St. Francis YC buys a new fleet of Windsurfers

http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/archived_Detail.asp?key=3949
* From Paul Heineken, Chair, StFYC Junior Program: (edited to the 250-word limit) The St. FYC recently purchased a new fleet of Techno 293 windsurfers for our junior sailing program. So far kids have been thrilled with the boards. Due to recent advances in windsurfing that promotes teaching on wide boards and small sails, our juniors are all learning how to windsurf as part of our learn to sail camps. Even experienced dinghy sailors are gaining a new feel for the wind and the water due to windsurfing’s direct access and feel for the elements. The fact that windsurfers are so close to the water also removes much of the fear of capsizing. This has the added benefit of relaxing juniors in boats when a boat capsize occurs--a regular event on the Bay. Our club is working to have the first ever 2010 combined junior world windsurfing championship for both the Techno 293 (for the younger kids) and the Olympic RSX.

Southern California was the birth place of windsurfing and the site of the first Olympic games that included windsurfing (1984 LA games where the American Scott Steele won the Silver Medal). While many believe the hottest junior sailors come from Southern California, it’s unfortunate that this region trails the rest of the nation (if not the world) in developing windsurfers. It would be tremendous if we could encourage some of the greats from the sport of windsurfing (Olympian Peter Wells, John Jackman, Annie Nelson, Eric Krebs) to rally and create a CISA junior clinic similar to what Pete Melvin has done with multihulls.