Summer Special : Catching a Breeze Is One Sport That’s Beginning to Take Off

Last April 30, most Southland citizens were running for cover.

Gale-force winds and high surf sent part of the ill-fated Redondo Pier crashing into the sea. More than 1,000 day-trippers were forced, against their will, to extend their visit to Catalina Island, stranded in the 60-m.p.h. winds. Guests at spring picnics and wedding receptions held onto their hats and tried to get indoors.

But one segment of the population looked outside, saw trees bending over backward and lawn chairs rolling past, and thrust themselves into the eye of the hurricane.

Grabbing their boards, masts and sails, they headed for the nearest body of water for a day of prime boardsailing.

“That was the greatest day ever,” said Peter Vanderburg. “Everyone was going nuts.”

Vanderburg--manager of a boardsailing retail outlet in Newport Beach--is a self-described “wind junkie.”

Obsessed, finger poised to the wind, he constantly searches for a breeze. And when he finds it, he grabs his board and sail and takes off, skimming across bays, skipping over white caps, flying at speeds that rush-hour motorists on the 55 Freeway can only dream about.

Vanderburg is not alone in his addiction. The American Boardsailing Industries Assn. estimates that there are 1.3 million boardsailors--often called windsurfers--in the United States, 7.5 million worldwide, and those numbers are growing.

But, for the uninitiated, the sight of a human body clinging to a sail in the middle of the water, at the mercy of an unseen force without the benefit of a dock, rails or rudder, can be intimidating.

But, boardsailors insist, the sport is really quite easy to learn. Most people can maneuver across a relatively calm bay after only a two- or three-hour lesson.

And lessons are now stressed in the sport. The boardsailing association has launched a “Learn to Windsurf” campaign for the month of July, working with retailers and manufacturers to help bring new participants to the sport in an organized and safe fashion.

This is a relatively new development in the sport.

“It used to be that it was really frustrating,” Vanderburg said. “You’d go out with a board, without any training, and spend the day going up and down, up and down, falling off the board. Then you’d decide, ‘I don’t like this.’ ”

Only a decade ago, not many people in the United States liked windsurfing, even though the sport was conceived in Southern California.

In 1968, inventors James Drake and Hoyle Schweitzer applied for a patent on the sailboard system they developed. Though Schweitzer manufactured boards and promoted the sport through his company, Windsurfer, it didn’t really catch on in this country.

“There was too much competition for the sport,” Vanderburg said. “If I wanted to go sailing, I’d go sailing. If I wanted to go surfing, I’d go surfing.”

In 1973, Drake sold his share of the patent to Schweitzer for $32,000, and Schweitzer licensed a Dutch firm to sell boards in Europe. There, the sport boomed and eventually worked its way back to the United States.

In 1984, the sport was introduced in the Olympics, with American Scott Steele winning a silver medal. Course racing will be a medal sport again this summer in Seoul.

“The equipment has become more refined,” Michael Levine, boardsailing association executive director, said. “And the increased speed has made the sport more exciting. And people are now realizing that every place with water is a place to sail.”

Last year, 74,000 units--most of them manufactured in Europe--were sold throughout the United States.

Not surprisingly, the sport has boomed in Orange County, an area seemingly tailor-made for windsurfing with its proximity to the water and its upscale demographics. The boardsailing association estimates the average participant is 33, with an average household income of $52,000.

But, though outfitting oneself for the sport could potentially run into the thousands of dollars, buying a sailboard doesn’t have to be any more expensive than taking up skiing or cycling. And it’s definitely less expensive than sailing or water skiing.

“One family can enjoy one piece of equipment,” said Jeff Jones, owner of a boardsailing center in Long Beach. “You’d spend more in a weekend of skiing at Mammoth than it costs to outfit a windsurfer that will last five years. There aren’t recurring costs with windsurfing.”

A fully equipped recreational board, complete with sail, mast, mast holder and boom, can be purchased for about $500. Higher performance boards run into the $700-$800 range, and custom boards can cost as much as $2,000 for a total package.

Hard-core enthusiasts will spend hundreds of dollars on accessories such as harnesses--which are attached to the boom when sailing in high winds and rougher water--wet suits, booties, gear bags, car racks and trailers. Serious boardsailors will have several boards, of varying sizes and performance ability, as well as a variety of sails, to use depending on conditions.

But before investing in equipment, put some money toward lessons.

Terry O’Shea, who gives lessons on Balboa Bay at 18th Street, begins his four-hour session on the sand, explaining terminology, safety precautions and wind orientation. Students then go over the basics--pulling the sail out of the water, steering and holding onto the mast--on a dry-land simulator board that is mounted on springs and a pivot.

Only after O’Shea is sure his students--which number no more than four per class--fully understand the most basic rules of navigating the equipment, do they test the water. Balboa Bay’s calm, sheltered waters provide what O’Shea calls the perfect “bunny slope” for boardsailors.

“After two hours on the water, most people can sail to a target turn around and sail back,” said O’Shea, who is certified by the Boardsailing Instructors Group. “A few people get panicky or scared because they are poor swimmers, but then I recommend they go back and take swimming lessons before trying windsurfing.”

O’Shea has found that most of his students, who range in age from 12 to more than 60, pick up the sport quickly. He said women are often better beginners than men, because maneuvering a sail is more a sport of finesse than of strength. And in competition women, because they are lighter, often beat their male competition.

O’Shea recommends renting boards and practicing before investing in equipment. Students can learn more sophisticated maneuvers in additional lessons. But the key to improvement is practice.

“At first it’s frustrating, because it looks like it should be easy,” Patty Angellar, a beginning windsurfer from Orange, said. “You just have to keep going out there and you keep improving.”

Once the basics are mastered, boardsailors start looking for better wind. In Southern California, sheltered spots such as Balboa Bay, Alamitos Bay in Long Beach and Mission Bay in San Diego are excellent areas for beginners or purely recreational sailing. Ocean spots, such as Seal Beach and Cabrillo Beach, provide more challenging conditions.

Windsurfers are inclined to keep their boards on top of their cars, waiting for the breeze to pick up. Favorite day trips are to such spots as Lake Perris in Riverside County and Mission Bay. Longer safaris take enthusiasts to the San Francisco Bay Area, the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, Maui or as far as Europe and the Caribbean. All they are looking for is a gust of wind.

And that is the simple beauty of the sport.

“If you ski, you’ve got to go all the way up to the mountains and there has to be snow,” Angellar said. “If you surf, you have to wait for the right wave.

“But to windsurf, all you need is a little wind.”

WHERE TO LEARN BOARDSAILING

The Newport Sailboard School: Lessons given at 18th Street on Balboa Bay, Newport Beach. Costs: $49.95 for one four-hour lesson, maximum four people per class; $25 per hour for private lessons. Covers dry-land simulator and at least two hours in the water. Board included in lesson. Board rentals also available for $10 per hour. Boardsailing Instructors Group certified. Lessons by appointment. For information, call 673-6299.

UP Sports: 430 West Pacific Coast Highway, Newport Beach. Lessons given on Balboa Bay. Costs: $40 for one two-hour lesson; $65 for two two-hour sessions. Maximum of four people per lesson. Board included. Board rentals also available for $40 per day. Boardsailing Instructors Group certified. Sign-ups at the store. For information, call 631-4108.

Long Beach Windsurf Center: 4100 East Ocean Blvd., Belmont Shore. Lessons given on Alamitos Bay. Cost: $75 per three-hour lesson, maximum of three people per lesson. Wet suit, board and two hours of additional board rental time included. Board rentals available for $20 per half day (four hours) or $30 per day. Boardsailing Instructors Group certified. Lessons by appointment. For information, call (213) 433-3104.

Inflight Surf and Sail: 1250 Pacific Coast Highway, Seal Beach. Lessons given on Alamitos Bay. Cost: $50 per three-hour lesson, Saturday through Monday. Maximum of three people per class. Board included. Board rentals also available for $40 per day or $20 for three hours. California Windsurfing Assn. certified. Lessons by appointment. For information, call 493-3661.

Infinity Sport: 24382 Del Prado, Dana Point. Lessons given at Dana Cove. Costs: $45 per three-hour lesson, $30 for a second lesson. Maximum of eight people per class. Board included. Wet suits available for $10 per lesson. Board rentals also available for $10 per hour. Lessons by appointment. For information, call 661-9299.