Stay well. Stay safe. Stay stoked

Wow! Where to even start? Can anyone even have imagined?
Who even heard the words "social distancing" before three months ago? Now they are words to live by...literally. Facemasks? We wore them snowboarding or for sun protection, not to the grocery store.
I don't think anyone expected 2020 to be like this. We sure didn't. After a lackluster local snow season, we were so ready to jump into spring with both feet, not lock our doors.
We wanted to windsurf, to foil, to surf, to SUP, to kite, to skate and to help our customers do it too.
 So many things put on hold, rescheduled, and cancelled. It is not just East of Maui. It is not just Annapolis. It is not just Maryland, It is not just the US. The whole freaking world is affected by this Covid Virus and is SHUT DOWN!

Fortunately, the State of Maryland has recognized  that exercise is beneficial to health, and staying well. At the time of writing this, Maryland has allowed for selected recreational activities, including Stand Up Paddling as legal forms of exercise.
No,  this this is not the time to get all rad and extreme. It is the time to use a little extra caution, keep your distance from others, get out there and get a little exercise, and stay safe.  Be grateful we are not completely confined to our homes like so many others around the world. 

Keeping it close to home, and safe on Back Creek  4/16/2020

Our doors are locked, by we are still here for all of your boardsport needs. We have been working on our website. We are checking voicemails, emails and social media contacts daily if not multiple times throughout the day. We are offering free local delivery on paddleboards and on any purchase over $100. We can ship items to you US Mail or UPS.

One of the sweet new SUPs in stock and waiting for you

When we get the go ahead to re-open, we will do so in the safest manner possible, for you, for us, and for our community. We expect there will be some changes. What won't change is our passion for what we do and our true appreciation for each and every one of our customers.  We thank you for your business in the past, now, and in the future.

We look forward to seeing you in the shop and on the water soon!

STAY WELL. STAY SAFE. STAY STOKED

410-573-9463
info@eastofmauiboardshop.com
www.eastofmauionline.com

   

         

Flying into the Future

Light wind Foiling.
photo: Slingshot Sports

It is scary stuff. It is fun when you are high. You crash really hard. One hit, and you want more!
NO......, I'm not talking about illegal drugs. I am talking about foiling. Specifically, Windsurf Foiling.
From America's Cup boats, to surfboards, to wakeboards, kiteboards, and windsurfers, foiling and foils are becoming more and more prevalent on many types of watercraft.
For those unfamiliar, foils are a wing or a set of wings attached under the boat or the board. Very much like an airplane wing, as the foil moves forward through the water, it generates lift, in turn flying the hull or board up out of the water.  Once up on foil, the drag goes away and both speed and apparent wind increase resulting in even more speed.

Slingshot Windsurf Foil

With the exception of light wind windsurfing which I discussed  my last article, "Back to the Future", windsurfing has always been about speed. In order to go fast you either A: need to live in a windy area, or B: use large, hard to handle sails, and specialized boards. While extremely exciting, holding on to the sail for dear life is hard and hard on the body. 
Foil windsurfing on the other hand is easy on the body. Once you learn to pump the foil up, you can use a much smaller sail in the same amount of wind, than on a conventional board and still find yourself flying across the water. The key word is flying. You are no longer slapping and pounding on the water and beating up your body. Also, once up on foil the drag goes away and the rig isn't trying to yank your arms out of their sockets, just a light grip on the boom is all you need. When you are up on foil, everything gets so smooth and quiet, it is the closest feeling I've ever had to snowboarding in powder.  It is an amazing sensation.
Can someone without windsurfing or sailing experience learn to Windsurf Foil? The jury is still out on this one, but I think the answer is yes. With a floaty enough board, the foil works like a keel helping to stabilize the board, which in turn makes it easy to stand on the board and pull the sail out of the water, a technique called uphauling. In non-foiling conditions, the foil, once again works like a keel, to help the board track well, making it possible to learn to sail back and forth before getting up on foil. Obviously some windsurfing or sailing experience is a bonus. Whether cruising on a Windsurfer LT or flying across the water on a foil, there has never been a better time to be a windsurfer. 
Who is ready to Fly into the Future
Warning! Just like the illegal stuff , foiling is extremely addictive. It may cause you to skip work, and make irrational decisions based on the wind forecast. You may experience withdrawal symptoms. Most of all it will put a smile on your face, and your friends will wonder what you have been up to.   

  
    

Back to the Future

Windsurfing! 

Windsurfing off of Annapolis City Dock 2019

This is from a Facebook post I recently did in the Old School Windsurfing Group :

"In 1985, the girl I was dating at the time, and I loaded up her VW GTI and headed to Bahia Honda in the Florida Keys from the Washington D.C area. We had our two Windsurfers and a brand new “state of the art” Tiga that a friend loaned me for the trip. We camped, we sailed, we ate, we drank, we loved, we had fun. 1985 was good time to be a windsurfer. It still is."

Rigging up in Bahia Honda Key 1985

Gybing in the Florida Keys '85 

When I first started Windsurfing in 1980 or 81 it was just another way to go sailing. It was difficult to get a Laser or Sunfish off the roof of the car by yourself, but it was easy to load and unload a windsurfing board. There was nothing high tech about windsurfing, it was  a simple way to get out on the water. Just you, a board, a sail, a little wind and you were good to go. Doing it with a couple friends, and you were having twice as much fun or maybe even a race. We would take trips to new places just to go windsurfing. Small lakes all around the country, and around the world were filled with people windsurfing. Then windsurfing got high tech, high performance, high wind and wave oriented. It was still fun, but it got expensive and it got time consuming. Peoples lives revolved around chasing wind and chasing waves, buying tons of gear. Towns like Hood River, places like Maui boomed with windsurfers. Unfortunately, as the performance envelope got pushed, the gear for learning and light wind sailing  just sort of disappeared.  As the gear went away, so did new people learning to windsurf. People dropped out of the sport.  A kitesurfing friend joked,  "Windsurfing Has Been Cancelled" 

For some of us, it wasn't really a funny joke.
Fortunately  in 2017 Cobra Manufacturing teamed up with designer Bruce Wylie and set out to create a board that  so simple it could be picked up off the beach and enjoyed by a first-time sailor as well as offering superb tactical fleet racing to a more advanced sailor. They ended up creating the board now known as the Windsurfer LT. They became available in the US in 2019. I bought one.  Even with a smallish soft sail, that can be rigged in minutes, the board is super fun to sail in the light to medium winds we get on the Chesapeake and in most real world places. If there is no wind at all it works great as a Stand Up Paddle Board. The new lighter weight construction makes it even easier to get on and off the car than the 80's version.  
I have had fun Windsurfing for 40 years. With the addition of the LT to my collection of boards,  I had more days windsurfing locally last year than I have in a long time, it was fun.
 WINDSURFING.....It's Back! Back to the Future.

2019 Windsurfer Lt Sailing 

We Love Snow!

We love snow. We love snowboarding 

You will love our Valentines Snow Sale!

Buy your Sweetheart some new gear!

All Women's Snow Clothing 30% Off

Women's Snowboards 20%-40% Off

Men's Jacket's and Pants 20% Off

Selected Helmets 20% Off

Sale ends Feb 14th

Happy New Year!

Thank you for 40 Years!

L-R   Mark Bandy (Annapolis), Mark Saunders (Annapolis),  Bob Singer (Dewey Beach)

2019 was our 40th Anniversary and we had a ton of fun looking back and celebrating.

 From our beginnings selling windsurfing boards out of Bob Singer's back yard, to the muti-boardsports shop we are today, it has been a crazy ride, and a whole lot of fun.

We  want to thank all of our friends, customers, and employees for the last 40 years. Without all of you, none of this would have possible.

However, we know we can't spend too much time looking back, and need to keep looking and moving forward. As we move into the New Year and  next decade, we  will continue to look for the newest and best products, while striving to offer the best customer service and knowledge possible. While the Annapolis and Dewey Beach stores are separate businesses, we will be working closely together to provide Maryland, D.C, N.Va, and Delaware with the best possible gear for all of your boardsports needs and adventures, with the knowledge and expertise to back it it up.    We will be constantly trying to improve on our line shopping experience. The one thing that won't change is our passion for the sports and products we sell, and a genuine appreciation for each and everyone of our customers. Mahalo.

Winter is here, it is a New Year, and it's time for new gear!

Whether you are chasing fresh pow or some tasty waves this winter, we have everything you need for your next boarding adventure. 

Snow*Standup*Surf*Wind*Skate*Style