Breaking a rule plus penance

[SPComo]

OK, I know I am supposed to advertise in Classifieds, but this really isn't an ad yet. I'll pay my penance by giving a history lesson.

I was one of the first Windsurfers in Mpls, back in 1976 before anyone had ever heard of it. We drew crowds at Lake Harriet, even though nobody was as good as people are today. People thought I was nuts as I drove through town with a surfboard on my roof rack.

We gathered on the northwest corner of Harriet near the Rose Gardens.
It doesn't seem to be a popular spot today. There were a few excursions to other lakes organized. I remember a big pig roast in 1978 but I can't recall where it was.

Anyway, got married, got a job ( some of my friends chose to follow the wind instead ), had kids, and windsurfing gradually faded away.

After fifteen years of being unused, I decided I should free up the space in my garage and get rid of my equipment. I have a board, two sails, two daggerboards, a harness and a black medium size wetsuit.

My question, if anybody cares to opine , is this.

Is old equipment like this a valuable antique , a piece of junk, or somewhere in between? What is it all worth?

Here are some pictures on flckr
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9027778@N07/

Thanks in advance for any feedback!
Bob, SPcomo

[SPComo]

We gathered on the northwest corner of Harriet near the Rose Gardens.

Ooops ... North East corner ....

[johnbaker17]

If I were you, I'd bring the whole lot of it to the Swap next spring and put $50 on it. Ya never know. If the whole setup works, someone might buy it as an intro package.

If it fails to sell, you can try giving it away.

Btw, any idea what the sail size is?

[SteveJ]

The teak boom should be a collector item and worth something to the right person. Not sure how to find them though.

I always thought it would be fun to have a vintage windsurfing gathering like they do with old snowmobiles or cars sometime. I am sure there is a lot of old gear around that is only worth the good memories.

You should really try out the new equipment. It is never too late to get back into the sport.

Good Luck!!!

[Tighe]

I think it would be worth something as an antique. That was the rig that started it all. Windsurfer brand and teak boom. Maybe run an add in iwindsurf classifieds and see what interest you get.

It's all a matter of finding the right person.

[SPComo]

I would like to take it up again, especially if the boards and sails are lighter, and the damn mast might even stay in the board!

I googled teak boom and came up with this bit of nostalgia:
http://www.isthmussailboards.com/news/n ... surfer.asp

I wonder if they ever paid their dues up-hauling a water-logged Windsurfer sail or if they ever had to hold a teak wood boom with one hand so that they could take the dagger board out with their other hand before hitting the beach.
..
if you love windsurfing but you haven’t sailed the original, you really ought to. And please don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe there is any better feeling than skipping across the water on a short board, dialed in and hunting for the next big wave – but getting some quality time on an old windsurfer is a nice walk down memory lane