DATE: Sunday, October 26, 1997              TAG: 9710230387

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 6    EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: COVER STORY 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  218 lines

RIDE WITH THE WIND WINDSURFERS ARE RIDING HIGH WHEN WINDS BLOW ALONG THE OUTER BANKS

THE BREEZE BLOWS cooler, the sun retreats sooner and the beaches are abandoned but by a hearty few.

And the windsurfers love it.

Just about the time the Outer Banks becomes a summer memory for almost everyone else, those who glide across the waves on wind's hand take over.

Almost any day with enough of a breeze to carry a feather, one can find scores of neon-colored sails quietly zigging and zagging over the shallow sound waters.

And in the Atlantic, where windy conditions send regular surfers packing, windsurfers will be found bouncing over waves, propelling themselves skyward in flips and feats of bravado.

``Surfers are generally out there when the waves are clean,'' said Richard Walz, 40, an advanced instructor at Wind Surfing Hatteras. ``But when the the wind picks up, then we go sailing.''

Wind Surfing magazine hails the Outer Banks as ``a convenient mecca for North American windsurfers of all levels.'' And the sport, largely unknown two decades ago, has emerged as one of the most popular diversions on the barrier islands.

Tourism officials estimate that several hundred dedicated windsurfers visit the Outer Banks weekly while scores of regular visitors find themselves tempted by the sight of the fast-moving sailboards and try the sport for the first time.

On the water, you have to measure skill levels to figure out who is new to the sport and who is dedicated; but you can cheat a little to answer that question by checking the vehicles they came in.

The ones who arrive with trucks packed with gear are obvious, hard-core riders; and those with cars more notable for large salt-water fed rust spots than clean paint jobs are probably just as fervent.

Many sailboarders call the region the best windsurfing spot on the Atlantic seaboard and among the top locations in North America. Several competitions and speed trials are held here annually, including the Hatteras Wave Classic each October.

Michael Chodkiewicz, 27, took up the sport just a year ago after seeing some videos of people windsurfing on Lake Erie.

``It's relaxing out there, actually,'' said Chodkiewicz, who came to the Outer Banks from Cleveland. ``I looked around on the Internet and people on there said Cape Hatteras is the wind surfing capital.''

As more than a dozen sails skimmed across the Pamlico Sound nearby, Chodkiewicz looked on. ``It's amazing to see this many people out here, in one place,'' he said. ``I'm addicted to the sport already. And I'll be back every year.''

While sailing dates back centuries and surfing, too, has a long and gloried past, the pairing of board and sail is a relatively new concept. And it has caught on quickly.

``It's just a great feeling,'' said John ``J.R.'' Hooper of Buxton. ``You're one unit - you, the sail, the board.''

At 43, Hooper was one of the sport's pioneers on the Outer Banks, first taking to the surf with a sailboard around 1980. ``Over the past 15 years, I've probably sailed 50 to 60 afternoons a year.''

The popularity of the Outer Banks with sailboarders owes in large part to persistent winds. It doesn't hurt that windsurfing is permitted just about anywhere you can find a way - legally - to the beach. And there are plenty of hot places.

``I've been to the Caribbean, Florida and other places,'' Hooper said. ``Many times, we have the very best. Part of our charm is the variety of venues.''

Soundside offers ``flat water'' conditions - ``Without a doubt, the best learning area from beginner to intermediate of any area I've every been to,'' Hooper said - while ocean side has the challenge of waves, surf and winds.

``If you really want to get crazy, you can go in the surf,'' Hooper said. ``It's much more exciting.''

Popular sailing sites include Nags Head, Hatteras Island, Rodanthe, Avon and Frisco Woods. But windsurfing magazines give the crown to ``Canadian Hole.''

Located on the west side of N.C. Route 12 between Avon and Buxton, it is the most popular windsurfing spot on the Outer Banks and, perhaps, on the East Coast. It's also a great place to go just to get a feel for the sport and watch people enjoying it.

While there are some deep spots, by and large Canadian Hole has the benefit of a firm, sandy bottom only a few feet deep. Thus, one can walk knee- to waist-deep for hundreds of yards from shore.

Boarders love it because they can sail for miles if they like without tacking. ``We have the real steady winds,'' Hooper said. And, thanks to the low profile of the surrounding area, ``Typically, you have what the wind surfers call clean winds,'' he said. ``There is nothing to block it. No tree obstructions, no buildings.''

While some popular sites have to be sought out and require a four-wheel drive to reach, Canadian Hole is just off the road and has a huge parking area. There's even a good stretch of beach.

The soundside beaches in Nags Head are also popular with sailboarders, especially for beginners, because of the shallow depths.

``Typically, in the sounds, you can go out a mile or so and not be over your head,'' Hooper said.

One of the earliest published references to a ``sailboard'' is found not in some hotshot surfing mag but in the staid publication Popular Science.

In 1965, S. Newman Darby, a Pennsylvanian inventor, wrote about his design of a board ``pushed by the wind'' on which the operator stood and manipulated a pivoting mast set in a socket.

The term ``windsurfer'' came about in the late '60s when two Southern California men designed a sailboard and patented the name ``windsurfer.''

It's a sport requiring a feel for the winds, an appreciation of tides and the ability to balance and work at the same time.

The windsurfer must manipulate a mast, boom and sail that are interconnected to a device that swivels and pivots in every direction.

It's no easy task, so if you have trouble chewing gum and walking, this is not your sport. But if you love the water, have a need for speed and like a relatively safe and personal sporting experience, this may be the ultimate.

With mastery of the gear, sailboarders can easily tap the winds about them for a leisurely sightseeing cruise across the water, or pull out all the stops to top 40 mph.

Lessons are recommended.

``The average person who has never done it can learn to get up and sail and come back in about three hours,'' Walz said.

And, like downhill skiing versus snowboarding, just because one has surfed or sailed doesn't mean he'll have an easy time learning windsurfing.

``Most people compare the sport to surfing,'' Hooper said. ``But I'm not sure knowing how to surf really helps you all that much.''

There are several wind surfing shops in the Outer Banks, many with professionals on staff to teach you. And they offer a variety of packages that include lessons and rental gear. For instance, the trainee's menu at Hatteras Wind & Surf in Avon includes a three-hour beginner lesson with instruction and equipment for $39.

A two-hour-long course concentrating on consistent board speed and handling of both sail and board is $35.

A one-hour intermediate private lesson to focus on specific skills - everything from pivot jibes, fast tacks, beach starts, upwind sailing and more - is $45.

And an advanced lesson - an hour of one-on-one instruction on skills from foot straps and stance, water starting, high-speed jibing, short-board tacking, jumping and free-style - is $55.

For the first-timer, learning - or at least testing out the enjoyment factor - isn't all that expensive. If you decide to buy the equipment, that can be costly.

``But once you get into it, there's no lift ticket, no access fee and, at least here in Hatteras, it doesn't take too much gas,'' Hooper said.

And, he added, ``it's a lot better for my body than just going fishing.''

In a 1996 survey for Windsurfing Magazine, Recreation Research Group found that the average reader of the publication owned 5.8 sails and 2.6 boards and had invested just over $7,000 in the sport. If that seems like a lot, keep in mind that more than half of those surveyed had been windsurfing between seven and 15 years.

Who windsurfs? The same survey found that 89 percent of the sport's enthusiasts are male; 79 percent are college educated; the average age is 40; and the average household income is $92,904. The average experience level was 8.9 years and 60 percent windsurf at least three times a month.

And they like to try new places: 60 percent took a windsurfing vacation in the previous year; 75 percent planned to take a windsurfing vacation in the next 12 months; and, on average, they planned to spend just under $2,000 for that vacation.

``Most of these people are white-collar workers,'' Walz said. ``Doctors, lawyers, judges, people that work for NASA - professional people.''

Many, like Walz, are in it for the thrill.

``Right now, I like sailing as fast as I can,'' he said. ``Sailing in the sound, it's sailing really, really fast; as fast as your mind can stand it.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color photos including cover by DREW WILSON

Chris Smith of Nags Head swings into a duck jib on a frothy Roanoke

Sound on Monday. The recent blustery winds have been just right for

hard-core windsurfers.

Windsurfers walk ashore in Roanoke Sound during a lull in the breeze

on Monday at Nags Head.

Andy Brant, who is regarded as a world-class sailing instructor,

gives a lesson on Roanoke Sound on Monday.

Graphic

HOW TO GET STARTED

Avon Windsurfing Lessons, North Avon behind Surf or Sound Realty,

(919) 995-4585. Lessons and rentals only. Beginner lesson, three

hours with rental gear, $35. Advanced one-on-one lessons are $40 for

two hours.

Avon Windsurf Co., Avon, (919) 995-5441. Windsurfing equipment,

retail and rental.

Fox Watersports, Buxton, just south of the entrance to the

lighthouse on Route 12. (919) 995-4102. Custom sailboards and

sailboard repairs; equipment and clothing; rental gear.

Hatteras Island Sail Shop, Waves, (919) 987-2292. Rentals are $40

a day. A 3-hour beginner lesson, including equipment rental, is $40.

Advanced private lessons are $38 an hour, not including rental gear.

Hatteras Island Wind Gear, Avon, on Route 12 near the Dairy

Queen, (919) 995-4819. Sail and canvas repairs; windsurfing

equipment retail, rental and lessons.

Hatteras Wind & Surf, N.C. Route 12 in Avon, (919) 995-6275.

Private and special lessons daily for all skill levels. A 3-hour

beginner lesson, including equipment rental, is $39. A 2-hour long

board speed and handling course is $35. A 1-hour private

intermediate lesson is $45. Advanced lessons are also available at

$55 an hour. Also, a full line of rental gear and sail repair.

Kitty Hawk Watersports, Nags Head, milepost 16 on U.S Route 158,

(919) 441-2756. Rig rentals start at $20 an hour. Free windsurfing

lessons are available in the summer for children 15 years and

younger accompanied by a paying adult. Basic lessons cost $44 for

three hours, including instruction and rental.

North Beach Sailing, Duck, Route 12 at the Barrier Island

Restaurant Pier, (919) 261-6262, retail; for lessons or rentals, in

season, (919) 261-7100. An hour-and-a-half demo lesson costs $29

per person; three-hour beginner lessons are $49; beginning lesson

packages, which include three hours of instruction and a two-hour

rental costs $64; certification lessons with two three-hour sessions

costs $89 and a one-hour private lesson costs $45. Rigs can be

rented at $15 hour for beginning and intermediate windsurfers; $55

for four hours and $80 for a full day.

Windsurfing Hatteras-Kitty Hawk Sports, N.C. Route 12 in Avon,

(919) 995-4970. Camps and clinics for beginners and advanced

windsurfers. Lessons start at $44 for beginners, including all

equipment and on-the-water instruction. Private lessons for

beginners to advanced are $49 per hour. Complete boards with a sail

can be rented for $20 an hour or $45 for four hours or, for 24

hours, with two sails, $65. Rentals for a week, $195.

Sailworld, N.C. Route 12, Avon, (919) 995-5441. Offering a

complete line of windsurfing gear for retail sail and rental. A

one-week package of gear, with the option of exchanging boards and

sails at any time, is $155. Daily and three-day packages also

available.

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