"Titilating Stories of Boardsailing Adventure"
Volume 7 No. 8 September 1996
(C) Chris Voith 1996

Here's why we celebrate Fall.
Come to our Sept 21 party at Sunrise Cove.
Photo: Joseph Stanley

Member Profile- Glenn Tanner

by our Editors
We promised a member profile last month but, with the Olympics and all... We now present the first of many club profiles. While the following conversation never took place, the answers are real.

Glenn Tanner preceeded me as president, leaving large shoes to fill. Not only has he been a big help this year, but with his encouragement, the club made the jump to cyberspace.
ABC: So Glenn, you aren't from Conyers are you?
Glenn: No, I was born and raised in the Adirondacks of upstate New York (I have never sailed there), moved to Atlanta in '79 and stayed because Buckhead was "so much fun" or so I thought (ed. note: This being a family publication, we had to restrain ourselves from pursuing this point). Soon after I started boardsailing in 1985, I became a member of the Atlanta Boardsailing Club and tried course racing.
ABC: Since you've been sailing for eleven years, do you have any sessions that stand out in your mind?
G: My most memorable session was unquestionably a spiritual experience cruising Sarasota Bay with Jean Fandeaux on Superlights with tandem leaping dolphins leading the way, like in some fairytale dream world. That feeling of being at one with the sea, the wind, the dolphins and the sky was overwhelming and seemed to last for hours. I guess I still catch glimpses of that moment and that feeling. And that keeps me coming back for more.
ABC: So, when the wind isn't blowing, where do we find you?
G: My non-windsurfing hobbies are scuba diving and kayaking and whatever else my 11 year old son, Trey is into this month. In June, we participated in a wedding thirty feet below the surface in Key Largo which was the "highlight of our summer" ties, tuxes and all the trimmings underwater.
ABC: Since you've been windsurfing so long, you've seen big changes. Any pie in the sky thoughts about what's next?
G: Next big breakthrough in windsurfing technology?... I can't see how they come up with new stuff each year as it is. I'm really amazed at the annual improvements that are made. At first I thought, "they're just making things different to sell more stuff" but then I find out that stuff really does get better. The boards get easier to ride and the sails get easier to sail.
My most recent personal upgrade has been a portable seat to keep my butt dry while rigging on a mushy cold wet lawn at Van Pugh... not very high tech, but no goose turds on my ass either. They have the seats at SAM'S now for like $5.
ABC: Gosh, that's exciting, Glenn. Let us know when they come out in carbon fiber and we'll make that bee line down to Walmart. You seem to be on the cutting edge. What changes did you suggest to Bjorn and Robbie before this year's World Cup Tour?
G: In fact they have requested copies of "Winning Ways of the Anal Retentive Windsurfer" when it is written. As for now it's a secret, though I will hint at the importance of special booty hangars to avoid cold wet feet on the second day of racing at a regatta. I'm not kidding, just ask Chris, he's seen them.
ABC: Glenn, why does a self-respecting man like yourself put up with an interview like this?
G: I agreed to this profile so that we can hopefully find more people to travel to regattas on weekends around the southeast. We really have a lot of fun, meet interesting people and are surprised at how many people really suck at racing- (so we fit right in). Anyone interested in the Aruba Hi-Winds next year (June 97)? or the Islamorada Pro-Am this year in November? How about the Endless Summer Regatta at Shell Point Oct. 5-6?
ABC: Good point. Any takers?

This Month's Meeting

The September meeting will be Tuesday the 10th, 7:30 p.m. at the old location on Roswell Rd., now called Power's Court restaurant (formerly McKensie's and Wild Wing Cafe before that).

C A L E N D A R
Sept. 7th Lanier Shore Sweep. Van Pugh Park
Sept. 5-8 Senior National Championships. Hilton Head Island, SC
Sept.14-15 HYC Fall Regatta. Tullahoma,TN
Sept. 14-15 Hathaway Landing Power Challenge. Panama City Beach
Sept. 21 Autumnal Equinox Wind Ceremony Learn-to-Windsurf/Learn-to-Shred/Pagan Ritual & PicnicSunrise Cove
Oct. 5-6 Endless Summer Sailboard Classic. Shell Pt.,FL
Oct. 19-20 18th Atlanta Fall Sailboard Classic. Flowery Branch,GA
Oct. 26-Nov. 3 House on Hatteras Week. Rodanthe,NC
Oct. 31-Nov 3 IMCO Nationals. Savannah, GA
November Islamorada ProAm Da Keys, Conch Republic
February 21-23. Midwinters. Merritt Island, FL.

Welcome to our newest members:

We now have 63 individual or family memberships.

Mistral Class Olympic Gold Medalist- Nikos Kalamanakis

1995 interview by Rory Ramsden
RR. Nikos, tell me a bit about your background.
NK. Well, where shall I start? Let me see.... I was born in Athens in August '68 one year after my sister Melina and finished school in '86. Since then I have been officially a student at the University of Physical education studying sports science. My father, Roben, was one of the first people to have a board in Greece. That was back in 1976., so after I had learnt to swim, I was about 11, I started playing around on my father's board with my friends. Racing just seemed to happen naturally until in '86, I was selected to compete in IYRU Youth Worlds where I won a bronze medal. I've been on the circuit ever since.
RR. I watched you racing in Crete at the Euros last year. No one else seemed to be able to get past you and stay there. Were you really determined to win on your home territory?
NK> Yeah, I was really "hungry" there. It was world class competition. I was not exactly on my home water. That is some 200 miles away, so it was no more familiar to me than for anyone else. But I sure wanted to win, not just for myself but for the people who believed in me and were so close... but also for the very few people who didn't believe who were there too. That gold medal came in good time too- I signed a contract with Diesel Jeans just ten days before!
RR. Do you have a long term arrangement with them?
NK. Relatively, yes. Unlike some of my fellow competitors who do not have commercial sponsorship, I guess I'm lucky. Mind you, I work very hard, not just in training but also to get media coverage, too. The contract has been renewed in '95 and '96 on the strength of my '94 results. They are very satisfied not only media wise, but with the whole relationship which makes them look further into the future still. In the early days, before I became a serious contender, (I am one of the top 5 medal hopes in Greece for next year's Olympics in any sport), the manager of Diesel in Greece believed in me even before I won a world class regatta, let alone lead the (IYRU) World Ranking List. This gave me the extra confidence to have a real go and now, makes me work even harder to produce the results they want.
RR. Did your father encourage or push you into the racing scene?
NK. No, he just has a "Go for it" attitude which I guess I've inherited. So he just let me get on with it knowing that I really loved the sport. I still really enjoy it even though racing has changed considerably since the removal of restricitions on pumping.
RR. There are a few people out there saying that is not a good thing and that the rule should be changed. What do you feel about it?
NK. Well, certainly the top of the Olyumpic sport has changed and become a lot more aerobically demanding. You can't believe the pain that comes if you want to be at the very front of the fleet. The coompetition is intense. Mind you, I wouldn't change it for the world, even if I was a multi-millionaire or whatever, I would still be doing the same thing. No, I thenk the rule is good the way it is and shouldn';t be changed. For the first time, we have a truly Olympic discipline in sailing. The demands are strong aerobically... tactically... mentally... in every way you can think of. I push myself to the max.
RR. I guess it's war on the race course?
NK. There are so many people doing well now that, even given the conditions, you can't tell who is going to win. There are at least 10 guys able to. Only if there is a championship with the full range of wind strength, can you reduce that to 4 or 5. The others are specialists. Still, the hardest competitiors on the water are best friends on the beach. That's what Olympic Windsurfing is all about.
RR. The Games are only 11 months away. How do you rate your chances of winning a medal?
NK. (laughs)... there are half a dozen or more guys who on the right day could win one. I'm one of them. I've got so much to learn. I'm constantly testing, training and searching for tha elusive edge technically, tactically, physically and the more I learn, the more I realise that I don't know enough.
RR. Can you be the best in the world, can you take the gold medal back to Greece?
NK. I'm not here to prove to the rest of the world that' I'm the best, but I know deep in my heart, that I can give the best in the world a good race. I just wouldn't feel comfortable with myself if I didn't go out and check how good I really am.
RR. What do you do to relax?
NK. There's not much time for that... I go wavesailing... drive my car... listen to music... read... hang out with the home boys. Mostly I'm travelling from one regatta to the next. I spent some time in New Caledonia and Australia/New Zealand last winter.
RR. Do you consider yourself to be a racer's racer?
NK. Well my goal is to be appreciated by the other competitiors... enjoy what I'm doing... and that means that I must do well at regattas. What drives me onwards is my fear of losing. I have to work very, very hard because I'm nothing special physically. The other guys are world class sailors and world class people too... Bruce Michel Q, Gebe and the others. The motivate me too. i spent some tiume with them last winter and believe me I know I'm right.
RR. Are you happy with the One-Design equipment or would you prefer to race on something else?
NK. Nothing is better if the wind is 8 knots plus.

The Commodore's Tip Corner #26- Getting your board to the seashore

One of the difficult things about windsurfing (other than waterstarts, jibes, spinouts...) is the equipment. Other than a few misbegotten attempts to make them collapsible, generally sailboards are, well... big. They don't fit into the backseat, and cramming one into the trunk isn't well advised. So how do you get your beloved piece of plastic-covered styrofoam to the beach? Let's take a look at how some local sailors solve the dilemma.
This month we will focus on the top of your car. It's pretty well accepted practice that what doesn't fit in the car, often fits on top. Sure, we've all seen those folks in a Tercel driving down the highway holding a queen mattress set on top with one hand and the wheel with the other. Most windsurfers adapt some form of this practice. Here are several variations on the theme and their practitioners.
  1. The roof rack. Pros: Popular, relatively inexpensive. Cons: The joy of lifting a 40 lb board after a long day. Cinching your new monofilm sails to the rack usually leaves them looking like crumpled Kleenex.
  2. The roof non-rack (Mark Eberhart): Pros: Why let a Yakima come between your Camaro and Equipe? Minimalist and thrifty. Cons: Frequent trips to Earl Scheib for paint. Difficult to use same setup for mountain bike.
  3. The couple's rack (Ed and Jackie Marks): Pros: Why should you have all the fun? Let your boards nuzzle. Cons: You need about 50 tiedowns to keep everything together. If you leave two Mistral One Designs together overnight, you may end up with a new baby Mistral Ecstasy.
  4. The Eiffel rack (Fred Dey): Pros: Lets you keep your boards on top of your RV. Cons: Not recommended for acrophobes or those relatively inexperienced in mountaineering.
  5. The 007 rack (Glenn Tanner): Pros: Allows you to jettison your boards to avoid pursuing SMERSH agents. (How else to explain Glenn's fast 10 hour trips to Hatteras?) Cons: Mistral warranty specifically excludes damage incurred during espionage or intrigue.
  6. The Dale Earnhart rack (Chris Pyron): Pros: Angled rack above truck (which Chris claims provides a camp tent framework) provides great downforce for those Friday night forays at Lanier Raceway. Cons: Frequent NASCAR rule changes mean you may not be able to use that new fin you just bought.

Notes from the President

Notes from the President Somewhere in the north of Canada, the days are growing shorter. As the sun shines less and the nights grow longer, the air will begin to cool. As it does, it begin to get heavy and sink. It will want to move, first slowly, and then more insistently. This cool air will want to displace warmer, rising air from the still sun-drenched south with its warm soil and water. Thus are born the fronts of fall that bring us those winds so many of us have waited an Olympic summer for. We will gather to celebrate this process- with food, and drink. We will share our enthusiasm for the wind with our friends who do not yet windsurf and let them, too, see the light. We will share the secrets of the footstrap and harness with those yet to be initiated. We will compete to earn a commodore's bounty. We will frolick in the anticipation of those hallowed words: Caution advised on local lakes.

Yo. For everyone who wasn't a lit major. We're having a September celebration at Sunrise Cove, Sept 21 (rain date, 22nd) at noon. Teach a Friend to Sail, HiWind Clinic, Wind Ceremony and the "Commodore's Case". You know about the first, a repeat of our successful July event. Remember, that we also will have a special session for intermediate sailors who have questions about sailing in fall's stronger breezes. If you can't waterstart or can't figure out that carving jibe, COME. The Wind Ceremony and picnic is our way of getting the club together in giddy anticipation of the windy days just around the corner. Tim Carter may have special club T-shirts ready, too. The "Case" is the prize for the winner of an out and back race. A case of beverage (appropriately beer or soda, depending upon the age and taste of the winner) goes to the winner. For the other participants, it should be noted that tradition states that the victor generously share his spoils. Fun for all. All for fun. This is a great time to come out as the lake is very uncrowded in September but the water is still very nice and inviting.

For those who missed it, check out our internet site at http://www.commandcorp.com/atlanta.windsurf/. With the help of Bob Adams we have moved to a proper WWW site. A lot of people have contributed and I thank you.

Annual membership in the Atlanta Boardsailing Club is still only $20 ($30 for a family). Send payment to the address below.

Atlanta Boardsailing Club
P.O. Box 28376
Atlanta, GA 30358
For a membership form