VANCOUVER ISLAND WINDTALK

Heads up nitinat trippers this was in the duncan paper:

north road closed at youbou, 4-10pm april 26 to may 6? (i think) for culvert replacement.

That means you can probably take the north road out but you might be screwed if you come back that way.

On another note i finally decided to register myself as "downwind dave" ive got a red helmet and a yellow board, drift on down and say hi sometime.
(lurker formerly known as daveb)

Hey DD-Dude(I like it!), thanx for the heads up about the North rd(Youbou side) about it being closed from 4pm-10pm this weekend. I'll be heading up earlier on Friday now, you saved me lots of extra driving time. Keep on posting! Are you going to Nitnat this weekend..?? If so, do you like word-games..?? Just joking!! Hope to see you there! I'll be on the GO Board using a largish sail to match my largish frame(and belly!).

It is not to big of a problem, the south side only adds about 5miles to the whole journey, which equates to about 20-30minutes driving time. So hopefully that will not dissuade anyone from showing up.

Hey Bobson, better take your smaller board and some of those little sails too! If Nit was 20 kt when the strait was nothing last weekend, this weekend it should be 30 kt with a westerly push too!! Hope all you guys get a good ride.

Glad to see KS Dale is getting at least one local resident in the water and wind. Do you think any of the reserve kids would take WS/kiting lessons if they were offered, Dale? I think we should be more like the Carribean resorts and get the local kids on the water free/cheap (wetsuits would be the real problem...). Always seemed such a missed opportunity for the locals, kinda like living at Whistler village and never trying snowboarding or skiing. I know our sports appeal to a narrow demographic, but still there must be a few Malachan kids who would enjoy it.

Nice thought MF4, I think we've been there....maybe we should try again and have gear donated, kept for sign out at the store or something...

while I do think there is the opportunty for more locals to become involved in either windsurfing or kiteboarding, it will be the youngest of generations that may do so. The kids that I have been working with are very young, 8-12yrs old. I personally believe these are the kids that will become involved given the oportunity and time. As for donations of gear etc etc, I personnally do not think this is the solution as there is money within the band for such equipement and that investment has been made before. Where I think we can help is be giving kids hands on experiences, with the permission of the parents, as well as answering any questions they have with enthusiasm. The children of the village are extremely impressionable and have a huge desire to learn and do so if given the right environment. The other change is that the school is now on reserve right to grade 12 and they have a "hands on" focus. This I believe does give the opportunity of groups like the windsurfing society, and if in the future a kiteboard society to work with the school to promote our sports. I will say that these children need encouragement as for the most part live in a very different atmosphere than other children which reside in more local environment/opportunities to discover passions.