Finding Peace on the Wind

Dana Point neurologist Ted Teacher won’t say he’s obsessed with windsurfing, but he admits his occupation would be a lot more stressful without it.

“It’s a very pleasant diversion for me,” said Teacher, who also snowboards, mountain bikes, surfs and plays tennis. “I like it because it’s quiet and there’s some speed involved. To be inside the wind is a funny feeling. It’s kind of a goofy feeling. You kind of feel like you’re in a wind-tunnel.”

Teacher first experienced that goofy feeling of sailing on a board while honeymooning in Maui 15 years ago. He liked surfing well enough, but Teacher soon discovered something more cerebral about windsurfing. “The beauty and the simplicity of it is what’s nice,” Teacher said. “It’s sort of like finding the balance within the forces of nature.”

To many young people, that kind of philosophy is a big turn off. But it hasn’t deterred Teacher’s 16-year-old son, Eric, from giving it a chance.

“It’s really expensive and hard to learn,” said Eric, a water polo player at Aliso Niguel High. “It’s more like an old-man, doctor sport. But if you can get into it, it’s got more appeal than surfing because you’re not sitting around waiting for waves like surfing. You also use your entire body. It’s not so much muscle, but finesse.”

Eric appeared to have plenty of both on a fairly calm Sunday afternoon in Dana Point Harbor. Other than a close call with a wayward sailboat, Eric’s 30-minute sail was uneventful and it looked extremely peaceful.

Since the wind was only blowing lightly, Eric never got going faster than about five miles an hour. But even at that pace, Eric had jibes and tack to execute. A jibe is a downwind turn that requires flipping the sail and rotating your feet on the board. A tact is an upwind turn that is accomplished by stepping around the front of the mast.

Neither move is easily executed if winds are whipping and the sea is choppy.

“The main problem with the sport is the learning curve is difficult,” Teacher said. “People like the idea, but they can’t get over the learning curve. I sort of putted around along for two to five years, then I sort of plateaued.”

But Fred Eck, a friend of Teacher’s who taught windsurfing classes in Dana Point for 15 years, said some people make sailing on a board look easy.

“I’ve had beginners have dry days,” Eck said. “The trick to windsurfing is balance. You learn your board and then the sail. Then you learn to balance the forces of the sail.”

Eck said one of the sport’s biggest drawbacks is, of all things, the ocean.

“A lot of people have nice athletic talent, but they don’t get into it because they’re not comfortable in the water,” he said.

Another drawback is cost. Teacher said a nice board could cost $1,000, a fin and mast $200 each and a sail between $300 and $600. He added that used equipment could be had for as little as $500 for all the components.

The bigger boards are easier to sail for the beginner, but they don’t travel as fast. The smaller, high-performance boards are used by intermediate and advanced windsurfers. They can plane at speeds up to 40 mph. There are also specific sails tailored to fit each type of wind condition--wave sails, bump and jump sails for choppy seas and race sails for high-wind sailing.

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About once a year, rather than wait for the conditions to be right here, Teacher goes off with friends to the windsurfing mecca, Maui.

Eck admits, however, not many people are as passionate about windsurfing as he and Teacher.

“Windsurfing kind of hit its peak in the mid ‘80s,” he said. “I don’t know why it’s in a downswing. I just think there’s so much to do now.”

Eck said he feels sorry for people who haven’t at least tried to windsurf.

“It’s kind of like riding a roller coaster, but I’ve got the steering wheel,” he said. “If I make a mistake, the worst thing I’m going to do is splash. Anybody that can ski or ride a bike can windsurf.”

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Windsurfing Terms

* Bump and jump: hitting a groundswell and doing aerials off it.

* Loop: Jump that allows rotation in midair.

* Ramp: Wave’s shape lends itself as a good take-off for jumping.

* Smoke on the water: conditions are so windy the water becomes a spray.

TOP SPOTS IN ORANGE COUNTY

* Seal Beach (north end at First Street): gentle lapping waves, warm water from power plant, designated wind-surfing area on grass for rigging

* Dana Point Harbor (Baby Beach): smooth flat water, light winds, ideal for beginners

* Doheny Beach: higher wind, more waves, for the intermediate and advanced

* San Onofre: for experts only

. . . IN THE WORLD

* Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

* San Francisco Bay

* North shore Maui

* Aruba

* Lake Garda, Italy

. . . AND ON THE WEB

* https://www.windcall.com--for wind conditions up and down California coast and all over the coast.

* https://cnn.com/weather/html/danapointca--for conditions at Dana Point.

* https://www.paw.com/sail/thelist/windsurfing.html--windsurfing information.

* https://www.addweb.com/sdwa--San Diego Windsurfing Assn.