Local Windsurfing Boot Camp Feasibility

[mjamero]

Would you attend a local windsurfing boot camp by a known clinician?
Is a local windsurfing boot camp doable given our conditions and facilities?

I have been toying with the idea of arranging a local windsurfing boot camp. The idea would be bring in a known windsurfing clinician during the spring/summer for 5-7 days.

Top 3 clinician names that come to mind are:
Jem Hall
Guy Cribb
Peter Hart

Others that come to mind are:
Dasher (Not sure if he travels to do clinics)
Andy Brandt (Not sure if he travels to do clinics)

The most obvious locations and time would be the Squamish Spit or Jericho Sailing Centre in the Spring/Summer. Both have their pros and cons. Here are some immediate ones that come to mind.

Squamish:
Would require support from: The Squamish Windsports Society, a sponsor or gear provider such as Trident Sports, a local hotel with a good meeting place for debriefing at the end of the day and for people to stay.
PRO’s
Predictable wind in the summer.
CON’s
Gear availability. A sponsor would need to come forward to make demo gear available for the clinic. Trident Sports would be the obvious first choice. Locals would have their own gear but the clinician would need gear provided and some attendees would need to rent gear.
Squamish is not as accessible to some people.

Jericho Sailing Centre/Locarno:
Would require support from: The Jericho Sailing Centre, A gear provider (Trident Sports, Club Locarno, UBC, Windsure, Airtime), a local hotel for the clinician and out-of-towners to stay.
PROs
Gear availability could be slightly easier if local clubs can assist by renting their gear.
Jericho Sailing Centre is a good spot as far as location and facilities. De-briefings at the end of the day could easily occur at the Sailing Centre.
Safe (rescue boat) and perhaps easier conditions for some attendees.
CONS
Depending on time of year westerly’s may not be as predictable as Squamish.
Gear availability could still be an issue.
Greater potential for getting skunked by the wind.

People attending windsurfing clinics usually pay a rental fee for gear if needed and agree to pay for any damages. Hopefully this will make gear availability doable for sponsors.

It is probably already too late to bring someone in for Summer 2019. Spring or Summer 2020 is more realistic. So there is plenty of time to plan.

SO… assuming all the logistics could be worked out (and there are MANY), would you attend a local windsurfing boot camp by a known clinician? Am I out to lunch on this idea? This is the first place I am discussing this. It may be necessary to involve a broader windsurfing community such as BWD and iWindsurf.

[LeopardSkin]

Hey, you can look up historical wind graphs going back ten years. You need a paid account to access this info.

Jericho.
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=133&siteID=1515&Isection=Wind+Yesterday

Squampton.
http://www.iwindsurf.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=133&siteID=1516&Isection=Wind+Yesterday

[Pavel]

Hi Mark, I was actually thinking the same thing. There are a few Russian Pro windsurfers that have schools set up in Dahab, Egypt and do clinics in East Europe, Egypt and Vietnam. I think it’s still cheaper and much easier to fly out there (specially with a large group) than inviting someone here. Plus they will need a work visa.

[Michael]

Would you attend a local windsurfing boot camp by a known clinician?

Probably not. I do recommend doing one though. Part of the fun is going away, it's more of an adventure!

[grantmac]

Jericho would be pointless IMHO unless it was a rare decent day.
Squamish doesn't have a good area for instruction.

Better to travel.

[Brian C]

I agree with others that Jericho isn’t worth the bother. Maybe Nexen at Squamish but it may not be available much longer. More fun to travel to a sailing mecca

[Brian C]

I see that Levi Siver is hosting a "boot camp" at Hood River this July; if anyone is interested, there's a link on the river-rippers.net website (which is fun to follow too).

[mjamero]

I see that Levi Siver is hosting a "boot camp" at Hood River this July; if anyone is interested, there's a link on the river-rippers.net website (which is fun to follow too).

Thanks for the heads-up.