Who are your fellow windsurfing buddies? You see them at your favorite sailing site every time it’s windy. You recognize them by the car they drive, the equipment they use and their sailing style. But who are these people in real life? American Windsurfer Magazine did a survey in 1998 and from 764 responses, (they’re still coming in) the following is our profile of a windsurfer.
So…Survey SAYS!
Age:
17-24:1%
25-34: 18.3%
35-64: 77.4%
65+ 3.4%
Sex:
Male: 90.5% Female: 9.5%
Marital Status:
Married: 61.2%
Single: 32.0%
Divorced: 6.8%
Children:
Yes: 51.7% No: 47.8%
Education:
High School: 8.6%
College: 59.1%
MA: 21.7%
PHD: 10.6%
Own or Rent Home: Own: 78.1% Rent:21.9%
ANNUAL INCOME:
<$25k: 3.7%
$25-75k: 29.3%
$75-100k: 31.9%
$100k+: 35.1%
Number of vehicles owned:
1: 30%
2: 44.5%
3-4: 22%
5+: 3.5%
TYpe of vehiCle owned:
Sports Utilitiy: 33.3%
Van: 25.4%
Truck: 14.9%
Compact: 5.5%
Motorcycles: 3%
Other activities:
Snow skiing: 49%
Snowboarding: 32%
Cycling: 32%
Hiking: 21.6%
Golf: 16.5%
Sailing: 14.6%
Surfing: 12%
Kayaking: 12%
Windsurfing vacation:
Yes: 81.1% No: 18.9%Number of times:
0-1 13.6%
2-3 74.9%
4-10 9.5%
10+ 2%Drive or Fly:
Drive: 33.1%
Fly: 66.9%
Other statistics:
93.4% read AW 2+ hours
78.4% pass AW to other readers
62.7% like to receive AW monthly
79.8% want equipment reviews
5.3% are beginners
43% intermediate
51.2% advance-expert
79.2% like to see pricing in ads
61.9% buy equipment retail store
16.4% are wave sailors
43.9% own 4 or more boards
74.5% own 4 or more sails
98.3% wants a windsurfer in the White House!
Our survey also revealed that our readers pose great personalities and humor. Here are some sample comments:
New or current subscriber?
J. Michael Nate: I am a current subscriber
(I think)
Alec Carter-Wilkes: Christmas gift from my uncle
How often would you like to receive American Windsurfer?
Bill Dutcher: 10 times a year, in season
Randy Speer & David Lindsay: monthly, if the quality is the same
Michael Poloukhine: Prefers monthly, but not if ads increase
Leisa Bryan: Either bimonthly or monthly
Advertisement
What do you like about American Windsurfer?
Mike Giambattista: You write for regular folks, not just teenage boardheads.
Rozalina Tchouchevi: This is not only a magazine. This is a piece of art.
What don’t you like about American Windsurfer?
Ed Martineau: More on kids windsurfing. I’ve watched —and it’s awesome.
Brian Hutchison: Lame articles
J. Heaton: I’m not in AW
Bill Zeuli: What’s not to like?
Gary Estremsky engineer & patent examiner: Darby made no contribution
Would you like to see Equipment Reviews?
Bill Dutcher: Ken Winner should compare his results with European reviews. How to stay unbiased vs. advertisers? It IS a potential conflict of interest.
Rhonda Fosbinder: Might like them if they were honest.
Type of sailing I usually do?
Tom Claeys: Slalom flatwater—(Almost everyone works on jibes)
Marital status?
Steve Weber: Almost married
Number of family members who windsurf?
Mike Springall: Parent of a 1 1/2 and a 3 1/2 year old… In the future we’ll have 3 windsurfers.
David Benninghaus: 1 1/2
My favorite windsurfing vacation is at:
Jac Quin: Wherever I can
Amy Richard: Aruba—if I could take a vacation
Greg Bown: The world
John Hardin: I travel alot, so I windsurf in many places
Tom Claeys: Any windy place
Jeff Wattenmaker: Maui—lives in Redwood City, CA and answered the next question.
Do you drive or fly for vacation?
What do you think I use to get there?
I will purchase a new car in the next...
Jim Dukelow: I buy only used vehicles
My favorite board:
Peter Toth: Homemade
Helen Weeks: Don’t own, I’m a member of a sailing center
Tom Claeys: Really anything newish
Mel Levine: All
My favorite sail:
Willard Taber: All
Mike Giambattista: Usually like someone else’s sail best
Ed Martineau: Don’t have any one favorite
Neil Radtke: I love them all, but I use 7.5, 9.0 and 11.0 most often!
Mel Levine: Depends on wind
Mike Pritchard: One without holes
Where do you buy your windsurfing equipment?
Geoff Moore: Buys by mail order, because no stores in his part of PA sell windsurfing items
Tom Claeys: Only at Larson’s Ski and Sport in Wheat Ridge, CO
Would you like to see more or fewer ads in the magazine?
Tom Stokes: Don’t become all advertisements
Doug Martin: More ads in addition to, not in place of photos, articles, etc.
Neil Radtke: More advertising, if articles and pictures not reduced
Tom Peire: More advertising, to keep subscription prices down
Megan & Chuck Queen: More travel ads, with pricing
Bill Dutcher: Would like more ads if they were informative
Randy Speer: More ads from smaller companies
Marc Fovinci: Maximum of 15% of an issue
My favorite activity when not windsurfing:
Jim Jonkers: Working
Frank Saccente: To write about windsurfing
Helen Weeks: Shopping (really)
Richard Phillips: Trying to get my life together
After reading about Senator John Kerry, would you like to see a windsurfer in the White House?
Robert Scott: Hadn’t read article yet
Doug Martin: Yes, but not John Kerry
Judy Barker: very impressed by article about John Kerry
Mark Proia: Excellent article, John! As a Mass. native, I’m especially proud to have this man serving us. He’s about the best role model one could ask for. Kudos for such a fine piece of journalism!
Helen Weeks: Would like to see a windsurfer in the White House, but only if he/she is a Republican? Why are you asking this?
Marc Fovinci: Yes, but don’t ask for a contribution!
Eric Trafton & Geoff McCleary: OK, but not a Democrat
Chris Shaffer: Yes, but he would have to be a Republican
Bill Dutcher: duh
David Eppley: Don’t care
Jim Dukelow: Whether or not someone windsurfs would not affect his vote
Kim Doutrich: Think of the Secret Service woes if there’s a windsurfer in the White House
James Clements: Yes, but not necessarily ANY windsurfer
Robert Menees: Presidential skills more important than windsurfing skills, sorry! But maybe if he were surfing, he wouldn’t have time or energy to chase White House interns. It would definitely dignify the office more!
Ed Martineau: How are his morals?
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Steve Weber: Good philosophical ?
Stephen Winiarski: God!
Kevin Ernst: Him
Jim & Grace Wilson: Read your Bible— Genesis 1:24 [“And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind….”]
Clarence Roman: The universe
Jac Quin: Lightning bolts
Neil Radtke: Big Bang!
Paul Tisher: Primordial soup
Uncle of Alex Carter-Wilkes: Protozoans
Michael Streibel: A cosmic egg
Patrick Harwood: The lipid bilayer
Steve Hughes: Wind
Grant Hubbard & Felipe Irarraza: Windsurfing
James Clements & R. Robinson: Neither
Robert Buell, Blake Auchincloss, Ron Cox, Don Himes, Mark Eanes & Leisa Bryan: Both
Fash Hoorfar: One of each at the same time. Egg became rooster
Marc Fovinci: Buk!
Duncan Wallace: It’s really quite simple. A dinosaur laid an egg and a chicken hatched
Gary Estremsky: One day a dinosaur laid an egg that grew to be a chicken
Amy Richard: Evolved from some other life form’s egg
Jeff Wattenmaker & Thomas & Mary Jo Liston: Some other kind of bird/chicken laid the egg
Doug Smith: Egg inside a chicken
C. Todd Lombardo: Of course the egg!
Rick Peterson: Yolk
Linda Wright: Some yolk!
Bill Whiteford: Rooster
Douglas Ebersole: Rooster—according to his wife
Mark Ulicki: Has proof that the chicken came first
Craig Schwartz: Chicken farmer
Frank Saccente: The coop
Willard Taber: The road
Dave Dalquist: Second base
Robert Slayton, Geoff Moore & Jim Dukelow: Frying pan
Dan McGlasson: Chicken salad
Greg Bown: Scrambled eggs
Tom Pierce: Omelets
Brian Hutchison & John Hogan: Egg McMuffin
Frank Kabela: Egg Beaters
Clark Costen: Egg came first—with salmonella bacteria
David Bruce: DVH
Joan Scudder: Who knows?
Peter Cocker: Who cares?
Russell Brown: Yeah!
Ed Martineau: Good question
George McCleary: I can’t remember the joke