Gone with the Wind
From Diamond Head to Kailua Beach, windsurfing is gaining in popularity, so MidWeek’s intrepid reporter decided to give it a whirl
By .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Archive | RSS
Getting started takes upper body strength —
and a lot of falling
I’m concentrating so hard on maintaining control of the sail that I don’t even realize how fast I’m moving.
Looking back to shore I realize that I’ve sailed quite a distance. I decide to turn around only to lose control — and off the board I go.
Campbell swims out to help me. “You did it. You were sailing,” he says. “Now I want you to turn the board around (while still standing on it) and go back.”
Much easier said than done. Ten tries later, and I still couldn’t get it right.
Campbell jumps on and shows me how. “Stand in place,” he says. “Then, shift your hands to the other side of the sail. Feel the board turn around below you, and bounce your feet up and down to maintain balance.”
He sure makes it look easy. I get back up on the board, glide across the ocean water, fall, swim the board around, get back up, sail, fall, swim the board around …
Catching a wave at Diamond Head
Frustration starts to build. My muscles start to hurt. Just when I think I’m getting it down, I’m not. Then the wind starts to pick up, and it only gets more difficult.
But determination makes it addicting, and I continue sailing.
“It’s OK,” Campbell says.
“It’s a lot to take in. Usually people do a lot better their second time out. They go home and let all the information sink in, and then they go out again and it’s so much easier.”
He’s right. I guess I’ll just have to come back.
There are about a half a dozen places that offer windsurfing lessons and rentals on Oahu.
At Hawaiian Watersports, it’s $89 for a two-hour lesson plus a two-hour rental. To rent a rig and all equipment needed it’s $49 for four hours.
“In the initial stages it can be slow going, but once you get harnessed in, strapped down and start flying, it’s very exhilarating,” says Campbell. “The flats become racing grounds and the waves become perfect launching ramps.
“I like the feeling of harnessing the power of the wind and having the control at my fingertips. And it really feels like you’re flying.”
If you’re interested in windsurfing, it’s probably better to rent the gear and test it first. A brand new rig costs about $1,000 to $3,000.
The windsurfers I talked to say cost is probably the only downside to the sport. But worth every penny.
“My goal is to be more aggressive in the waves and be a better wave windsurfer,” says Price.
Kenneth Campbell of Hawaiian
WaterSports windsurfs at Kailua
“One time one of the longboard surfers at Diamond Head asked me if windsurfing was as much fun as it looks, and I said, ‘Oh yeah, definitely.’”
Page 2 of 2 pages for this story < 1 2
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
