Windsurfing Good Times

Before I go out for a windsurfing session I like to cast my net, so to speak, among the other local sailors who might be persuaded to join the session. In Virginia it was a big net; the Windsurfing Enthusiasts of Tidewater email list. In Florida it was another big net; the East Central Florida Windsurfing yahoo group. Here in the Boston area we have a big city but not much of a net. The de-facto system here is based on semi-overlapping nuggets of windsurfing friends who call and email each other or chat on iWindsurf's East Coast forum. Unbeknownst to many, however, there IS an official Boston windsurfing email list, which is maintained by the local chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amcbos-windsurf/ You don't have to be a member of the AMC to join the yahoo email list, so I recommend that every windsurfer in the area join it now.

Anyway, this morning when I noticed good 15 - 20 knot winds at Nahant I sent out a message on the AMC list. Jay Turcot, a young, West Coast Canadian, answered the call to join me there. I was zipping around on a 5.5 sail when he arrived, and he blasted with a 6.2 for maybe an hour until the wind dropped. Then we both rigged bigger sails, but had a hard time getting going because the wind had dropped way down to around 10 or 12 knots. Jay had a nice camera with him, and got this picture of me trying to grab the last scrap of good wind with a 6.8 sail. Thanks, Jay.



So, while I'm on the topic of windsurfing organization in Boston, I should mention these two weird but potentially cool things:

1) Semyon Dukach, the Russian blackjack genius who was the subject of "Busting Vegas" is looking to start a windsurfing center on a nice piece of Boston Harbor property in Winthrop. "East of Air" seems to be in the conceptual stage at this point, but I reckon it's a winner of an idea.

2) There is a credible rumor that Professional Windsurfing Association wavesailing world champion Josh Angulo, fledged in Maui, crowned in Cabo Verde, will be moving to Nahant this summer. (He wants his son to be able to get an American education and his Cabo Verdian spouse would like to work towards her citizenship.) If Angulo makes it happen, he'll start a rental / lessons / retail operation on Nahant for Angulo Boards and Gun Sails. That would rule.