the Wellington Windsurfing Association Newsletter- November 1996
the Wellington Windsurfing Association Newsletter- November 1996
A note from your President
Bill Clinton is passé. I was elected President a full month before him! (I guess that I was the one who didn't step back fast enough!) A bunch of enthusiastic windsurfers also volunteered their services on the committee:
We pledge to bring you instruction, competition, and social events, and we pledge to defend your aquatic environment against polluters, fast ferries and other wallies on the water. What we can't promise is wind. The committee has been meeting fortnightly over the last month or so at Wildwinds (thanks for your hospitality Chris and Dave!). Anyone is free to participate - the next meeting is Wednesday 20 November at 6pm (with drinks and a meal afterwards at Si Ristorante above the Overseas Terminal - contact Simon if you wish to participate: home 385-3630, work 494-1617).
Here are some of the things that are happening in and around Wellington.
Windline
We are rapt that Windline is up and running again, thanks to sponsorship for the Plimmerton site from Wildwinds. The number is 388-8813, but you will need
to know the codeword - see Wildwinds for this.
We considered funding the Evans Bay site ourselves, but until our financial situation improves (such as more members or sponsorship), we are unable to do
this. We have lobbied a number of yacht clubs to share the costs, but no luck. A couple of corporate sponsors are being approached.
Boat and trailer
We have purchased a boat and trailer for use at WWA events. Sponsorship for the boat and trailer is being sought.
Safety / Harbour Wardens
There were a number of incidents involving windsurfers and other watercraft last year. The Straitrunner nearly collided with windsurfers at Plimmerton on a
number of occasions, and another windsurfer was hooked by a boat trolling in Evans Bay (luckily the sailor was not injured). The number of jetskiers on the
water is increasing steadily, but we are not aware of any incidents (they tend to get off the water when the wind gets up). These incidents highlight the need to
follow the navigation rules, such as passing ongoing watercraft on the opposite side to road traffic. Some committee members will become Harbour Wardens
to help control dangerous behaviour.
Open Day
Gerard, John S and Fred have been busy organising an Open Day on Pauatahanui inlet (1 December). More details are provided later in this newsletter.
Summer series
These will be held on the first weekend of each month - phone Dean (234-8072) to find if and where.
Harbour Blast
Planning for this event (from Petone, around Somes/Matiu Island, to Eastbourne in a northerly - the other way in a southerly) is well advanced. It will be a
similar format to that last year, being part of the Wellington Wind Festival, but we hope to have more wind than last time! Dean is happy to be officer of the
day, but we need an organiser for this event (organising boats, etc.). Please give Dean a call.
A photographer (Neville Cummings) has taken a large number of excellent photos at Plimmerton on October 5th - some are printed in this newsletter. These photos are for sale at reasonable prices - see Wildwinds. Neville takes his photos from the Whitireia Park headland (opposite Plimmerton) - if you see him, he'd appreciate a posed jump (or catapult!).
So there's plenty happening! All we need is more wind! You know the basic law of windsurfing - “Monday is the windiest day of the week”? This appears to have shifted to Wednesday or Thursday. Anyway, I seem to have spent more time surfing in front of a computer screen during the last couple of weeks, and several sailors contributed their windsurfing laws - we have included some in this newsletter.
Anyway, its definitely more often windy during the week than during the weekend. I must admit its hard to hear someone like Dean rave about how good it was last Thursday - “You should've been there then”. Yeah, thanks, but I was working. Some American sailor posted a rave on rec.windsurfing about a glorious day sailing, which happened to be a Wednesday. This lead to the poor b*st*rd being “flamed” (sent heaps of abusive emails). He responded that he could understand being abused by non-windsurfers for taking a sickie, but he could not understand why fellow sailors got so upset. One guy, Mike Fick, wrote particularly eloquently about combining work and sailing, and sent me an article he wrote, which is included in this newsletter.
Plimmerton October 1996 (photo N.Cummings)
This newsletter is going out to all those on our mailing list. If you haven't paid, please do. If not, we will have the list sorted out by the next newsletter in December and you may miss out!
Cheers, Bob
Date Sunday Dec 1
Where Pauatahanui Inlet
High Tide 3 pm (ish)
FOR WWA MEMBERS … Instruction
Volunteers will be available to be questioned "how to" and available on the water in the boat or sailing to give advice on the go.
Races
Fun laps. No places taken. Dean & Dave disqualified immediately upon starting
Swap Meet
Bring all your old gear to sell, or all your money to buy. No charge to either seller or buyer. Specific area marked off to display gear.
BBQ
$1 per sausage.
New Members
New members will be welcome to join, the new WWA Absolutely Positively t-shirts will be on sale
Equipment Display
New gear will be on view and available for trial
Contact Gerrard Hm 478-8043 for more information
Time out for Windsday sailing
- by Mike Fick
This article was first published in Northwest Windsurfing - reprinted with permission of the author.
Five out of seven windy days are weekdays, when we can't sail, right? Wrong! There are ways around almost every obstacle to Windsday (windy weekday) sailing.
I thought my Windsday sailing was over when I was assigned to manage 150 people spending $40,000,000 annually on Star Wars research. But I developed a plan that got me wet most Windsdays, and it should work for you too.
Five obstacles to Windsday sailing for many of us are: meetings, deadlines, the boss's attitude, knowing when to implement your plan, and getting leave approval on short notice. Let's defeat them one by one.
There are several ways around Windsday meetings.
Help your career and your sailing by staying ahead of deadlines. A firm rule enabled me to meet hundreds of deadlines and most Windsdays: Do first what's due first. Prioritising and scheduling your tasks generate extra work and stress. Let some minor deadlines slip through cracks. Just do tasks with a deadline in the order they're due, and try to stay at least one day ahead. If a deadline and a Windsday still clash, ask the person expecting the task whether its okay if you're a day late. He (or she) usually is too busy to use your results right away anyway.
Mould the boss's attitude. Casually tell him (or her) how thrilling, rare and opportunistic high-wind sailing is. Explain how planning for sudden Windsdays has helped you organise your work, beat deadlines, and develop your subordinates. Express how recharged your batteries are (don't mention how run down your engine is) after a nuclear day. Offer to stand for the boss on those great spring golf days. Tell him (or her) that he shouldn't feel guilty about a day off for golf, that he earns his leave. But don't get him or her into windsurfing, guess who'll get the windiest days off!
Learn to predict when the wind will warrant implementing your plan. Watch forecasts religiously for advance windy consensus among various forecasts, such as TV and the Met Service.
To get short-notice leave approval, check with the boss the day before the blow and let people know that you may be on leave tomorrow. Prep your stand-in, and submit any tasks due tomorrow a day early. Leave your filled-out leave paperwork with someone in case you phone in tomorrow and say “Surf's up; do it!”
Similar analysis and planning can alleviate most other obstacles to Windsday sailing. For example, a doctor/lawyer might concentrate his patient/client load between 8 and 1, saving afternoons for solo work or you-know-what. Or see patients/clients 8 to 6 three days a week. A salaried worker might put an extra shift some calm Saturday, with the understanding that its time in the bank for a Windsday.
Plimmerton October 1996 (photo N.Cummings)
If your spouse is the obstacle, for goodness sake buy him (or her) a windsurfing lesson and a board. Then the only remaining obstacle is scheduling a baby sitter.
However you gain flexibility, grant similar consideration to your boss, peers, and subordinates when they must play. Its a two-way street; go play it next Windsday.
CLASSIFIED ADS - your gear can be advertised here for free if you belong to the WWA, so if you've got anything to sell contact Bruce (04 4759236) (Please, because if no-one else advertises gear then I'll be too embarrassed to put mine in!)
The Laws of Windsurfing
Compiled by Bob Zuur
There's been a bit of thread on the laws of windsurfing on the rec.windsurfing newsgroup. These suggestions have come from sailors all over the globe, so these laws are truly universal.
THE LAWS OF WINDSURFING - Wind
1a Monday is the windiest day of the week.
1b Any forecast for wind made more than two days in advance is pure fiction.
2a If you can't go windsurfing, it will be windy. Your friends should thank you.
2b If your friends can't go windsurfing, it will be windy. Thank them.
3a It always blows harder before you show up at the launch site ("You should have been here an hour ago - it was nukin'.")
3b Windsurfers are like fishermen - never believe anyone about how good the conditions were yesterday.
4a It always blows harder at other launch sites.
4b The further you travel to find wind, the less likely you are to find it.
4c Always subtract 5 knots from any wind forecast (10 knots if in Wellington).
The Laws of Windsurfing - contd.
4d Never leave wind to find wind.
5 If one person rigs down, the wind will die.
6 There is never any wind when you try to get out over the shore break.
7 Never make commitments which may interfere
with your windsurfing.
8 Don't bitch and moan if there is no wind. Be grateful that you can enjoy it when it is blowing and you're in good health.
THE LAWS OF WINDSURFING - Gear
1a You can never have too much gear (see Rule #6).
1b Always bring everything no matter what the
forecast.
1c The gear which you left at home, is that which you
need.
1d Always double check your gear before leaving
home.
2a Life is too short to spend any of it slogging.
2b If its not blowing hard enough, buy bigger
equipment.
3a A $3000 carbon board with a $20 piece of crap
fin is a $3020 piece of crap.
3b A $600 sail on a $600 mast will outperform a
$1200 sail on a $200 mast.
3c A bad sail rigged good is like a good sail rigged
bad.
4a Never buy a board unless you've sailed it.
4b Never buy a sail unless you've rigged it on the
mast you intend to use it with.
4c Most gear from the 80s is best suited for sub-
planing conditions.
5a Gear only fails in offshore conditions, and you're
offshore.
5b If don't have a spare everything, you have nothing.
5c Buy new downhaul and outhaul lines every year.
5d Five minutes of careful rigging may save you hours
of trouble.
6 Get over the car thing and buy a van - its basic
windsurfing gear.
THE LAWS OF WINDSURFING - Technique
1 You can learn more in half an hour on the water than 5 hours on the beach talking about it.
2 Learn to use a harness by your fifth day on the
water.
3 Don't try to first learn gybing on a race board.
4a If you didn't crash, you didn't try hard enough.
4b Most people will learn to sail aggressively sooner if
wearing head protection.
5a If you want advice, ask Tim Collins
5b If you don't want advice, you'll get it from Tim
Collins.
THE LAWS OF WINDSURFING - Crashes
1a Any gybe you can sail out of is a good gybe.
1b Any wipeout you can walk away from, is a good wipeout.
2a If you try to be smart by holding the rig with one hand, you will be catapulted.
2b When you fall, the rig always falls in a non-waterstart position.
3 The odds of getting launched through a sail panel are:
a directly proportional to the price of the sail
b inversely proportional to its age.
4 If you don't look before you jibe, there WILL be someone behind you.
5a When you drop off your board to rest, the water will always be over your head.
5b You always sail one meter too far when coming back to shore.
5c Sandbanks move at night.
5d In shallow water, always sail behind Roger Waite.
6 When your head doesn't think, its your body (or your gear) which pays.