windsurfing as a metaphor or a church has changed my life completely. My first time out at Leo last spring, I was in a pod of whales. Another time, a couple miles out at the same beach, I started remembering all the lyrics to several church hymns that I haven’t sung since childhood. I was out there in the waves, singing at the top of my lungs, not to praise the God of the Bible, but to add to and support the power that held me up out there, and that had sent me the songs of love. You finish a day of sailing like that and your bones don’t stop vibrating goodness for months. I’m still in awe and wonder about that day, and how it happened. I can’t think of the lyrics even now, but I remember feeling, with an open chest and a heart pumping deep, like it vibrated from the depths of the ocean.
I also think of the burning need that windsurfers have to share this sport with others. Where does that come from? We don’t have any pastors out there yelling at us from the pulpit telling us to look for more converts. We just have our heart saying. “Others must know.”
I want to go to Italy and take windsurfing lessons from Annabella Hofmann. I want to study yoga with Mike Gebhardt. And I want to see to it that all pros at all pro events spend hours between races teaching windsurfing on easily sailable gear. I want that lawyer who wrote the last article about how windsurfing changed his life to contact the Darbys and get them some percentage of every board and rig sold. The Darbys aren’t warriors, and they need one. Most of all, I want John Chao to continue exploring his thoughts about the evolution of this sport at the dawning of the Age of Aquarius. Peace
Brian Thompson
Los Angeles, CA
A Gimmick and A Lie
I recently received your latest issue featuring an apparent equipment guide. I realize and have enjoyed your alternative approach to windsurfing journalism. However, to claim that this issue is an “equipment guide” is nothing short of a flat out lie. A guide offers helpful pieces of information about a product, i.e. price, product comparison, tester comments etc. Your “guide” fell short on all of these.
However, the “guide” did show me how creatively your magazine could display your advertisers logos. I learned more about the Chinook fish than I did about any of the products advertised. I say advertised because that is all your “guide” was, a large advertisement. The next time you build up an upcoming 80 page segment, call it like it is and bill it as “American Windsurfer’s Annual Advertising Gimmick.” However, if people knew they would be paying $5.00 for an issue of pure advertisements with no information whatsoever usually found in a guide, no one would buy your magazine. So I guess your gimmick was successful. I was looking forward to the equipment guide but received only advertisements. I could get manufacturers’ brochures with more info in them for free.
It is clear to me that you chose not to do a conventional guide because you found it too much trouble to actually research a product, even something as simple as the retail price!
When I ordered a two year subscription at Sail Expo 1995 in Atlantic City, the man taking my order touted the “in depth equipment” guide that would be coming out in early 1996. That was actually a big reason for me paying $40.00 for the subscription! Therefore I ask that my subscription be cancelled and the remainder of my money be refunded. I suggest that in the future, when luring subscribers, do not make false, inflated claims about what will be in the magazine unless you actually make an effort to put it there.
P.S. If I missed the value of the equipment guide, please let me know, as I am sure it was intended for some purpose other than advertising alone.
Peter Wells
wellsie@ea.oac.uci.edu
Yang of the Sport’s Yin
I believe from its first issue, American Windsurfer has been a publication dedicated to understanding windsurfing in a deeper sense. Interviews with celebrity windsurfers about their lives, articles devoted to lawyers, kids, and seniors who windsurf all have a common thread– the spiritual and physical unity that is the windsurfer: the wind and the water. This is what drew me to your magazine in the first place– understanding the bigger picture.
HOWEVER! And this is a significant however, in the 1996 Buyer’s Guide, twice I saw the Star Board mentioned without any specifications. Touted as the lightest, fastest board on the market I was intrigued to know more, but as is often the case, AW did not have much, if anything, to add on the technical end. Granted, there are several magazines on the market that are nothing more than technical journals on windsurfing gear. But, if you want your magazine to be truly universalistic in its view of the sport you should give the readers specs. On all of the equipment, especially in an issue designated as a Buyer’s Guide.
Accept the Yang of the sports Yin and I am convinced that American Windsurfer will be a successful whole.
Nick Benson
Newport, RI
Wacko Stuff
Well your cover sucks again, for a 2001 issue you put a dead dude floating, almost like what happens when you get hit in the head with your mast. Why don’t you have this floating thing having sex with a seal or something more cool than that? It’s almost sick to know what we can expect from this mag. It looks like a 1961 National Geograpic magazine. Huh. Well let hope you get off this photoland wacko stuff and hit the surf. Please? I’ll quit bad mouthing the mag *** P.S. I see Bubbles coming off this thing. Did it fart? Go ahead a change your magazines name to American National Geograpic Surfthing!
Budda Boxerdude
masterbeerbuzz@www32.hway.net
Proud to Subscribe
I have been involved in windsurfing for over 15 years. I have subscribed to numerous national as well as local windsurfing magazines. Yours is by far better than anything that has ever been published. The editor sounds like a fantastic person as well as a wonderful editor. It is nice not to have to read articles by illiterate “dudes” who think that the only cool thing is to party and drink and admire the babes.
The latest Forecast editorial concerning the Circle of Change and the beautiful Lifesource piece by Diane Buccheri raise windsurfing to a new level that I am proud to subscribe to.
I don’t think most average windsurfers are as interested in the radical side of the sport as they are in enjoying the thrill of being one with nature and appreciating the ability to have clean, healthy fun with others who have a similar appreciation for the really good things in life.
Frederick Minkow
fredminkow@voyager.net
Cancel My Subscription!
I’ll use the money to buy toilet paper.
Bill Cimikoski’s article is driving me crazy! Vol. 8(3/4) takes the words right out of my mouth. When I got this issue I didn’t think it was American Windsurfer. It actually had a windsurfer on the cover. How original, and no New Age crap. Sorry, I mistook your magazine for Windsport. The ED’s rebuttal was absolutely ludicrous. What % of the population are pilots and New Ager’s? My advice to the ED is to appeal to a little larger segment of the population, find a job on a variety magazine, and you boys are committed or should be! Please keep up the articles on pilots, airplanes, new age crap, or any other interest you have outside of windsurfing because I wouldn’t want to have an excuse to renew. Ah, consumers revenge. I can’t wait until my subscription runs out. You have just appealed to one less person out there. Or better yet, cancel my subscription as of this issue. This way I won’t have to roundfile them at the mailbox. .
Barry Wells a.k. (The WING hog)
Santa Fe, NM
PS. I absolutely DARE you to print this. Please take me off any mailing lists to renew, because I’ll spend my money for this magazine when hell freezes over.
As your subscription ended with the last issue, regrettably you won’t know whether we dared. As to the % of New Agers and pilots, I dare say their numbers are far greater than windsurfers, which makes me wonder about your pretense of narrow interests. If so, shouldn’t your nickname be “WIND Hog” instead?
Windsurfing’s Spirit
I don’t usually correspond to strangers, but since my first AW I feel more at home within those pages than with any other mag. It is tough to stretch out the articles and pictures to last more than just the first day. This also makes the wait for the next issue tough. My wife and I really enjoy your magazine and I have let all four of my other subscriptions lapse. None of the others seem to carry the spirit of Windsurfing like you guys (and gals) do. Thanks again for the added inspiration and information.
Kurt and Tricia Huffman
Jonesborough, TN
Good Mix-up
Just got your latest issue. If the great memories of Aruba were fading over the past few months, they certainly came back in full color after a short read-through.
Actually, there was a little mix-up in mailing. Somehow my copy was sent to an address a few blocks away in Manhattan. I’m not sure to complain or thank you, though, as the very cute woman who received my copy and called me to come pick it up looks like she may become my windsurfing partner for the summer. Anyway, just in case, could you check that my address is right in your files? Thanks.
Andy Raskin
AndyRaskin@aol.com
We’ll check your address Andy, but only if you’ll clarify a few simple points for us to prevent this sort of mix-up from occurring again: 1. Is the recipient of your copy a windsurfer? 2. If she is not already a windsurfer did you use your status as a windsurfer as leverage to get a date? 3. If she is a windsurfer, what is the chance that in a city of 8 million people, that your copy of AW got delivered to another windsurfer? 4. Why would she go to all of the trouble to look you up and call you, just to give the copy away?
Re: Good Mix-up
Thank you for your probing questions regarding the details of my quest to obtain a copy of your fine publication. I’m sure that your inquiry is motivated by a sincere desire to understand the workings of the U.S. postal system to avoid future mishaps and not by some sick wish to attract subscribers with the prurient, Playboy-style letters-to-the-editor.
While pondering my response to your query, I began to understand how it must feel to be a corporation with a breakthrough invention: salivating at the prospects, yet fearful of excess publicity’s tendency to raise consumer expectations and attract competition. With that in mind, I can provide the following:
1-2) She was already a windsurfer, although a beginner. I am no expert, but I think I might still be able to teach her a thing or two.
3) She is one of your loyal subscribers. According to the message left on my machine before “the pickup,” our address labels were “stuck together” so that only hers was showing. I’m not quite sure what exactly happened there.
4) In fact, the anonymous cute subscriber admitted that her call was motivated not only by the wish to put right the mailman’s miscue, but also to find some windsurfing companionship, which can be oh-so-difficult in the NYC area.
Well, I hope this clarifies the situation. By the way, loved the “Blindly Dating” piece.
Andy Raskin
AndyRaskin@aol.com
Might Interest You!
Awesome! Talk about a picture issue. It was overwhelming browsing through the pages. As always, the photography was impressive.
We commend your magazine’s ability to involve the beginner, the eternal intermediate (that we have all been at one point) as well as the expert and pro all in one package. This different approach toward windsurfing, as shown by the variety of people you interview, is what has kept us as subscribers since your magazine’s inception. Your upcoming John Kerry interview is an example of such variety. Having a windsurfing school and rental in a metropolitan area, we have provided our services to everyone from rock stars to politicians and have noticed how little, if any, these public figures mention their love of the sport. More exposure to these hidden windsurfing celebrities is needed for windsurfing to blossom in this country.
Each individual is an ambassador of our sport. Whether a celebrity or an anonymous instructor on the beach, we all carry the responsibility of introducing others to this healthy addiction. Keep up the good work. We look forward to your upcoming issues.
Ovidio DeLeon
Key Biscayne, FL
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No Cinderella Story
Thank you for your insightful article on Bjorn Dunkerbeck. I hope that the following is not too long, but I wanted to not only commend your piece but also indirectly address the bit of rubbish run in Outside Magazine a couple of months ago. Of course, I wrote them too, but they didn’t have the balls to print my letter.
Although Bjorn’s record of eight overall world titles is almost unprecedented in sporting history, he seldom gets the coverage he deserves. The media seems to prefer flamboyance over consistency, and “Cinderella” stories over victory through years of hard work. Your piece finally puts things in perspective and gives us a glimpse of the real man.
At a time when professional athletes in other sports are throwing tantrums, spitting at fans, and being arrested for drugs, rape, and even murder, the worst that can be said of Dunkerbeck is that he isn’t easy to interview (at least in English). Yet those like you, who make the effort to know him, find an honest, dedicated, sportsman motivated more by the love of windsurfing than money or fame. Some people are put off by his directness. Some are jealous of his domination. Perhaps some here would prefer an American hero. He has been criticized for not being “marketable” enough, but while other sports stars are going on strike over multi-million dollar contracts, Bjorn works to better himself. Therein lies his greatness. He is loyal to his sponsors and respectful of his competitors. He does what he loves most, better than anyone ever has. If others resent his success, tough. He’s earned it
Brett Landry
Neil Pryde USA
Subject: Latest Issue:
Pathetic
Wow! Thank God I’m not a paying subscriber. You’re latest “Women’s Issue” really nails home the fact that only butt UGLY women are into windsurfing. I was expecting to feast on eye candy when I picked up a copy, but upon further review, I was sorely disappointed. Phewww! What an embarrassment to everyone. If windsurfing ever was a dying sport, its downward spiral will accelerate after your “revealing” article “Seeking Streaking Bettys.” (Where the f*ck do you come up with your titles?) I guess coming from China, ANY white woman is hot to you, eh?
Saul Gruberwicz
Chicago: sgruberwicz@hotmail.com
TO: Saul Gruberwicz
I wonder which part of the world you come from... wait let me guess!!! you are from that UGLY country where you looks as UGLY as your mother or your grand mother which your father run away when you just borned and you eventually became a baster! Where you learn how to write and think like this...
Tell me which part of Chicago do you sail... (actually you probably don’t even know how to sail, you were sucking up on the Penthouse section and accidentally saw the American Windsurfer mag, and you were dreaming “maybe some nude women windsurfer in it YEAH! Let see...” you racist PIG.
Hommer Simpson
vx74@hotmail.com
Your Letter to AW:
Saul: I find your comments to the Editor of American Windsurfer pretty interesting. Not merely because of your views but rather because your views suggest you don't regularly read American Windsurfer and yet show a good deal of surprise by the article. Generally, but not always, readers of that mag already know a little bit more about the broad demographics of windsurfing that what your letter suggested you knew.
American Windsurfer discusses subjects beyond race results and the hottest gear. The magazine concerns itself with the entirety of the sport and its participants. You should know that a very large number of women windsurf regularly and they contribute tremendously to the development of our sport. Did you know that for the past few years only women have served as Executive Director of our national organization? And while fair people may differ in opinion on whether "Seeking Streaking Bettys" was the best choice of titles, I suspect that Betty's ethnicity had nothing to do with the article as you propose. I invite your reply, and indeed your eventual participation in a windsurfing event. Once experienced I doubt you will ever again express the views not-so-subtly advocated by your letter.
Daniel E. Weiss Jr.
Attorney at Law Louisville, KY 40207
Feminine Letter
I wanted to write you before another “Special Women’s Edition” came out. If this is to be your one attempt to attract female readership, I’d recommend hiring more female staff/editors. This might have avoided the misprinting of Glenn Fuller’s article, Jacques: Man with ladies, in this issue. Is this “woman’s guide to windsurfing” or “men’s guide to girls?” I doubt your female readership is interested in how “pleasing to the eyes... femine, elegant, and beautiful to look at” Jacques finds his female wait staff. The female windsurfers I know are powerful in their own right, not interested in having men perpetually define women as objects. By the way, how about making every issue female friendly, not just one per year.
Lisa Nevada
lnevada@hotmail.com
From “butt UGLY” (see Airmail 9.1) to “beautiful to look at” . . . Why can’t we just get along? I don’t think we ever claimed the issue to be a ‘woman’s guide to windsurfing’ . . . Who are we to guide? Oh, by the way, the editorial office is filled with women, the only guy there takes out the garbage.
Wind Sister Again
My husband just got your Women’s issue of American Windsurfer but he for once, was not the first person who got to read it. Previous issues didn’t really have much for me to relate to, but this issue I read cover to cover. I am about to turn 38 in three days. I gave up windsurfing several years ago. We used to own a windsurfing school in the early 90’s. I live on Maui. The women’s issue was inspiring and uplifting.
It brought back for me, the feeling of camaraderie among women on the beach at Kanaha. The uplifting feeling of taking on a challenge and feeling great, not because you succeeded but because you just “did it.” The feeling that I can do anything as a women and a mother. The neat feeling that ordinary people are not only mentioned in a great magazine but they are my neighbors too. It inspires me to dig out the old gear (or nab it from my husband) and go give it a try again. To go down to the beach and see the familiar faces from the old days that weren’t mentioned in the Streaking Betty’s article (Barb Opsahl and Angela Emery), to find the European woman (Martina) who made custom bathing suits, the best I ever had. To be a sister of the wind again. Thank you American Windsurfer Editors, writers and staff. I can’t wait for year 38! Now, anybody want to re-teach me? (Women instructor preferred)
Susan Hernandez
Maui, Hawaii
Gender Equality
As a long-time subscriber and sailor, I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed the “Makin’ Waves, Woman to Woman” column, Vol 9, Issue 2 by Gina Lalli. There are many women whom I know in this area who would like to try or resume the sport, but they need this specific message and content. I have already showed the column to several women, and they have been inspired by its message and humor. We need to encourage gender equality in this sport—it does beautiful the waves!
Dr. James Dillard
jndillard@mindspring.com
Lifetime Subscriber!
I would just like to thank the entire staff at American Windsurfer for their generosity and kindness. I was fortunate to escape from my office in the World Trade Center on September 11. My office was on the 15th floor of the second building that was hit. Everyone in our office was able to escape and make it to safety. We did lose everything in our office. I happened to keep many of my personal belongings there as my apartment is quite small. Among the many things lost was my entire windsurfing magazine collection of various magazines ranging from two to four years of back issues.
I called American Windsurfer magazine to redirect some back issues I had ordered to be shipped to my office. As soon as I indicated my office had been in the WTC, the person on the other line asked “Is this Scott Furr?” Carolyn and others in your staff had been worried about me! It was such a wonderful feeling to have you thinking of me.
I was also totally shocked when a few days later a box containing four years of back issues was sent to my door. It was one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me. I would like to thank all of you for your thoughts and magazines! I will be a lifetime subscriber.
Scott Furr
sfurr@jjma.com
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