Official End to Windsurfing

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[Weasels wake]

This was mentioned last December on the Iwindsurf forum by the former editor Josh Sampiero.

From that forum:

Posted: Thu Dec 22, 2011 1:53 pm    Post subject: WINDSURFING magazine to suspend publication   

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Hey everyone,

Word is getting around, and I wanted to be the one to tell the iWindsurf community.

WINDSURFING magazine will be suspending publication for the upcoming year.

There's still quite a few details I'm not sure about, and our team is still quite a bit in shock.

I'm sure there will be a press release next week. We've spent this week telling our advertisers and contributors. (Sorry if we haven't gotten to all of you yet - there's a lot!)

It's been a great run. We are part of an amazing community, that I'm sure will continue, even without the magazine. Windsurfing will always be the most incredible sport in my world, and, I'm sure, yours too.


I'm not sure what the future holds for me yet, but I will continue to be a member of this community, and continue to be on the water with you guys.

I'm off to the mountain for some decompression and get my mind off the thing. Will check back later.

All the best in the wind,

Josh Sampiero


[and then again later]
 

Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 12:13 pm    Post subject:   

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Hi everyone,

Haven't been very vocal on this thread but I have of course been reading, and very much appreciate the stoke many of you offered on the job I did over the past few years. It's been an absolute blast, that's for sure! I had the chance to meet many people from this forum in person, and that has been awesome, too.

A couple of you made some points about print media in the changing digital world that I feel are very salient (and have felt so for a long time.)

My future is still entirely open - but for the next few weeks, I'm heading down to Mexico, to help host the LOTW event and hang out in LV with the boys.

After that - who knows?! For what it's worth (and mostly for your amusement) my resume is here:

http://www.youneedjosh.com/resume

You know, just in case any of you forumites know of jobs that require someone who likes to create great content 

And remember - the wind still blows, everywhere!
 
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The sport is far from cancelled, it has just been reduced to us hardcore types, that has actually improved the conditions out in the water.  Far less windsurfers out in the waves that have no idea of wave etiquette. 

[headmount]

Admin totally pegged this.  "Official End to Print Magazines?"  that's all this is.  Welcome to the new world.  Mostly ads anyway.  Who needs magazines when we have this?  Soooo much better. If you want to talk or see pics of wndsrfng, you can simply start a thread.  I read SURFER when I was a kid but stopped many years ago when I saw what a racket all those chick mags were at the grocery line.  I flashed that sports mags are just the same thing and swore them off.  Syanora baby.  Waste of time and money.  At least here on this forum it's just time.  Fun time.

[JimK]

I'll put my 2 cents in to the cancellation of WS

Not happening Mags come and go (Windsport & NEWJ are doing fine (maybe better)

You've seen in this thread that high performance windsurfing is still progressing.

Equipment is still improving/selling (trust me here I KNOW)

As far as digital vs print I'm no expert so I'll let others (who are) speak to that

As far as the sports (WS & SUP) there could not be more compatable sports around. Up to about 10 knots of wind the SUP's rock over 10K there is TONS of great windsurfing equipment to exploit those conditions.
Not to mention how much fun windsurfing your SUP can be (Fanatic, Naish,  Amundson, Cabrinha ect.. put rig inserts in for just that. There is a whole segment in this forum.

Finally as far as growth I can't speak nat'l or internationally but here in NJ (Our place on Lakes Bay in Atlantic City area) There is a a TON of folks learning (we taught over 200 WS lessons last year...that is a bit more than the SUP lessons taught in the same period...This year my guess is SUP's will be even or overtake WS lessons)
Windsurfing is ALIVE AND WELL HERE ON LAKES BAY

To be a good waterman you must expand your horizons We here know how much FUN SUP's are and how versitile. But mother nature ad the ocean have lots of conditions that a surfboard, Windsurfer or Kite is a better option.

WHY LIMIT YOURSELF COME LEARN THEM ALL We have lessons and rental equipment and I bet most of the local shops do too.

JimK
www.extremewindsurfing.com

[Weasels wake]

Eventhough we've had some good days here in Cali this winter windsurfing, I'm really wishing I was in Maui this winter, it's been very spring'y there this year.

Epicsesh.com *Epic Maui Sessions- Windsurfing, Surfing, Kiteboarding Action* 2011-2012

[p06781]

Like gorge bob I live in Oregon and still love windsurfing  too. I still feel lucky to live in Portland where everythings only a hour away!  Surfing the Oregon coast,  wind and kite and sup the Columbia gorge, and an awesome place to ski or ride nearly year round at Mt Hood. 

I will say since i got the sup bug i haven't been out windsurfing much last year while trying to improve my surfing skills at the coast. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk

[surf4food]

A couple of weeks ago I cut the deck pad out on my older Naish to put a strap handle on it, and to my excitement I found a mast track. It's an earlier model Naish Nahu, that was one of their cross-over boards. Now I have to find the mast track adapter. I still have a bunch of my old windsurfing gear, that I'm looking to put back in action. I miss hearing the sail hum, and the board planing so hard that it barely makes contact with the water. Shear mother nature powered speed......

Just out of curiosity, what made you stop windsurfing?

[headmount]

WW.. NICE vid.  I live in Paia and from '79-91 I was out almost every good day at Hookipa.  Now when we drive to launch at Maliko, we pull off the road for a moment  and soak up some vicarious thrills.  Jason is arguably one of the best wndsrfrs out there and still finds time to go down wind paddling. which kinda makes me feel good that what I'm doing isn't just because I'm old and washed up.  

How about that SUP guy losing traction on that Jaws wave?  And the bumper crowd at Maalaea?   That's a critical wave and having guys drop in is so hairy.  Inches deep, that's why the wave is so good.

But of all those activities  down wind paddling has been the most consistent this winter.

[pdxmike]

I bet there will be some move into windsurfing from people who started out with standup.  Some of the gear I remember seeing on past threads for windsurfing your SUP looked pretty fun and user friendly.  It's much less of a leap to add a sail to your SUP than to go out and get totally new gear.  Windsurfing will be just another way to use your standup board---similar to people starting out doing flatwater standup, then getting interested in surfing, and heading out to the beach (or mall). 

[bts]

I bet there will be some move into windsurfing from people who started out with standup.  Some of the gear I remember seeing on past threads for windsurfing your SUP looked pretty fun and user friendly.  It's much less of a leap to add a sail to your SUP than to go out and get totally new gear.  Windsurfing will be just another way to use your standup board---similar to people starting out doing flatwater standup, then getting interested in surfing, and heading out to the beach (or mall). 

Maybe a little. 

I think most SUP sailors are windsurfers waiting for it to blow hard enough to ride their wave boards.

Kites are really what killed (or maybe just maimed)  windsurfing around here.  Hard to fight better light wind performance and a steeper learning curve.

Was out the other day trying to learn this down-wind thing everyone is raving about.  Passed a couple of my old launches and had sailors blow my me like I was standing still.  A real "what the hell am I doing" moment for me.

[headmount]

Well if you're into speed, go to Florida or Seattle and race Donzis, they're the fastest.  But if you're into gliding or surfing., then dwnwndng is pretty cool.  Not for everyone I suppose and it is adventures in slow speed.  For me it's that moment of acceleration.  That's enough to keep me going back.

[Ichabod Spoonbill]

I think one of the reasons windsurfing isn't popular is that it stopped being "easy". It became more about high-performance sailing than just sailing; that whole "If you're not planing then you're not doing it right" mentality. It became a sport for experts.

I've mostly switched to SUPing because I've never been an extreme kind of guy. I don't even drive fast.

That said, I'm sad to see Windsurfing go. I wrote a couple of articles for it (and even one for that ill-fated SUP mag). The magazine had a long history. Josh was a good guy to work with, and I gather he is no longer working with Bonnier.

BTW, I canceled my subscription to Trans World Surf. Didn't like it at all. All style and very little substance.

[bts]

HM,
I'm into surfing and glide, which is why I've been trying to get into downwinding. The jury is still out, but it's probably just not my deal.

Part of the problem for me is getting an appropriate sized board. I bet I'd have more fun on a board designed for a "big and tall" rider, but I'm not willing to lay down 3k to have a downwind board made just to find out.

I'll probably end up doing occasional downwinders on the in-between days when conditions are marginal for both surfing and sailing.  Then again, maybe I'll get a SUP with a mast track.

[spookini]

Windsurfing vs. Paddle/prone in a very lightwind wave sesh --

session passe americaine.mp4

Cancelled?  I don't think so.  Who looks like they're having more fun there?

I started WS'ing 2 seasons ago, and spent most of last season w/ SUP.
SUP is great from standpoint of simplicity -- no setup time.  It's easy to get in a 40min session after work, and the wife doesn't even know you've gone missing.

But from a performance standpoint, for me SUP can't compare.  (Downwinding is not a realistic option.) This season I'd like to sail more than I paddle

Hopefully, more SUP'ers discover the joy of putting a sail on their board, even in lightwinds.  It's a great crossover.

[808]

Who looks like they're having more fun there?

Of course they were having more fun. They came in a took over the break plowing though the crowd of proners.  This is the same type of behavior that gives sups a bad name.  Looks like fun but they have a boat and sail's they could have gone anywere.  

[Beasho]

The sad reality is that I have subscribed to Windsurfing back to the days of Windrider.  It is one of the few vestiges of my life that stretch back more than 20 years.

Windsurfing in no subtle way shaped my life.  I learned when I was 15 years old and then sat around watching the Weather Channel in Ithaca NY (new at that time) praying for a bump in the wind forecast.   We only got 10 – 15 plane-able days per year so it meant that you had to skip whatever was going on when the wind blew.  Moving from Ithaca to NY City, Philadelphia and Boston meant scoping out all the best spots from Sandy Hook NJ, to Heckscher State Park, Lakes Bay, Cape May to Cape Hatteras.  Kalmus beach, Chapoquoit beach and off to Pocomo on Nantucket.

I was then lucky enough to get a summer internship in San Francisco and I was sold.  The Bay Area offered bump and jump, urban, river and wave sailing all within a 50 mile radius.  You could be sailing a 4.0 at sunrise and then rest up for a wave sailing session in the afternoon.
    
The heroes were Mike Waltze, Maui Meyer, Cesare Cantagalli and of course Robby.  Laird was just an aberrant speed sailor back then.  Davenport, CA offered the best down-the-line wave sailing spot in the mainland US and I could finally start to emulate my Hawaiian idols.
  
I ended up in Half Moon Bay because it was close to Davenport with proximity to the life blood in Silicon Valley.   My 3 kids were born and are being raised in California ultimately products of favonian and thermal breezes.  I am not sure if it is a function of available time, learning curve or evolution but I grew up and old with windsurfing.  

We used to joke that there were only 30 windsurfers in the World.  We would run into them at the Gorge, Hatteras, Crissy Field . . .  I even ran into ‘Luke’ whom I met in the Dominican Republic, then again on a the beach in Chapoquoit, Mass and then surfing in the morning at Hookipa, while waiting for the wind to come up, all within 24 months.

SUP today feels like windsurfing did back in the day.  There’s a small group of truly dedicated SUP’ers and the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers are once again open for discovery.  The technology and shapes are mutating at a staggering rate.  Everyone has an opinion and there is no consensus other than the overarching joy experienced on the water.  It’s great to be young again.  SUP forth and sail on.