Windsurfing New Zealand [WNZ HOME] [ WINDSURF N.Z. HOME]	Hosted by wiNZurf

note: the contents have been edit to remove most graphics, copyrighted material and information duplicated elsewhere

THE NEW ZEALAND WINDSURFING ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER

FEBRUARY - MARCH 1997

Contents

The Eyes Could Have It

Aaaah.....holidays!!! Sunshine, warmth, waves and the odd cyclone, not very conducive to doing office work, but I'm managing to keep the admin. ticking over in between going to the beach. This situation has certainly been helped by the recruitment of our first ever 'Member's Representative' - Antony Wrigley. Many of you will know Antony - he is here, there and everywhere in windsurfing circles and has lots of energy and enthusiasm to offer. He is now set up with the Access Database for monitoring the NZL Sail Numbers List, and hooked into the Internet for sending the updated information - all systems are go - now all we need is to finalise his Job Description at the Executive Committee meeting on Friday the 14th February - I'm sure they will be supportive of this new position for the NZWA. This will also ease up 3 or 4 hours per month for me to tend to special projects and increasing communication here at office central.

I've also been very busy administrating the five INSTRUCTORS COURSES we've had over the last two months. That is three more than we usually have, plus there is another in the pipeline for Auckland. Thanks to Matthew Wood, our new 'South Island' Master Instructor, for russling up interest and for running three courses in three weeks! The first courses held in the Sth Isl. since the introduction of the new scheme in 1988 or so - that's a long time! Interest has only just picked up enough to warrant holding courses plus we now have a specialist to ensure all goes ahead - you may remember we had to cancell the courses arranged last season due to insufficient candidates. Also thanks to Ken Kingsbury - our new 'North Island' Master Instructor, for all his input into the new BTS and for running two courses. Both Matthew and Ken gained their titles only last year and have proved their expertise thanks to their thorough training by Paul Tuck (over three instructors courses). Paul has now retired as Master Instructor and is off to Aussie to find a bit more action. ourse reports were completed for each course and will be reviewed at the AGM in order to improve the course for next season. Here are course reports summarised.

CHRISTCHURCH: 1 - 5 December 1996, Eastcoast Windsurfing School. Ideal conditions provided the four candidates a good opportunity to learn the new Basic Teaching System. This is the first season the new BTS has been tried - (developed from the old BTS by Ken, and Matthew with input from others involved in instructing recently). The ability of the candidates was obvious and the new system was accepted by those running the Eastcoast School. An observation made at this course was the importance of ensuring that quality instruction was more important that quantity of students sent through the school, ie. it is better to teach a few beginners how to sail properly than send them out in large numbers with little or no instruction, risking their safety and discouraging them from taking up the sport in future. Congratulations to: Tony Andersen,Quentin Drain, Michael Raper and Andy Reid for attaining their NZWA Instructors certificates.

CROMWELL: 8 - 12 December 1996, Cromwell College. An excellent venue, excellent equipment provided by the school and good conditions but for two days of strong winds. Again, there were a minimum number of 4 candidates. All had to work hard, especially at learning a new system of teaching. 15 or so students came to be taught each day - over 100 in all which proved a good number. Matthew really had to push the system through over the last couple of days to complete all aspects, and would have perhaps balanced it out by doing more in the beginning, however, this may have caused too much dissention and risked the loss of the candidates. Congratulations to the following for sticking with Matthew, all became convinced finally and are now prepared to stick with the new method: Howard Anderson, Jeff Milne, Kate Fuller, Greg Fuller.

DUNEDIN: 15 - 19 December 1996, Watercooled Windsurfing School. The course here had mixed weather and high tides which made first lessons very difficult. This tested the candidates judgement and adaptability for various situations and was therefore positive. It also proved that the NZWA course was adaptable and safe in all conditions. However, one of the two candidates felt that the course should not have been held in less than perfect conditions and that there should have been more preparation/housekeeping prior to the course. He also did not wish to adapt from the old method of holding onto the uphaul in the 'Secure Position' and felt that on- -the-water tuition was preferable prior to the simulator, rather than teaching on the simulator first. This candidate withdrew after the first two days - the first withdrawal from a course ever. We congratulate Jamie Dalziel, for completing the course and Allan Garbutt and Tony Limburg, for updating their Instructors Certificates. Note from the office - I would say that this candidate's withdrawal was not due to anything that Matthew could have done better, and was more likely due to the particular situation, conditions etc., and that the candidate was unwilling to accept changing his method for that which is used, tried and true by NZWA Instructors today. A letter is being sent to him to request in writing the reasons for his withdrawal in order to assess the course and any improvements which could be made.

ROTORUA: 1 - 5 December, Rotorua Windsurfing School. Heavy rain marred the first day but provided an opportunity for inside work. The 4 candidates showed excellent boardhandling and powerboat skills and excepting one who needed to correctly repeat the '7 Common Senses', all passed all aspects of the course with flying colours. 18 students were shown the method over the second day and all were sailing with reasonable control by the end of that day. Video footage was taken on day three and reviewed along with the RYA vidoe "Starting Point". Problem solving and technique extending was also covered. Congratulations to Jennie Hutton, Brendan Robertson, Dominic Bamford and Ryan Pausina, for attaining their certification.

AUCKLAND: 12 - 16 January 1997, Pt Chevalier Windsurfing School. Perfect conditions, 6 top calibre candidates, and a steady flow of students made this course the best yet for Ken. It also proved the new Basic Teaching System to be effective and acceptable to instructors who have been teaching for several years now.

Congratulations to Ben Nicholls, Ross Murdoch, Andrew Wilson, Daniel Sharp, Michelle Walker and Antony Wrigley. We are especially pleased to have Michelle and Antony on the NZWA Instructors team as they have been teaching the sport extensively over the last few years, and they are renowned in windsurfing circles here in Auckland.

All the new NZWA Instructors are now primed and perhaps even already using their skills for beginners around the country. We have great faith that the flow on effect of this will be not only introducing lots of new people to the sport in an effective and safe way, but will be inspiring them to continue in the exciting sport of windsurfing!

The NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR WINDSURFING SCHOOLS SCHEME

Flags and certificates have been sent to the following Windsurfing Schools who have completed the standards and become NZWA Certified: Rotorua Windsurfing School, Windsurf Pauanui, Pt Chevalier Windsurf School, Wildwinds Windsurfing School (Wellington), Seafari Windsurfing School, and the Watercooled Windsurf School, (Dunedin). Schools which should be certified over the next month are:

Mad Loop Windsurf School, Kiwi Windsurf School, 93FM Windsurfing School (Napier). There are about three more schools which need a physical assessment but which should pass before the close off date for funding in April. Some schools just are not busy or big enough to warrant the extra cost involved in completing all safety items required (such as a motorised rescue craft), but you never know what may happen in the future...especially with all these new NZWA Instructors around.

Many thanks to Paul Tuck for putting in most of the work involved in establishing the standards, visiting and phoning all the schools and writing comprehensive reports about all he has done. We wish you well Paul, in your new Australian venture and hope to keep in touch - you never know we may need your advice in the future. A half year report is being drawn up to present to the NZ Water Safety Council end of February.

EXECUTIVE MEETING AT YACHTING NZ FRIDAY 14TH FEBRUARY 1997. Subjects to be covered:

*issues arising from the last minutes, *accounts, *new 'Members Representative' Job Description, *finalising the NS for WS Scheme, *membership drive..... see some of you there. Signing out, Wendy.

Guilt-free Windsurfing

Feeling guilty about wishing for hurricanes to get some wind? Don't fed too guilty. Some interesting statistics: in the US, hurricanes cause 45 deaths per year. That is bad. But it ranks behind tornadoes (95), floods (120), lighting (130), and way behind what many nonwindsurfing beachgoers wish for during their coconut-fragranced foray to the water's edge, the heat wave, which claims 1,000 lives each year. So go storm sailing with a clear conscience.

- courtesy of the New England Windsurfing Journal

Jon Paul Tobin shines in Chinese Regatta

Jon-Paul Tobin finished 3rd in the recent Asian/Pacific Windsurfing Champs in China held from 5 -21 November.

In a fleet of approximately 50, Jon-Paul finished a creditable 3rd behind Tony Philp and Joao Rodrigues (7th in Savannah).

The majority of the races were conducted in breezes of 15-20 knots in choppy seas.

Sailors were housed in a purpose built complex in Shanwai City close to the venue.

In excess of 40,000 people attended the opening ceremony with 160 competitors who competed in the Mistral, Formula 42, Windsurfer and Raceboard classes.

Placing consistently 2nd or 3rd Jon-Paul kept the heat on the leaders throughout the regatta. Next up for Tobin is the Australian Mistral Nationals in Sydney over January followed by the Sail Melbourne and Sail Auckland Regattas.

International news .....

[Jackie Wong, the President of the WAHK and now the Chairman of the AYE Windsurfing Committee attended the ISAF Conference in Brighton. He collected 'l'he Spenj Docksider World Sailor of the Year Award for Lee Lei Shan, Gold medallist in Savannah, in the Mistral event. Great news for Windsurfing in Asia and great news for San San too. It could not have happened to a nicer person.

[IMCO and the One-Design were reselected for 2000 without problems. Further the Sailing Committee agreed that competitors can bring their own equipment to the Olympic Regatta provided that the class established proper ISAF methods of control so that everyone can reassured that all equipment used is class legal and therefore has not been doctored in some way. We are in the process of writing up these proposals which will be agreed or not by November '97. If we cannot establish a sufficiently fool proof system of control, we will revert to supplied equipment. Although, at this stage, we do not see any major problems in satisfying the ISAF Measurement Gurus.

[The One-Design equipment is currently subject to a process of improvements which will establish greater longevity and a tighter qua1ity control so that manufacturing tolerances are reduced to such an extent that we can introduce a 'Gold Standard' for equipment at least 12 months prior to the Games. The Gold Standard will represent the measurement tolerances permitted for the Olympic Regatta. (see above) There is no intention to introduce performance enhancing improvements. We wish to ensure that current One-Designs remain competitive at high level for a long time to come.

[The ISAF Windsurfing Committee also approved the 'Windsurfer' as a second junior development board. This is important because the Aloha is only well distributed and used in Europe at the moment and will give IBSA a weapon to threaten BIC with in their contract negotiations. Also, Windsurfer is available in developing countries at a cheaper price than any board made in Europe with the added benefit of having moulds available if developing country. wishes to manufacture locally. Everyone is agreed that the Aloha should be the board of choice for the junior worlds if that competition is had in Europe.

[The decision on the introduction of a qualification system for the worlds has not been made yet. I will circulate the proposals as soon as possible for comment by national IMCOS and National Coaches. We will then make a final decision prior to Xmas.

[We have signed the agreement with the other classes and ith Eventscorp in Perth so all windsurfing classes will hold their worlds there next year. Provisional dates Dec 7th-23rd. We are working on the NoR now. It should be published in the new year.

['97 Euros will be held in Murcia, Spain at the Centre Infanta Christina -La Car - Sept 27th >Oct. 5th. We hope to hold a coaching conference afterwards.

Regards, Rory

(Continued on page #)

Off the Internet ...

According to Windsurfing Mag's tests, lighter is NOT inherently faster. In fact, heavier boards (all other factors being equal) were a little faster in chop. The only speed advantage the lighter boards had a little edge in ooching onto a plane in insufficient wind. These tests were performed on light and heavy versions of an Astro Rock and with some other board with and without a 5-pound weight at the mast step.

Time for a Change

When you tell someone you belong to USWA, what kind of response do you get?

Unless you're speaking to fellow members, it probably goes something We: "U-S-Wwhat?" To many people-including other windsurfers-USWA is just another acronym in a world drowning in alphabet soup. It's hardly the best situation for an organization that needs universal name recognition to reach out to new members and solidify its position as the only national association that serves all windsurfers in the US.

That, in part, is why the board of directors recently voted to change our short name from an acronym to "US Windsurfing." In addition to the benefits of using plain English, our short name now conforms with those of all other Olympic sports organizing authorities, including our parent organization, US SAILING.

Communications Committee Chair Jon Okerstrom agrees the time is right for a change. "As a longtime member, I've seen the transition from USBA United States Boardsailing Association) to USWA. That change served us well, but as we become more sophisticated and aggressive marketers, US Windsurfing will serve us even better, especially as we work to reach the general public, the industry, and recreational windsurfers who aren't aware of us." Along with the name change will come an updated logo, designed to add visual excitement and immediate understanding-You'll soon see it on US Windsurfing apparel and merchandise. Executive Director Holly Macpherson explains that the transition will not be a significant expense because, "Product inventories are low right now. I think a change is overdue. I am excited about getting a ne design-Watch for the new graphics in the next US Windsurfing Newsl"

Notes from NZWSC

1996 DROWNINGS LOWEST ON RECORD, 23 PERCENT BELOW AVERAGE.

The facts:

We've All Been There

When you buy equipment, a certain amount of time will elapse before you can use it. Usually, you'll be able to use it before the new model year equipment comes out. Sometimes you'll be lucky enough to use it before the credit card payment comes due, getting the salting pleasure without the financial pain.

But can the "Lag Time" be quantified? After extensive research, I have discovered that Lag Time is inversely proportional to sail size and directly proportional to price (subject to a personal risk factor). In other words, the smaller the sail, the longer you'll have to wait to use it. The more expensive the gear, the longer the Lag Time. Thus, Lag Time can be quantified by the following mathematical relationship:

LT = P _

(SS x RF)

LT = Lag Tme in weeks, P = Price, SS = sail size in square meters, RF = Risk Factor

Risk Factor is not yet completely understood but appears to be related to clean living, family commitments, work schedule, and desperation to sail.

For normal sailors, the baseline Risk Factor is 10. It only varies in rare cases of sailors who exist at the lunatic fringes of windsurfing. For example, a sailor with family commitments, a demanding schedule, and a damaging pathological need to windsurf would reduce this factor to eight.

Some examples: say you are a reasonably normal human being. You buy a 5.0 sail and a mast for $650. Lag Time can be calculated: LT = 650/ (5.0 x 10) = 13 weeks. Payment due, finance charges in effect! What about that 4.0 you've always needed? LT = 600/ (4.o x 10) = 15 weeks. Better hope they don't change it much next year. But go ahead and buy that trashed 8.0 at a swap meet: LT = 100/ (8.0 x 10) = 1.25 weeks -That sail is barely dry from the last guy!

The implications of this formula suggest some obvious solutions: always buy used gear at swap meets and move toward larger, light-wind racing equipment. You're on your own for the Risk Factor. Check your club calendar for the next swap!

- Bob Heckman, Charlotte, NC ,

The Eyes Could Have It

Life has never looked better: it's your day off it's warm and sunny the fronts and the backs are all in the right places so the wind is solid. All the things you usually forget are there in your gear bag. Your pulse is racing as you leave the driveway Traffic is light. You pull in at the beach, LOTS OF PARKING! The adrenaline is surging through your veins as you rig your favorite sail and attach it to your favorite board. Slip into your shorty and go over the mental checklist: car key harness, gloves, sun glasses. WAIT you say why sun glasses? "NOBODY who's cool wears sunglasses, way should I" Well, now that you ask:

PTERYGIUMS (TERR- IJ’-IUMS).

No, this is not a new species at Jurassic Park. They're those white growths that an increasing number of people are finding on their eyeballs. And they don't get better with Murine. We’re talking surgery. We’re talking slicing a layer of tissue from the white of one part of your eye and transplanting it onto another part of yow eye, after the growths are removed. We're talking serious stuff. Somehow, sunglasses are sounding better and better, right? I know, you're learning to loop-or duck tack or whatever-or you don't want all that extra paraphernalia when you sail. Fine-how's your health insurance? How does three weeks off the water for surgery sound? Call me old-fashioned if you will, but I'll take prevention every time.

"A pterygium is a fleshy growth that invades the cornea," says the American Academy of Ophthalmology. It can remain small or it can become large enough to interfere with vision and eye movement. Early symptoms include a lot of redness on the white of the eye toward the nose. With continued exposure to UV and irritation from wind, this can eventually become a whitish growth that thickens.

While the exact cause is not known, pterygiums occur most often in people who spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun and wind. It is assumed that long-term exposure to ultra-violet rays, both A and B, and chronic eye irritation from dry, dusty, or sandy conditions play an important causal role. Once a pterygium starts growing and becomes thickened, any wind is irritating and aggravates the growth.

Incidences are higher in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Simply wearing good sunglasses or goggles when you're in the sun and wind will help prevent them.

"More and more surfers are coming in with this condition," says Dr. Scott MacRae, a cornea specialist at the Casey Eye Institute in Portland, OR. He has needed to operate on an increasing number of young people. The procedure is not life-threatening but who wants to have growths removed from their eyes (with a local anesthetic) if it can be prevented. Once you have one removed, chances of recurrence are higher.

Dr. MacRae is also a windsurfer so his advice is not just coming from some academic ivory tower when he says, "Windsurfers need to better protect their eyes. There are many fine products out on the market but color of a sunglass lens does not necessarily have anything to do with amount of protection. Be sure to look for a sticker saying 'l00% UV protection'." He'd rather see you at the beach than in the office...

- Louise Wilson Noyes, with thanks to Dr. Scott MacRae, American Academy of Ophthalmology

GET A JOB - — -WINDSURFING!

Green Yard Beach Resort and Seasport Center, web site at

http://www.pworld.net.ph/avm/gymain.html) organizer of the Boracay International Funboard Cup

(http://www.pworld.net.ph/avm/bfc9.html) is looking for a Windsurfing Instructor also to be the in-charge of the Green Yard Funboard Center. Boracay Island is the Philippines' No.1 vacation destination. Please send email direct to avm@pworld.net.ph

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE - news from the regions

Harbour Blast: All we needed was a little more wind! But apart from that, I think we can all agree that the Harbour Blast was a great success. There were a few gripes from one person who had not read the entry form during this or the previous events and felt disadvantaged by entering late. However, even this failed to dampen the atmosphere and I could see smiles among all the participants, even those, who like me turned back at Somes (Matiu) Island due to the lack of wind.

Some of the great aspects were:

Place Sailor time

1 Christoph Sieber (Austria) 25 m

2 Tony Wrigley (Auckland) 26 m

3 Ricardo Giordano (Italy) 26 m

4 Pedro Silbiera (Mexico) 28 m

5 Ryan Pausina (Auckland) 30 m

6 Matthew Wood (Wgtn) 30 m

7 Jamie Silk 31 m

8 Steve Macris (Wgtn) 31 m

9 Alistair Radford (Wgtn) 36 m

10 James Richardson (Wgtn)

First woman: Barbara Kendall (19th).

News 16/1/97

Teams Racing - 14 attended

AGM - only a handful, elected Committee are

Air NZ City of Sails - about 50 entered Pt Chev. round, after 2 days/1 discard

International Teams Event - not this year

Calendar

News Jan 1997

Round 2 SI Cup - 20 competed in 2\3 course races day 1 and slalom day 2.

Other events

NOTE to CLUBS: Electronic copy, either emailed or on disk will help me put more content here, it will also be place on the Internet if you wish. Send it to Bruce@winzurf.co.nz or post c/- 56 Pembroke Road, Northland, Wellington

WELLINGTON

REGIONAL

SLALOMS

Seatoun Sat/Sun 15/16th March

Contact Dean (04) 234 8072

ORCA ENCOUNTER

Local sailor Wilbert Knol posted this story on the net recently following a discussion about shark encounters ...

On the subject of wildlife...last Sunday the BT Global Challenge fleet set sail from Wellington to Sydney and, since it was a nice, windy 4.5 B&J day, I decided to ‘wave’ them out :-)

I cruised out to the shipping lane, hopped off, and spent ten minutes floating around on my back watching the BT yachts sail past and out the heads, very impressive.

Back on the beach I caught up with a fellow boardhead, my old buddy Pete, and we had a good old jaw flap for a few minutes...until Pete shouted "$#!^ [expletive deleted] did you see that??" He had spotted a set of rather large fins a couple of k’s off the beach.

Without my glasses I am as blind as a bat and I didn’t see a thing, so I jokingly dared him to sail out for a close look. Unfortunately Pete agreed to risk life and limb in spite of having wife and kids etc, and we wobbled off, yours truly on his small wave board, and Pete on his huge slalom machine.

Having caught a good puff I got out first, gybed in the shipping lane having seen neither fluke nor dorsal, and, trying to pump the old shampoo bottle onto the plane, I spotted them....big black fins 200 m straight ahead of me...and they were HUGE!

Frantically trying to catch a wave to get going I cursed the iffy wind...and then all went dark underneath as the killer whales crossed my path. I came close to having the brown stuff run out the wetsuit trousers. Luckily I managed to get out of the hole and motored straight back in , meeting Pete heading out screaming "didyouseethemdidyouseethem???".

According to Pete, who is a professional diver, there were two big males and five smaller fish, trying to find the harbour entrance to get out. He reckoned they were probably in a grumpy mood being contained in sewage-logged Wellingon harbour and ready to take a bite out of anything getting between them and Freedom.

Pete had some bullshit story about sensing bad vibes originating from the water, he also claimed that they wouldn’t bite him since he is too old and tough like old boots, and the moment I hit the water I’d be as good as Dead Meat. "They are mean...big...bad and they are out there...waiting for YOU".

The bigger fins would have been around 1.5 m tall, roughly level with the gunwall of a yacht sailing past. After I while they figured out how to get out and disappeared into the Strait. The other one who disappeared was Pete, his ‘pass for the weekend expired’ after 2 hrs of sailing. It was an eventful session.

Wilbert.

Aaron MacIntosh is now on-line, he can be contacted via email : aaronmc@xtra.co.nz - he will also have his own web pages at

http://www.winzurf.co.nz/aaronmc

photos, race reports and other info will be posted there by Aaron as he travels.

If you would like to advertise in our newsletter, our rates are as follows:

$20 1/4 A4

$35 1/2 A4

$50 3/4 A4

$60 full A4

contact Bruce

(04) 4759236 for details

9 Pah Rd, Onetangi, Waiheke Island

Want to travel and sail? Check out the AIWA web site, it now has a page of windsurfing jobs, instructors wanted etc. You can post your C.V. and also look at what is available at

http://205.162.195.3/windsurf/awia/JobBank.htm

PWA Rumour Mill - courtesy http://faraday.ucd.ie/~joseph/pwa

date : 7 January 1997

Want to advertise your second hand gear? There’s another option after you’ve tried Exchange & Mart (which works pretty well I think). you can also advertise on the net in the wiNZurf ad pages. Do it yourself by going to :
http://www.winzurf.co.nz or if you don’t have access to the Internet, check out the kiosks at the library (go for Wellington Information/ Sport/Windsurfing ) or contact Bruce on (04) 4759236 and leave the details. Check the site out if you’re looking for gear too, it covers the whole of New Zealand.

Got a story to tell, want to buy or sell, anything to do with the newsletter contact Bruce (04) 4759236 Fax (04) 4756135

stamp

address label

%Snippets

Barbara Kendall is part of a review group considering issues which arose out of the Savannah 96 event as part of YNZ High Performance Programmes and

Sailors.

The NZWA has applied to the NZWSC for a grant to put together a multimedia CD ROM promoting the sport.

Barbara KendalL announced as Sportswoman of the Year

Well done Barbara!

Windsurfing NZ