VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

As most of you windsurfers know I carry both Goya and KA gear for windsurfing sails. As you may also know is that the industry is hurting, the dollars are both hurting, carbon/plastics prices have risen dramatically and shops have closed all over, including the Gorge. I cannot afford to stock much, if any gear anymore in fear of having it sit and depreciate. Shipping individual items is prohibitive on the other hand, in this case almost half the cost of a KA sail from Europe so I will not re-order KA again this summer/fall.

http://www.windsurfing.kasail.com/?page_id=525

In an effort to keep things available I am placing a limited KA order of attractively priced new 2013/14 sails (~$465up), masts (100% carbon RDMs $445 up), booms (100% carbon $575 up). Shipping costs are ~$100 each for these items, included!! So sails eg. $365up.

Goya is also readily available, similar pricing but not incl shipping.
http://goyawindsurfing.com/sails/


This is as close to a stocking order as I am going to do, if you are thinking about replacing a sail or mast or boom through me, pls let me know this week. There is limited availability in sizes and colors. The largest sail I can bring in is a 7.4m btw.

Kaos sails for waves
Koyotes are light, easy to rig and superfast freerides
Kryptonite is the 4 batten low end light wavemachine


thx for any interest, pls let me know soon!

It appears one of the last remaining shops is closing its doors, Avon Sailhouse final year. I suppose looking at the Gorge closures too the sport will soon only exist in Europe

and Maui... for now at least.

What closed in the Gorge?

That's kind of depressing Kus. Maybe just a well earned retirement to spend all that money they made selling gear! If you are putzng around on your 10 year old gear, maybe it is time to buy some new stuff and head to the Coast. It is way better. Like fat skiis. You can ride a bigger multifin board with a smaller sail. The gear will make you better in a wider range of conditions. I think you'd need a crowbar to detach Udder and DM from their Quatro quads! Make Kus happy or make Starboard or Naish happy as they advertise here. Lots of modern gear in the Buy/Sell too.

nanmoo wrote:and Maui... for now at least.

What closed in the Gorge?

? ... none I heard of. Still BigWinds, Windance, GorgeSurf

KUS wrote:It appears one of the last remaining shops is closing its doors, Avon Sailhouse final year. I suppose looking at the Gorge closures too the sport will soon only exist in Europe

WindNC is going strong and only windsurf gear, Ocean Air still has lots.

Bummer about the shop closure. I was really amazed to see shops like Goya/Quatro/MFC on Maui so poorly stocked. I couldn't even get harness lines or a harness as they had very little in. DaKine was the same, Maui Windsurf Company ditto. One shop literally had dust on a lot of their merchandise. This is the situation in what is considered "Mecca"! Windboarding is experiencing massive shrinkage, and it ain't just the cold water. Crazy considering the sport is more fun now than ever. I hate to sound pessimistic, but the signs and symptoms presenting in our beloved windboarding sport look a bit sinister. Hope things turn around.

what's closing in the Gorge?

Depressing yes.

I remember doing an MBA project back in '06 on the industry in North America.....back then there were more windsurf sails purchased in France in one year vs all of the sails sold in North America in a year.

It is a very tough industry (low volume) and the "customer" is inherently cheaper than most customers.....think when you try to sell something.....no one wants to pay full price. Ever. For some reason the windsurfing customer does not perceive any value in the retailer....probly cause the sport is hard to learn, so they know more than most customers who buy products. Kus can speak to this I am sure.

I meet approx. 650 students each year (250 UFV and 400 CA school). In 10 years of asking students who windsurfs.....out of those 6,500 university students asked.....maybe 5 had ever windsurfed?

And I only know of 1 of my previous students who went out and bought a Go Board.....incidentally his first time at Harrison the wind caught it and he dropped the board off his truck and it smashed on the ground. I don't think he has gone out since.

Keith

In general it probably has a bit to do with a demographic shift as well. A large proportion of the people my age in Victoria don't have : A) a means to buy the equipment B) a job that is flexible enough to ever use the equipment C) willpower to get off the couch D) the mindset to overcome obstacles A, B and C. But seriously, I've been trying to get friends into the sport since I did, and some are interested, but they honestly just don't have the time, money, and job stability to pull it off. I'm sure this is mimicked around the continent. Which explains why a really cheap sport like parkour or underwater hockey has exploded, meanwhile skiing/snowboarding and kiting/windsurfing don't experience the same boom.