May 25, 2005
Wind surfers relish sale
Sailsport Marine swap meet boards, sails, suits, lines and fins
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Out with the old and in with the new.
What better way to justify some new windsurfing equipment - a sail on the must-have list or a high-wind board - than to sell some old stuff. Wind surfers from around the region and state gathered Sunday at Sailsport Marine in Traverse City to swap equipment, compare best surfing spots and share stories from their adventures.
A ten-year veteran of the sport, Richard Sutton of Traverse City said upgrading is an integral part of his involvement in the sport.
"I'm 60, I don't have forever to learn so I want some new stuff," he said. "Windsurfing is not a very old sport so the evolution of the technology is pretty rapid over the past ten years."
The swap meet drew a steady, if modest, stream of buyers and sellers throughout the five-hour event. Sailsport Marine owner Scott Wilson and his wife, Suzie, grilled hot dogs and offered attendees picnic fare, an annual tradition of the swap meet for the past five years. They have been hosting the events once or twice a year since 1998.
Their informal approach to the event welcomes sellers to bring their goods and set their own prices. Buyers wander around, looking for the board, sail, harness, fins, lines or other accessories that they need or want.
"People just come in and lay it on the ground and see if anybody's interested," said Scott Wilson, who has owned the store for 13 years. "We get everybody here from beginners to the very experienced. I've seen more new faces here than in the last few years."
Two of these new faces were Keith and Kimberly Kieft of Grand Rapids, who added a stop at the swap meet to their weekend agenda. Already having wind surfed in exotic locales such as Belize, the couple wanted to get outfitted for closer-to-home, Lake Michigan adventures.
"We're trying to get some beginner rigs going, and to pay less when we're getting started is great," said Kimberly Kieft of buying used equipment.
The pair heard about the sale on the Internet and said that, given the dearth of stores selling wind surfing equipment in Michigan, they wove the swap meet into their plans. In fact, it was a must stop because of the rare opportunity it offered, said Keith.
Kimberly and her husband went home with one board - the other one they wanted sold before they could close the deal - plus sails and accessories for both of them.
"The only other way to buy is on the Internet, so it's great not to have to pay shipping charges," she said.
The Niehaus family of Traverse City left the swap pleased all around. Daughter Erin, 12, got her first rig, in a righteous pink color, too. Her father, Steve, who had no intention of buying anything beyond his daughter's gear, went home with another sail - an anniversary present, joked his wife, Terrie.
"I've very, very happy," said Terrie Niehaus of their bargains. "We live on our boat pretty much all summer, in Northport, so she'll have lots of time to wind surf. She's been watching her dad do it for years."
John Hogan of Manistee drove up for the swap, brining two boards, several sails and assorted other equipment. A veteran of the sport with 15 years experience, he has accumulated an impressive inventory at home. He decided to consolidate his stock by selling a board for light wind and a board for very high wind and eventually, maybe later this summer, buy a versatile board for both.
"I'm not buying because I've been in it so long I have so much," Hogan said. "It's hard to let it go, it's good stuff but I'm not using it anymore."
Some of the ancillary equipment offered for sale were wet and dry suits, a crucial component for any serious wind surfer. With them, Sutton noted that the season could be extended to more than six months.
"The Norwegian have a saying: there's no such thing as bad weather, there's bad clothes," said Sutton, who sailed on January 3 the year before last. "The same is true for windsurfing."