This king has been dead for a while (actor, too.)


This king died on his throne.


This king is living large.

Many of the Southeast's windsurfing clubs that were around fifteen years ago are gone. Here is a list of clubs from our web site circa 1998-99. The clubs no longer around are crossed out. Interestingly, many of them were in spots very hospitable to windsurfing.

• Shell Point Boardsailing Club Tallahassee, FL
• Triangle Boardsailing Club Raleigh/ Durham, NC
• IBSCC Charlotte, NC
• Charleston Boardsailing/Kiteboarding Club
• WET, Norfolk, VA
• MBWA, Mobile, AL
• Panhandle Windsurfers Pensacola/Gulf Breeze/Ft. Walton, FL.
• North Alabama Boardsailing Assn. (Huntsville, Madison, Decatur)
• JAWS (Jacksonville Associated WindSurfers), Jacksonville, FL
• Fleet 12 Tampa, FL
• South Florida Board Sailing Association, Miami
• Nashville Area Windsurfing Association, Music City, USA
• Hogtown Boardsailing Club, Gainesville, FL
• St. Simon's Surfsailors St. Simon's Island, GA.
• South Lousiana Windsurfing Club

The reasons for their demise were many:

• Greater emphasis on windsurfing in planing conditions - planning events became more difficult and sessions became more spontaneous. Think: "I'm going next Saturday, if it's windy."
• Decline in long boards and long board racing - some groups like Fleet 12 in Tampa were primarily racing oriented
• Shifting interests to kite boarding and other sports
• The internet. Learning where to windsurf in Atlanta no longer requires meeting a bunch of strangers on the second Tuesday of the month in a restaurant across town.

Historically, one of the primary reasons for a windsurfing club was to dissiminate information about local knowledge - where and when to sail and who to sail with. Another was to provide a means of communication between members whether it be at a club meeting or through a newsletter. While both are useful, newsletter takes a lot of time and a fair amount of money to produce and meetings require members to commit an evening in their already busy schedules. Finally, clubs require a critical mass of members which, in smaller communities, can be hard to maintain. Enthusiasms wax and wane, people move, and active members burn out if they repeatedly carry the burden of club activities.

I was hoping for the something less cliched.

That's better

The internet killed the club. The internet now is the home of new clubs. Many of the spots where clubs used to exist now have some sort of on line community taking advantage of social media like blogspot, yahoo groups and facebook.

This post was inspired by our finding the new Jacksonville crew. Here is a list of some other on line communities that have sprung up (and, if you know of one not on here, let us know in the comments below or by email):

• East Central Florida Yahoo Group
• Treasure Coast Windsurfing (FL)
• Jacksonville Windsurfing
• Augusta-Columbia Windsurfing Association
• Austin Windsurf Club

It's also important to remember that a number of blogs and forums have become their own communities although not necessarily tied by geography. Check out the blogs that appear on our front page blog roll, as well as notable forums if you are looking for a wider community or information about other places.

Tom Ingram of Jacksonville tells us that camping at Huguenot Park is still open but under great budgetary pressure. He asks us to help keep it open by sending an email to the mayor expressing your appreciation for camping there and continued hopes it stays open.

"Mayor Brown gets fewer letters than anyone would think, and getting letters from people who travel to Jax to camp and windsurf at Huguenot would be meaningful. Hanna Park, which is a City oceanfront park on the south side of the river, continues to offer camping and is a nice shaded campground, though not on the water. Little Talbot Island State Park, just north of Huguenot, has a very good campground but it does fill up quickly - advance reservations are usually needed."