I was wondering how many fellow RV’rs and rv.net enthusiasts also have the windsurfing bug? I would be interested in hearing about, and seeing (pics) of, places you have been and how you outfit your rig to accommodate the paraphernalia of our wonderful sport.
I’ll start it off with a couple pictures; the first is our 31’ Class C Bigfoot with windsurf board attached to the rear ladder. The Bigfoot has under-storage bays that span the width of the rig, so that’s where I keep sails, masts, etc. BTW, that vintage 1980s Maui fun-board has since been replaced by a new Bic Core 133 liter. Also, the motorcycle now travels in the bed of a Nissan Frontier pickup—our new dinghy as of last fall.
The next two pictures are where we went on our most recent trip (not our pics though—for some reason—ask dw , the pics didn’t turn out) —August 2010, last week —to a reservoir just outside Laramie, WY, called Lake Hattie. Beautiful FREE boondocking spot! Very few people—the place was empty during the week and only a few people showed up Friday as we were leaving. In addition to being very windy, the area also has miles of dirt roads and single track for off road vehicles—so when the wind was down, out came the dirt motorcycle! For those traveling with small children, or like us with elderly father-in-law, make sure your rig has good heat/battery reserve for those ~40 degree nights—elevation 7500’.
While I certainly want to encourage everyone to post, I would especially love to hear about off-the beaten-path windsurfing, boondocking spots like Lake Hattie.
I did windsurfing for about 18 yrs in the SF bay area. One of the best spots in the country - just my opinion...
Did not do any long term camping (flew to HI, flew to Mex., did go camping on Hood River). I was just fortunate to live near by some of the greatest winds in the area.
2006 Duramax Chev dually.
2008 Mobile Suites TKSB Working toward "long timing".
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We have many windsurfers on Cape Cod. Now we are seeing more people switching to Kite Surfing. I have seen some RV with the boards attached on back, some on the roof. The kite surfing gear seems easier to store and carry around. Possible why people are switching over, plus the added thrill.
Little Sable Point near Manistee, MI is a favorite spot for kiteboarders (and poleboarders!) Lake Michigan is right around 80 degrees this time of year - no wetsuits needed!! (Also - no sharks!)
sfprop, you spoke in the past tense . . .no more windsurfing for you? I have a buddy who tells me sailing around the bay bridge was incredible. It sounds like you certainly have had the good fortune to windsurf several of the premier spots on the planet!
Mike and Rose, kite surfing looks fun indeed, and I agree, less equipment or at least, less weight and bulk to carry. When first getting into windsurfing, a neighbor and I considered Kite surfing--I actually wanted him to teach me hang gliding but he flat refused--he had a bad experience with a student who didn't listen very well(I wonder if he was trying to tell me something? ). We figured windsurfing first--it's a safer way to learn the wind and board action--then apply that to kite surfing which looks a bit harder and more dangerous.
OOps--edit--just saw the post from Deb and Ed, Thanks for the tip. I definitely prefer warmer no wetsuit necessary conditions. Regarding the sharks, very timely of you to bring that up as DW DVR'd every episode from shark week discovery recently We were thinking of heading to Hatteras (NC outer Banks) soon as we need to check on dear old dad (my dad) soon down in SC. Perhaps a pit stop in MI at Little Sable Point
Thanks to all for the responses,
Jeremy
* This post was
edited 08/12/10 10:13am by jeremymayf *
Yes Sharks are a problem at times. We have had some beach closings due to sightings. I am just alert when I seal seals in the area. Great Whites love Seals!
We're fulltimers and windsurf when we can. We carry all our equipment in a storage bay, so we're limited to two boards, two masts, two booms, and three sails, except we got a free 4.2 recently, and violated policy in the interest of thrift.
We're wildly under-equipped by some standards, but it all fits inside, which is just fabulous:
We vastly prefer to be able to park the moho where we sail because we won't have to worry about forgetting anything (note pink tag in above photo that says MASTS), and our toad isn't exactly a gear hauler:
That photo is from Cape Hatteras, where you don't drive fast to the launch--otherwise the sails have to go inside so they don't get blown off the roof, which doesn't leave much room for the passenger.
Access to windsurfable water-side sites can be problematic in a 40-foot motorhome, but something that big means we always have our equipment with us. Always a compromise.
But it allowed us, for example, to windsurf in the disgusting Salton Sea in southern California, near The Slabs. Nobody in their right mind would make an effort to sail there, but we were going by and there were RV sites on the water, and we had our equipment, right?
Here's the view from the water's edge:
If you want to read more about it, we documented the folly on our website.
On a better note, we stayed at a very nice spot at San Luis Reservoir in central California. This campground has no hookups, and we were the only people there in mid-September 2004:
That was a pleasurable experience--the write-up is here.
We have also sailed from our RV in Corpus Christi, but the weather there is so miserable it's livable for only a few months out of the year because there's no electricity for air conditioning and using a generator will make you VERY unpopular VERY quickly. Pretty much everybody there has solar, which makes it a nice place, except it's so muggy and ugly. And it's salt water and even saltier air, which ruins everything it touches. But the sailing is good.
I appreciate the tip on Lake Hattie in Wyoming--that looks like just our kind of place. We know some people in Steamboat who go camping/windsurfing in Wyoming, but I never found out where it is they go--I wonder if that's it.
But you know, I say all this about a big motorhome holding all the equipment, and I know a couple who fulltime in a VAN. Seriously--a van, and not even a Sprinter. The windsurfing stuff (they have a lot more than we do) rides on top. They have a place to store the equipment in Colorado, and they drop it off in the summer while they go mountainbiking, and then go windsurfing again in the winter in Baja and sometimes Corpus. That's the way to do it, if you can manage not to kill each other; they seemed pretty happy.
Very much enjoyed your write-ups on the slabs and San Luis. As for equipment, I think you are more than adequately prepared. I am in much the same boat--one board, 3 sails, 1 mast etc. As you noted, it's always a compromise, although I have to admit, I'm a little too old for the van thing
You mentioned Corpus Christi, we were thinking of a run to Padre this fall, but time is getting a little tight. My windsurf buds in CO swear by the place.
How did you like Hatteras? We spent a couple weeks in Ocracoke last year--southern Outer Banks NC. There is a state park there right on the beach (open ocean side). Very affordable. With my father-in-law's senior golden pass (or whatever it's called) we paid $13 a night. It's primitive camping--no electric,h2o etc., but water and dumping are very close and we are well prepared for boondocking--six 6-volt batteries etc. I absolutely loved the place--although I stripped the windsurfer down and just plain surfed. Wave windsurfing is still a bit beyond my capabilities yet.
Edit: threw in a couple pics of Ocracoke--the beach is on the other side of the highest dune in the second pic
Thanks again for the post,
Jeremy
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Hi, Jeremymayf.
Yes... it has been over for a while. I sailed about 20 yrs. but about 5 yrs ago realized that I kept getting sorer and stiffer and it took my arms a while to get straighter after the day was over. So I decided that the work and recovery were more than the fun (darn...!) and wanted a good body for the rest of my life (bike, hike, scuba, pick up my new grandkid, etc.). So I finally gave it up, sold the gear before it became worthless, have rented a few times in HI and P.Rico where it is warm.
I noticed even here most of my contemporaries have quit, some went to kites, and not too many new folks are filling the spots on the water. MANY fewer boards and kites on the SF Bay every time I go to the best spots. Why? Don't have a theory.
Hi Sfprop,
Though you've given up windsurfing, it seems to me you still are quite active and have many worthwhile interests. I faced the same body fatigue questions with regard to skiing and concluded that after living in Hawaii for 10 years my body just isn't built for cold weather sports any longer
You pose and interesting question about fewer boarders on the bay . . . expense of the hobby perhaps? My buddy that has been on the bay told me not to even think about going there till I can waterstart like a pro. He said it's very busy with big ships that cannot slow or turn quickly. Ships, sharks, cold water, high wind . . .Yikes! Sounds a bit scary to me!
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, the pics didn’t turn out) —August 2010, last week 
—to a reservoir just outside Laramie, WY, called Lake Hattie. Beautiful FREE boondocking spot! Very few people—the place was empty during the week and only a few people showed up Friday as we were leaving. In addition to being very windy, the area also has miles of dirt roads and single track for off road vehicles—so when the wind was down, out came the dirt motorcycle! For those traveling with small children, or like us with elderly father-in-law, make sure your rig has good heat/battery reserve for those ~40 degree nights—elevation 7500’. 
). We figured windsurfing first--it's a safer way to learn the wind and board action--then apply that to kite surfing which looks a bit harder and more dangerous. 
We were thinking of heading to Hatteras (NC outer Banks) soon as we need to check on dear old dad (my dad) soon down in SC. Perhaps a pit stop in MI at Little Sable Point
