IS it me ..? or is it you too....

I seem to be always looking at new gear ,finding bargains and basically ending up with a arson of windsurfing gear ...

I guess ,i am really hooked on windsurfing ...eg ..i sold a board ,couple of sails ,

then BANG ...all of a sudden i just brought 3 band new sails ...LOL.

Just wonder do i have a problem ,or are you a one in one out kind of guy .or gal ?

WILL i ever be happy with what I got ?

probably not

love me new sails though ...

HA ,,,,love your way of thinking cammd.

fishing boats are bottomless pits for money ...

thing is I never feel guilty buying windsurfing gear .....cause i know good times are ahead .

arriving at the beach ,when its blowing its guts out and you have 3 new sails in tow ...
thats exciting .

I agree with all of the above, about it being a relatively inexpensive hobby. I've got way too much gear, but I've kept my beloved land-cruiser going for the equal of 4 or 5 cars among most of my friends and saved far more than I've spent on windsurfing and paddle boards. I get my happiness from my sport and my collection rather than shiny new cars. I have noticed however that the more time I spend on water the less gear I seem to buy. If I'm working hard, trawling the classifieds for "bargains" and the online stores for new gadgets becomes a poor substitute for time on water. Its really nice to have choice and gear to share, but I am also guilty of never spending enough time on one set of gear to really dial it in. Having too much gear also slows down your setup time. Don't get me wrong, I'm not parting with my collection, but I am aware of the negatives.

As your sailing ability progresses so does the collection of gear. New sails are great. Spending time on the water tuning them is fun. Matching the fins to the boards n conditions n ability is however the most time consuming exercise. Finding the right fin combo is hard. Lack of fins n no try before you buy scenario. Is 15 boards 19 sails n 20 fins too much of a collection after 3years???? Nah....not at all.
Time n place for it all....

If you stay in balance , life is a joy...

I don't know why but 3 years ago I started keeping track of all my sessions in a spreadsheet. I have included my purchases as well. My sailing over the last 3 years has cost me $36 / session - more I sail the price comes down. Then I buy more stuff and price goes up!!
I think this is on par with other sports though - I play squash which costs me a yearly membership fee as well as money to play each time. Time on court v's time on water - average game lasts about 30 mins. Average sailing session I reckon would be 2 hours. So money spent on sailing is good value - that's what I tell my better half at least!!

ha. good to hear I'M not alone .

I also think ,if a mate or nephew comes and visits ...have i got enough for 2 set ups ...

yes ,i do have now ,which is comforting ,

i have 2 nephews who sail now ....because of me i'm proud of that ,

I forced myself 4 weeks ago to stop looking at the buy and sell section (sorry Laurie). I kept buying fins I didn't need...... Seems to be working so far

spanishwog said..
I don't know why but 3 years ago I started keeping track of all my sessions in a spreadsheet. I have included my purchases as well. My sailing over the last 3 years has cost me $36 / session - more I sail the price comes down. Then I buy more stuff and price goes up!!
I think this is on par with other sports though - I play squash which costs me a yearly membership fee as well as money to play each time. Time on court v's time on water - average game lasts about 30 mins. Average sailing session I reckon would be 2 hours. So money spent on sailing is good value - that's what I tell my better half at least!!

Im gonna quote you if i ever get asked, i was a squash player too.

Don't think most ever hit and maintain A HAPPY spot. Live is like a scud missle , up down

Imax1 said..
There's nothing better than a cumilation of stuff , and I also have one .
but , really
your only going to use 2 boards and 2 fins and 2 sails 90% of the time , oh and maybe a RB
Although my favourite sail is the next size down.
And then that smaller pointer fin is really fast.
And then that slalom board that's a bit too small is really good on flat wataer.
And I've had a few really good goes on the sail one size smaller again when it's really blowing.
And you have to have that tiny twitchy emergency sail that's just horrible that you've tried to use once a year and still got beaten up.And hate it.
You definitely won't ever use that 35 cm flexy freeride fin that you got as a spare that came with that awesome freeride board you bought .
My advice , sell it in exchange for harness lines that are too short

And you have to have that tiny twitchy emergency sail that's just horrible that you've tried to use once a year and still got beaten up.And hate it.
Sounds like my 3.2m... I hung onto a 5m cammed sail at Budgy last week when a 3.8 or 4m would have been better because I didn't want to hang onto a twitchy wavesail..

BSN101 said..
I'm a collector but going to start downsizing my board collection soon. I do like to update primary boards 2-3yrs. Sails depends on how they look.

Thats right ...good name we are collectors .

i always look at my old sails ,and think someone out there would love to own that ...

but the collection still builds .2 of everything right ,
I have this voice in the back of my head that tells me i need that .
scary ,I have 5 more in the trailer ..16 .

I have hit my happy spot. I have all newer sails, fins, board, boom and masts within 2 years old. I only have 1 sail that is a 2012 that is still in pretty good shape, that I will eventually replace when a good deal comes along. When the season starts up next year, I will buy some new 20" harness lines and a mast base tendon. But no big purchases for now.

To the sport or to a material-rat race ...?

When I see somebody struggling with mismatched gear or stuff that doesn't suit their skill level I think that maybe some "investment" in newer gear is a good thing thought there are plenty of people out there having max fun on older equipment, some people like new cars some like new windsurfers. I think the tally in my shed is north of the 5 board mark ...well north.