Stephenie Merrill readies her rig. She says windsurfing is "a peaceful feeling, but thrilling, too."
(Staff photo by STEVE HEASLIP)
Getting started
Stay light: Don't use hand-me-down stuff that is old and heavy. Look for a "rig" (sail, boom, mast) that is light.
Pick the right spot: Best is warm water that is pretty shallow - a lake or beach at low tide and with a shallow reach. In the beginning, go out on days with 10 to 15 mph winds and no waves.
Find the right teacher: Go to a windsurfing school, attend women's windsurfing clinics or find a US Sailing Certified instructor.
Stick with it: Sail as often as you can and try new things, like beach starts or playing with the harness!
By SEAN CORCORAN
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Cape Cod Online, September 29, 2005
WEST DENNIS - Petra Kanz calls New Jersey home, but she spends most of her time living out of her van. A professional windsurfing instructor, she travels each year from seashore to seashore throughout the United States, teaching people how to stay upright as they soar across the water with just a small sail and a fiberglass board keeping them afloat.
During the past decade, Kanz has managed to make a career out of the sport of windsurfing. One of her goals now, she said, is to do all she can to get more women involved in what for years has been a male-dominated activity.
When Kanz began instructing 12 years ago, spotting a female windsurfer racing offshore was nearly as rare as spying a right whale. But things are changing, she said, particularly on the Cape.
''If I am looking at the East Coast, the Cape probably has the most female sailors of any place,'' she said.
Last weekend Kanz was at West Dennis Beach with about 20 other wetsuit-clad women for a windsurfing clinic she was teaching. The group hosting her, the Cape Cod Wahines, has about 170 names on its contact list. Wahine means ''female surfer'' in Hawaiian, and there are similar groups throughout the country.
This past weekend was the Cape Cod Wahines' fourth windsurfing clinic in the past two years. The organization hosts one every spring and another in the fall. Participants said the fall is the best time to sail because the winds are stronger and the water is still warm from the summer months.''Look at those girls shred!'' said one awed windsurfer resting on the beach as she watched her comrades zigzag their way back toward land.
Stephenie Merrill of Dennis has come to love the Cape Cod Wahines, she said. Merrill has been windsurfing for four seasons, ever since a new boyfriend turned her onto it. Now that boyfriend is her husband, and Merrill is hooked on the thrill she gets from being blown across the water.
''You kind of feel like you are really calm and still, but you're going really fast at the same time,'' she said. ''It's really a peaceful feeling, but thrilling, too.''
The Cape Cod Wahines were not around when Merrill first began cutting waves. Merrill, who said she is in her late 30s, rarely saw any women boardsailors, and that made her feel a bit self-conscious. The men she surfed with had different centers of gravity and more upper body strength. The equipment was more suited for men, too.
Now Merrill has lots of women to surf with, and that makes things easier. Women support each other out on the ocean, she said. They watch out for one another and often offer and eagerly accept advice.
''It is just so much fun to be out here with a bunch of women who have the same goals as you - to be out here on the beach learning something new. It's just awesome,'' she said.
Liz Patton, co-chair of the Cape Cod Wahines, said many women don't know much about windsurfing, and they assume that it is too difficult to learn. But that is just a misconception.
While it is true that until fairly recently much of the equipment was designed for male body types, that is changing, Patton said. The boards are lighter than ever before, and sails are being made smaller and more female friendly. Women who try the sport also quickly become aware that their low center of gravity can be a great advantage.
One of the key ways for women to learn that this sport is as open to them as any other is by watching other women doing it, Patton said. And that is where the Wahines come in.
''As we teach one another to windsurf and there are more women on the water,'' Patton said, ''the women on the beach will see them and say, 'Oh, maybe we can do this sport.' You need women out there to engage others.''
''Women understand each other's limitations and challenges,'' she added. ''Having a boyfriend or husband teach you to windsurf is a disaster.''
Kay Slater, one of the event's organizers, said Kanz has been an inspiration to members of the Wahine group. Not only does she support them and share her knowledge, but Kanz is living proof that windsurfing isn't just for the John Kerrys of the world.
''Petra is very interested in having women learn, and she is absolutely beautiful to watch,'' Slater said.
''It's like someone doing tai chi on the board. It's just beautiful.''
''I love seeing all these girls learning,'' she added. ''Everyone is so excited. I used to see a lot of frustrated girls sailing. I just don't see that when we're all together. If you get frustrated, we get through it.''
(Published: September 29, 2005) CapeCod On-Line