DIVERSIONS : Call of the Wind : An Escape Back to Nature Draws Many to the Ocean Sport of Windsurfing

Before you let these long sunny days fall into memory without finding that summer thrill, consider what’s being said about windsurfing.

“It keeps my sanity intact,” says Elmar Klotz, president of Avionics Group, Allied-Signal Aerospace, who has been windsurfing for eight years.

“People can do it at any level and get away from the part of life that is boring and uninspiring,” says Pete Beagle, owner of Sailboards West in San Pedro. “They can escape from the concrete and traffic and get back to nature.”

They are talking about the sport that has countless Californians taking to the water.

Sailing of any kind is the “king of sports,” says Beagle, who began teaching windsurfing 15 years ago. But when he describes windsurfing, phrases like “something mystically different” and “good therapy” fly from his mouth.

One of the most popular windsurfing spots is Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro, which has earned the nickname “Hurricane Gulch.” Despite the moniker, it’s a haven for beginners, who prefer the quiet waters inside the San Pedro harbor breakwater.

The only problem, says Mariel Devesa, 15, is that the wind blows offshore, which means it’s easy for windsurfers to catch the wind and sail out into the harbor. But coming back to the beach can be a lot of work.

“Beginners come here because it’s protected and the lifeguards will pull them out of the water,” says Devesa, who races competitively and teaches windsurfing.

Says Dan Nordman after being towed in by a lifeguard boat: “I was practicing on my new board and my hands got so tired I couldn’t hold on.”

According to lifeguards, 12 to 14 windsurfers are towed back to the beach each weekend during the summer.

“The wind comes up quickly,” says Sandy Mardesich, who began windsurfing at Cabrillo Beach six years ago after winning a board in a local contest. She once went out too far and was trapped offshore with 12 other windsurfers. While waiting for the Coast Guard to pick her up, she drifted near a shipping lane buoy and watched seals swimming nearby in the chilly waters. “That’s when I decided I’d always wear a wet suit,” she says. Despite the occasional cold dunks, Mardesich said she enjoys the sport so much that she is buying a new board with her college-age son, Mike. “She’ll use it on the weekends,” he says, “and I’ve got free time during the week.”

Problematic winds for one windsurfer, though, mean sheer ecstasy for others.

At Cabrillo Beach, windsurfing experts shove off from a beach outside the protection of the harbor’s breakwater into the wind-whipped sea. On an average weekend day about 150 Day-Glo green, pink and purple plastic sails shoot off waves and pull against the wind for more speed.

“It takes about a year of sticking with it to get good enough to sail outside,” says Scott Carter, a San Pedro insurance broker. “The outside is for hard-core windsurfers.”

Betty Pfeiffer sailed the Marina del Rey channel on her first board on her 50th birthday and found windsurfing “a great way back into sailing.” She wanted to go beyond mastering the waves and the board and begin racing, she said, “but 20 miles an hour on a windsurfer is hard.”

Eleven years and one heart attack later, Pfeiffer still windsurfs in moderate winds. But when the winds pick up, she sits on the beach at Cabrillo and watches. “You need a lot of push. I don’t appear to have it anymore.”

Surf and Sail * Buying a board: Adults: $650 for a 12-foot beginner’s board, sail and boom, to $2,000 for a shorter, high-performance board with wings. Children: $100 for a used 10 1/2-foot beginner’s board, $175 for lightweight sail and boom.

* Average rental: $15 to $25 an hour.

* Good spots: Leo Carillo Beach at Pacific Coast Highway and Mulholland Drive; Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro.