Steve's Windsurfing Journal - 2002 |
This was the year that I finally went independent, in the sense that I did all my own gear rigging and transport. I rented a bunch of stuff from Gilles Fumat at Bump and Jump. Gilles is pretty much the only game in town for windsurfing gear, and definitely the only one for non-beginner equipment. Gilles will deliver the gear to your door or sailing site, but then it's up to you. He'll also swap it out for free over the course of the rental, but that may require a trip to the Bump and Jump shop on Industrial Avenue and/or tracking him down, which isn't a sure thing. Let's see, I used a HiFly Maxx (looked like a 2000 or 2001) and three different Bump and Jump sails: 5.5, 6.5, and 7.5, with motley assortment of masts, booms, and an extension. The sails could have been in better shape, but they were adequate to the tasks at hand. At one point, a mast had an extension collar stuck in it upon delivery, but Leslie at Bump and Jump was happy to find me another. So, overall, I'd say go with Gilles, but don't rely on him to be at your beck and call.
Even though I spent a lot of time rigging and unrigging, almost more than I spent on the water, overall I think this was good for me. I learned a lot about various bits of gear, rigging in various wind conditions, and a little about tuning. I also made a game out of seeing how efficiently I could do all this. It still takes me about 20 minutes to load the car, 40 minutes to rig (something always goes wrong and eats 10-15 minutes), and about 30 to break down and re-load the car. Also, I got to experience the dreaded mast seize-up when that fine Keys coral sand got into the mast. Two gents drinking at Rum Runner's volunteered their elbow grease and we were able to twist it apart. So, from now on I will keep clear packing tape in my gear back -- for taping up the mast crack, and for those emergency sail patches. Live and learn.
I managed to get in session during four days of the week, which is a bit amazing considering I was sick as a dog and it was pretty cold by Keys standards much of the week. Two bayside sessions early in the week at Tea Table and two lazy days at Holiday Isle at the end of the week. Midweek, winds were so light as to not make it worth the effort to rig. Lots of little bits of learning happening on the water -- balance on a shorter (305 cm) board, lots of harness work, larger sails, floppy booms, quick beach starts, pumping, dodging channel boats, getting mocked by freezing local fisherman, stablizing over jetski wake, and reading the shallows and working the tides.
The best news is that Rum Runners is rebuilt and re-opened. I loved hanging out there between sessions. The inimitable Trapper John let me run a tab after I locked my wallet in the car, and David loved playing with the CD jukebox and ordering his own Coke from the bartender. Also, took Laurie to Pierre's one night for dinner. You can not top this place; one of the very best restaurants we've ever been to. Bring money.
On the "decline and fall of Keys windsurfing" theme, the Westin Key
Largo no longer has windsurfers on the beach, and Key Largo World Watersports
no longer retails windsurfing gear at all. I was prescient enough to plan
a stop at WaterPlay in Miami on
the way down to get a shorty wetsuit (though not clever enough to pack
the one I already had).