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e-News
Vol.2
September 2009
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Emmy Andrews, 6, rides a Starboard GO with a 1.0 at Lake Monticello (near Columbia, SC) during the ACWA Windfest 2009.  The Spring Back / Fall Forward report:
The summer "off-season" kicked off with a great ACWAfest at Lake Monticello way back in May. We pick a random weekend date and get 20 mph -- again! That's like 5 years in a row of planing conditions! Over 30 members of the Augusta-Columbia Windsurfing Association made the scene. We also had a very nice SUP 3-mile excursion on the Saluda that morning with 8 boards on the water.
Another very, very successful on-the-beach Windfest at St Simons in June pumped up the stoke. Marty and Steve Gottlieb and team riders from Aerotech/Exocet were on hand with the latest demo gear -- especially the exquisite, light-wind wave-sailing KONA's. Our hosts, the St Simons Surf Sailors, have really got the vibe these days. Great energy down there! Those cat sailors are rocking the scene, too! Members welcome visitors (with advance warning) to experience one of the coolest, easiest, most beautiful places to sail on the SE coast. Whitecap now has a formal rep/instructor working down there. Contact me -- or John Laing directly: johnnylaing@comcast.net -- to get set up as a if you want the guest treatment on a visit.
The lesson docket this summer was a little lighter than recent years --not surprising given the economy -- but still got in over 35 people in full-day lessons at "my" lake near Augusta, plus more at both windfests. People drive here from Fripp Island, Nashville, Charlotte, etc just to get to a spot where somebody will teach them this sport. New people do continue to get into windsurfing.
The other main buzz I heard this summer was the area windsurfers who did Outer Banks trips in July or August and got blown away at the OBX. Just tons and tons of wind in the hot summer time. All week long. Imust have heard thsi from 5 different peopel who went at different times. So, don't think the OBX is only about Spring and Fall action....I'm just saying. But the "in-season" is almost, well, in. Cold fronts got to be here soon. Not that any of you give a hoot about the following -- like you're reading this far down anyway -- but, personally, my last kid is getting her driver's license in mid Nov. and once that happens, if I see a leaf move on a tree, I'm going. No need to ask. The answer is "yes" -- I'm going. The lake, the coast, in the creek. I may even get out of town to do a Nor'easter at Staton 29 again and die in a fit of ecstasy... Hope you can join me!
(Saluda River SUP float at the ACWAfest.)
  (beginner and intermediate instruction at the St Simons windfest.) |
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(View from the balcony of our main house, Le Spot. We rent the house next door, too,)
>> Whitecap's OBX Fall Trip '09, Oct 6-13th.
Even though this trip is filled up now -- 2 houses, 14 people --- we welcome friends of Whitecap to come sail from our back yard. If you can make it to the OBX and got a place to stay, please come as a "day guest" and join the party. You know if it's blowin" 8 or less, the party moves across the street to the beach for some SUP wave riding fun. (That is, if we're not on the Banshee Bungee.)
..
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Annual Fall Classic, Lake Lanier, Oct 17/18th It's the 31st annual! Longest continuous windsurfing regatta in the US. Hosted by Chris Voith and the LLSC. A very user-friendly weekend wether you are experienced or brandy new to the idea of racing yoru rig. Contact voithphoto@gmail.com
(The Starting Line. @ the '07 Fall Classic)
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(OK...this is a repeat segment from the last e-newsletter, Feb., '09
Stand Up Nation
The Revolution is over.
It's here, there, and everywhere, now and forever.
The masttrack-equipped SUP is just too good an idea, too undeniable in it's versatility and performance. It's about access for anyone, any  ( ^ Lake Thurmond: SUP with 4.7) level, any water, anywhere. Amen. The major windsurfing brands sold so many in '08, most have had to develop separate catalogs, labels, and websites to support SUP, like Starboard's incredible SUP site here. Even mast manufacturers, like Powerex are making high-end SUP paddles. It only takes one board to do it all. ( same lake, same board ^ )For me, it's about keeping it simple, making it easy...and making the most with what water conditions you got. Personally, I prefer the least technical. the most simple paddle boards. I'll let the photos do the talking. These are regular folks you might know in places YOU can go...all on the same model, the Mistral PACIFICO, except Danny on the Starboard BIG EASY.  <<< easy surfing near S. Daytona's Ponce Inlet  Robin Holmes, Evans, GA, wake surfing on the Savannah
  << John Laing, St Simons, lazily boards the Ogeechee Rvr >>>
Monty Hitchner, Columbia SC, feels the stoke at the Outer banks, Whitecap Customer's Trip, '08.
 Same board can handle overhead, too! I caught this ride at the OBX on a beautiful, glassy day.>>>
Danny Johnson, wave sailing @ PlayaLinda, FL on da Big Easy <<<<< Freestyle in the canal at OBX  Whitecap has you covered with anything SUP. Four models on hand for demo and purchase. Paddles and all accessories. If you haven't see it yet -- and I know many of you have -- you can click here for the expanded version of my Wha'SUP? video. Proof of speed and big-wind comfort is at 1:37 and the new (brief) segments -- like wake surfing and the Banshee bungee - begins at exactly the 12 minute mark.
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Liquid Shredder Paddle Board - $625
It's an "S-SUP" -- a softdeck standup paddleboard. OK, no mast track, so you can't sail it, but if you want to keep your paddle boarding and sail boarding separate, you can not beat this value! In stock at Whitecap! Soft board technology in.2 sizes: 10' x 27" and 12' x 32". One year warrenty. Many features: All-around rail guard. 7" center fin, 2 thrusters. Hardwood stringer. Anti-slip traction deck.I've paddled the big one about 5 times now and it rides just like my favorite windsurfable SUP, the Mistral PACIFICO. More details here. 
(Liquid Shredder floats me and my best buddy, Wally, quite high. Easy glide, too. It's a nice afternoon on the Savannah!)
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 In the May '09 Windsurfing Magazine issue.
This was the cover page of the article. Many consider it the most exciting, insightful, life-changing article ever written in an American magazine. Even better than Oprah Winfrey. The movie rights have not yet been awarded. (They gotta come off that 15% of the gross thing, I'm telling ya. And Dicaprio -- as Matt Pritchard --has got to get over the top-billing issue. That was not HIS scrawny ass out there throwin' caution to the wind in 85 knots while 3 hours away from any medical technology beyond a soggy aspirin and a jar of vaseline. Give me a break.) For the full story on
this wave-ignorant windsurfer in
Baja, see the whole article issue here -- and after this I will drop this subject forever.
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 Close outs !!
Early fall is THE close-out season. Manufacturer's want the warehouse shelves cleaned out of '09 and previous year's gear. The choice is best...and you do NOT want to see the 2010 prices.
Sails, boards, booms, masts, extensions -- even wet wear-- I got ALL the lists. Starboard, Mistral, North, Aerotech, Sailworks, Fanatic, Neil Pryde, Severne, BIC, Fiberspar and on and on and on. Always brand new in the box. Just a few examples:
Boards:
Exocet PACER "Sport"-- $769
Exocet S-Cross 120, 140 - $975
Mistral:
SYNCRO 94 ('07) - $699 ! ! ! !
Starboard's Carve'S, ACID's, S-type's -- from $690 to $950 ! !
Sails:
WAy too many to list: Jsut about anything you want can be found at savings of at least $100 off the normal Whitecap discount.
> Aerotech:
AIR-X -100% X-ply
5.8, 5.2, 4.7 -$360 to $390
Phantom '07--5.0 to 6.8: $360
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 It's wet-wear season!
This is the Neil Pryde ELITE II suit.
A passively-charged, pre-heated windsurfers semi-dry suit. Set it in the sun about 20 minutes before you put it on.Retains
heat in special fibers for up to 2 hours. Bamboo and charcoal are in there too to eliminate bacteria and stink.I got one. I've sold a half dozen already. Not cheap but frickin' awesome... I'm just saying...
Speaking of wet wear...
Check this out!
The 2nd run of the totally far out Whitecap rash guards are
in! These are not just another thin, clammy, stinky, soon-to-be overly
stretched-out rash guard. It is the top-end "Performance" micro-fiber-like, polyolefin
fabric -- with an ultra thin fleece layer inside. Comfort with
performance! It's a "thermal" rash shirt, dude.
Specific gravity is lighter than nylon, polyester, or water!
More thickness but extremely lightweight. Highly abrasion resistant. Natural breathability. Moisture will not sit on the
skin or get trapped in the fabric. Odor resistant. Warm. The insulation factor is greater by weight than any
other fabric.
Looks awesome in midnight black with brilliant blue and
white Whitecap graphics! (See attached file if pic below doesn't
show up)
Feels even better! Inside it has the ultra thin
layer of fleece against the skin - an excellent warmth layer under a wetsuit! (No
neoprene in these shirts.)
Cost is $30. (These are the same type shirts
the major brands sell for $40 to $65. I'm just covering my cost to get
these cool - I mean, warm - shirts out there -- far out there.)
Email me if ya want one.
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 Whitecap Windsurfing, Inc.
...10 years of selling selling 'em one at a time.
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Chuck Hardin whitecapws@hotmail.com 706-833-9463 5090 Fairington Dr. Evans, GA 30809
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