To all the winter die-hards,

Thanks for being there during the winter season. It was fun seeing others so addicted that they would brave temperatures in the thirties just to go fast.

In the late 70s I borrowed the first Windsurfer on St. Simons for a couple minutes to see what it was like. Very soon after that I ordered one, wooden booms and all. Foot straps changed the sport. I bought the first non-Windsurfer on the island and added a 7.3 sail. It could outrun the Hobies and Nacras in anything over twenty. Others followed and windsurfing became king of the beach.

Winter sailing on St. Simons wasn’t as severe as Lanier. When we got cold we would jump the fences at the condos and get in their hot tubs. But like Lanier the winter group was a different type. Not only did you have to be good enough to handle the conditions but you had to respect those same conditions and know that you had to watch each other’s back.

Thank-you guys for watching mine,

Jeff