The
Windsurfing Fanatic's Page
Angela & I are both 110% hooked on windsurfing.
Living in Northeastern Massachusetts, we do most of our sailing on lake Quanapowitt in Wakefield. It's an awesome spot, and luckily is only 10 minutes from our house! Quanapowitt is also a mecca for freeskating and iceboating (for you sun-dwellers, a FreeSkate is like a windsurfer with ice skates), you may have seen it mentioned in Windsurfing magazine!
When we are in the mood to do some real sailing, we go to Kalmus state park in Hyannis, MA. It's about an hour-and-a-half from the house, but on a good day it's well worth it! Kalmus has been described more than once as the windiest spot on the east coast.
- Click here to visit our collection of windsurfing links -
Here's a partial list of our equipment:
Boards
1994 Alpha Cat 370 - the definition of a "longboard". If you want to go fast in a straight line in no wind for short $$$, this is the board for you. Standing on it and breathing is almost enough to make it plane! Will handle as large a sail as you own.
1996 Bic Veloce 328 - a good light-to-moderate-wind board for large folks like ourselves. A conservative no-nose design, this board turns on a dime considering it's length...
1992 Bic Rock (290 cm.) - To look at the press (and sales figures), you'd think this board is just an "also-ran", next to the Astro Rock & a few of it's brothers. In fact, it's a great all-round board for the heavier sailor (one of which I am one of). It's short enough to have a lot of fun on, jibes wonderfully (albeit a little slowly), and won't scare off folks who prefer to uphaul. And it will get you home when the wind dies!
1994 Bic Vivace 290 - The closest I've made it yet to a "shortboard". Turns on a dime, jibes like you wouldn't beleive, and goes fast enough to really scare you. And, when it wants to go fast, good luck stopping it! Numerically (length & volume), this board looks a lot like the Rock, but it sails 100% differently. It's a handful, but rewarding!
1992(?) Bic Calypso - A good beginner board, period. Bought this one for Angela to get started on, and she's since outgrown it. It's big & floaty, but will plane fairly well if you're creative. Made of heavy but damage-resistant polyethylene. We bought it used for $350, it can be yours for $225 in great shape. Send Email to acorrado@avicenna.com
Sails
The North Spectro 6.0, and Katana 5.0, and 7.5 are our favorites. We also have a Gaastra CS2X 6.0 (a little heavy & slow). Rounding out the quiver are generics: 4.4, 5.7, and triple-cam 6.6 (weighs a ton, but boy does it have power!).
The Trailer
I've gotta take a minute to mention our trailer. I bought a cheesy Home-Depot-type 1000-lb capacity folding trailer, made a plywood deck, and sides and a rack made from pressure-treated lumber. This is the way to go sailing! It carries all four boards, sails, masts, and all the accessories (including wetsuits. This leaves the entire interior of the car available to carry sailor-dudes-and-dudettes in style! The trailer itself is quite lightweight, and is easily rolled around the yard, even when loaded up.