Question .why is there a shortage of race sails to buy ,? nothing in the shops .do they only order a handful .
can we blame Trump for this one 😇 ? or are shops just ordering if you place an order .
The latter. Sale volumes have shrunken so much that few still carry stock of the high-end racing gear. This trend is only going to continue imo. So yes: pre-order, or hope to snatch a deal on the used market.
When I started Windsurfing in 2008, it was the pits. It was an old man's sport that your Dad thumbled at using old mismatched gear. So everybody in SA was jumping to kite boarding. 3 months of Windsurfing, watching kiters that had started when I did, riding back and forth, I very nearly walked up to the big Red Baron kite surfing trailer, and asked for lessons. The only reason I didn't do that, was I was house broke at the time and could not afford any more gear or lessons. Many of the kiters at my spots were ex-windsurfers, and were giving me training at my local spot. There has been only a dribble of new people coming into sport since then, at least here in Adelaide.
PS/ There has been a massive increase in Kitesurfing here. All young people, 20s etc.
On one view, this model (pre-orders) is a more realistic model for a market that even in its heydays never fully functioned according to normal supply and demand signals. On the other hand, if pre-orders also disappear, the end will be near very quickly.
I'm trying to order a Patrick GT3, but I'm now wondering if increased transport problems will affect it's availability or price.
Anybody know where Patricks are made and sent from?
Select to expand quotejn1 said..
When I started Windsurfing in 2008, it was the pits. It was an old man's sport that your Dad thumbled at using old mismatched gear. So everybody in SA was jumping to kite boarding. 3 months of Windsurfing, watching kiters that had started when I did, riding back and forth, I very nearly walked up to the big Red Baron kite surfing trailer, and asked for lessons. The only reason I didn't do that, was I was house broke at the time and could not afford any more gear or lessons. Many of the kiters at my spots were ex-windsurfers, and were giving me training at my local spot. There has been only a dribble of new people coming into sport since then, at least here in Adelaide.
PS/ There has been a massive increase in Kitesurfing here. All young people, 20s etc.
I started in 1997 gear was plentiful ,never saw kites then .I could not change now as I have thousands of dollars in windsurfing gear ,plus I love windsurfing coming from catamaran sailing
plus we are different and unique 😉glad you stayed original . 💪
Yeah me to. My neck is a bit stuffed now, and that has slowed my progression in freestyle, but I'm content with the sport. Most people who try something different appeared to have stagnated long before. I'm getting this way too I think, due to my inflexibility (mostly the neck), but there are a few more moves I want to learn how to do.
decrepit: My 5WAVE has Chinese symbols on the id tag. I'm pretty sure I saw a Made in China tag on it once (although, I can't find it now). I recommend ringing Mark from Surfsail. He is always very helpful. If he can't help, then he will pass you onto Patrik, who are also very responsive and helpful.
Select to expand quotejn1 said..decrepit: My 5WAVE has Chinese symbols on the id tag. I'm pretty sure I saw a Made in China tag on it once (although, I can't find it now). I recommend ringing Mark from Surfsail. He is always very helpful. If he can't help, then he will pass you onto Patrik, who are also very responsive and helpful.
Yep beat you to it, there's a Patrick video that takes you to the Chinese factory.
I rang Mark, and he assures me trump's disruption won't change anything, and my new 5.0 will be in the next session's shipment.
