evlPanda said...

Only a windsurfer would spend $1,000+ on windsurfing gear for their kid.

The price argument doesn't really hold true. Kids will get their hands on the money if they want something badly enough.

There's plenty of dads spending $2000-3000 to set kids up with kiting gear. Often the kids are spending their own money.

A mate's son spent $3000 on a mountain bike.

A friend's daughter always has the latest phone and brand name clothes even though the family are not well off.

The same girl was having surfing lessons and wanted a soft top board just like the ones at surf school. She wasn't interested in borrowing my upper range longboard for free because it wasn't what all the other kids had.

I dont see that windsurfing being more popular is such a great thing..... overcrowded sailing spots, no parking......Everyone who sticks with the sport long enough to get past the endless catapulting and ragdolling stage knows the its the best... Go down to botany in summer with a seabreeze blowing.... plenty of people enjoying it.... windsurfing is alive and well....

slalomfreak said...

If kids over 13 have to hang out with their parents to learn how to windsurf thats very very uncool.
Target group is the over 18's with their own wheels.
Problem is they have got to want to do it.
Make it cool again and they will come.
With so much grey hair at the ws beach can it ever be cool?

It all depends how young you start them. Start them at 6 or 7 and by the time girls/boys and all the other distractions come about they will have a different priority than other kids. I have met heaps of windsurfing families and the kids are surprisingly close to their parents, an grew up to be really great people. I guess because they appreciate the time they sacrifice for them taking them to beaches to learn etc... It kept them grounded.

If you don't share your love of windsurfing with your kids then you are missing a great opportunity to bond with them.

I've been windsurfing for only 3 years and it's been one of the most challenging sports to get started in.

From ebay selling **** to shops reccomending me stuff I don't need and not wanting to deal with customers. (Those days have past after an email or 2)

At no stage was a PFD or helmet bought up and was my common sense that said I should wear one.

The early days were tough and if it wasn't a chance meeting of a few people, I would've given up and sold my gear.

Seabreeze has been a great help with advise and meeting other windsurfers

You would think poledancing numbers would be on the dramatic increase,

seeing as we have a larger population of pensioners as we are living longer,,and,,

we are a nation that is becomming more and more obess,,

C'mon,,,,if ya cant laugh at yourself,,,what can you laugh at??
I piss myself laughing at myself all the time

I would guess the number of red thumbs for this post will reflect the number of old obess poledancers..Its like the census.

^^^^ and if you f@ck the trick you dont just land softly in the water,,
on a skatie you break bones and leave skin on the concrete.Way more respect for those guys that charge hard on the concrete waves.
Those crew are out skating every day,,not just on the occasions when the wind is blowing and bingo has been cancelled.

bahhaaaa .. good to see you dont take it all serious and can laugh at yourself as wellObe one obese one
(not that we should really laugh at your obesety problem...sorry)Glad you can laugh at me,,,,my work here is done.

Gorgo said...

PS I don't think windsurfing is declining. It has stabilised. It will never get bigger and it probably won't get smaller.

The relatively small percentage of people who do it are thos who love it, and those who are not put off by the effort, expense and time involved to do it.

It is fun (was for me because I kite now).

It is not *cool* and never really will be. (just as kiting is not cool and never will be).

It was cool for a very short time at the beginning until people found out that it takes a bit of effort to do. SUP also is not cool and never will be.

*Cool* sports have lots of clothes involved and very little skill or effort to do. You can pose on a skateboard. You can own a surfboard and not actually have to use it. You can pose on various bikes without actually doing anything.

Agreed Gorgo. Agreed with the posing statement. Doing supa-fancy tricks on skateboards and mountain bikes is 0.001%, the rest is coasting and freeriding and some posing. Yep. Same with plain biking: eco-tourism with $3k bikes and fancy matching clothing.

Kiting was posing in the beginning - the clothes, family taking pictures of the "athlete" (????), etc. I vaguely remember windsurfing was like that in the early years. There is now much posing at both, but with the equipment. Was at a windy session yesterday and some spent more time comparing gear than actual sailing. And dreaming about 2013 equipment.

Mind you, any bit of sport and involvement is good and better than nothing, so good on us all.

On clothing: most general sports stores have more clothes and shoes than actual sports equipment. Even in some windsurfing shops in the US now, as much space for expensive designer clothes than gear.

Still trying to work out why you guys are worried about if others think you are cool or not , and are hoping for some big break through that will make sailboarding cool and mainstream again like back in the old days?????
And need more people doing it to make you feel more,,,uhmm,,,sercure about doing it??,,,or,,,uhmmm,..,,.,,,not sure of the reason you need that???????
Please explain.

There has been so many posts about people worried about how to make sailing cool to get others into it???
Why is the sport dieing etc.

If you were a surfer,,you would be stoked to have less crowds in the water and would not be trying to get more people in to it??

Why the insercurity of doing something others think is not cool????
Just get out there and do it if ya like it.Who really cares if others think you are lame??

Young people don't get me started on young people.

Now what were we actually talking about, oh yes sailboarding. Still cool. How does it grow, blokes like Naish running about still being kids and actually being watermen.

Who cares if your sailing a big board or a small one. Have fun.

Teach someone to sail, organize learn to sail evenings in summer, embrace non planning sailing.

Now let's complain about young people again

MYTH: IT'S ONLY DONE IN PLACES LIKE HAWAII.
FACT: You'll find windsurfers in Alaska, Kansas, Utah, Minnesota — anywhere with wind and water.

MYTH: EVERYBODY KITEBOARDS.
FACT: There are far more windsurfers, though they're not as visible as kites, which require six times the space when under way.

MYTH: IT'S EXPENSIVE.
FACT: For $1,000 you can get a new setup. No gas needed, no costly lift tickets. The wind is free.

I think in Australia a new setup will cost you from $2000. You sometimes have to pay for parking!!!!!!

MYTH: YOU NEED CATLIKE BALANCE AND STRENGTH.
FACT: That was true a decade ago, but no longer. Boards are stable and sails are lightweight for all.

True but you have to pay for it!

Rob11 said...

I still think the cost is one of the biggest barriers.

I doubt it, if you look around there is a lot of second hand gear cheapo, unless you want your kids to use the latest NP or North, then it is damn expensive.

It is one of these sports that requires persistence to start with. As it has already been mentioned, compared to surfing, kiting, it takes longer to get up to speed but once there you're hooked.

Or not.......

maybe manufacturers need to look at different production methods for beginners gear. Kayaking went ballistic with the intro of cheap roto-moulded plastic boats. I did see years ago ? Bombora? did a roto moulded hollow board ? a Kazoo or something like that. If the could produce a cheap "bomb" proof board that a beginner can pick up for half the price of am epoxy board I'm sure the sport would blossom....

I still believe that in a few years time when the wide style beginner board that we have today become the ebay specials in the future another boost to the sport.

SWS said...

People seem to get snobby about plastic boards. I think the problem for manufacturers with plastic boards is that the molds cost a lot and thus it is not viable to change the shape each year. I have had some great sails on plastic boards in overpowered conditions they really soften out the ride. Tiga used to make some very competitive plastic boards both slalom and wave.

but if the mould was for a very basic beginner sub planning board I dont think they would have to change it too often anyway. ?

red said...

SWS said...

People seem to get snobby about plastic boards. I think the problem for manufacturers with plastic boards is that the molds cost a lot and thus it is not viable to change the shape each year. I have had some great sails on plastic boards in overpowered conditions they really soften out the ride. Tiga used to make some very competitive plastic boards both slalom and wave.

but if the mould was for a very basic beginner sub planning board I dont think they would have to change it too often anyway. ?

True Bic do that with the Beach......however if they had a credible wave board and a fast slalom board it would give it more credibility.