Ch 5: A Whale, a Pack of Sharks and a Pod of Dolphins

Ch 6: A Gold Medal and Sponsorship

Ch 7: Island Politics

Ch 8: H.A.W.A.I.I. Makes Waves

Ch 9: Fast Racers, Slow Boat

Ch 10: More Racing, Less Boat

Ch 11: Maui No Ka Oi

Ch 12: Honors I'll Always Appreciate

Chapter 6: A Gold Medal and Sponsorship

Kahului, Maui: Early August, 1988. Twenty Oahu windsurfers competed in the First Annual Hawaii State Slalom Championships on Maui. In the Junior Division, Blake McElheny 2nd, Chris Gutzeit 3rd, and Scott Carvill 4th. In the Men's 30 Division, Dave Wooten 5th. In Men's 45, Curt Carlsmith 2nd and Dave Cadiz 5th. In Womens 30, Judy Wooten 8th.

San Francisco, California: late August, 1988. The San Francisco based Shaklee Corporation was a major corporate sponsor of the 1988 World Corporate Games and wanted as many Sales Leaders as possible to participate. They even offered to arrange lodging in private homes of Shaklee employees. I decided it might be fun ... so I formed "Team Shaklee" and got Tom Stone (father of Josh and Jason) and Eric Kobayashi to go. I talked with Robby Naish about what to expect in terms of tides and currents. That visit really helped a lot and we all came away with medals.

Tom Stone earned a Gold Medal in his Division, Eric Kobayashi a Silver in his and I was really happy for my:

Gold Medal in Division and 5th Overall 1988 World Corporate Games Windsurfing Event in San Francisco

We raced between St. Francis Yacht Club and the Golden Gate and yes, the water was cold and so was the wind but still, I enjoyed the challenge and winning was fun. I returned to Hawaii and continued working my Shaklee business in the morning and windsurfing all afternoon, six days a week.

Kailua, Oahu: Early 1989. I was also becoming more aware of the cost of competition so I put together a sponsorship portfolio and sent it to Pat Curell, the Gaastra Distributor on Maui and was honored when he called to invite me to join the local team. In 1990, I took on the position of Gaastra Hawaii Team Captain and that lasted for five years. When Robby Naish started his own sail company, most of us switched to Naish sails and I became Naish Sails Hawaii Team Captain.

Now that H.A.W.A.I.I. was growing, Rick and Carol Naish of Naish Hawaii, Ltd. announced a series of five Course Racing events. In the March 18th event, Cam Rawlinson 1st, Stevie B (Bredesen) 2nd place and John Twelker 3rd. In the May 27th event, Rick Maxey 1st, Gunter Kauwertz 2nd, Rudy Rico 3rd and John Twelker 4th. In the June 24th event, Cam Rawlinson 1st, Eddie Wong 2nd, Rudy Rico 3rd and John Twelker 4th. In the July 29th event, John Twelker 1st (that was my kind of wind for sure!), Mike Abbott 2nd and Eddie Wong 3rd . In the August 26-27 Course Racing Championships, Eddie Wong 1st, Cam Rawlinson 2nd, Rudy Rico 3rd and John Twelker 4th. Rick and Carol Naish were so pleased with the participation they scheduled an additional five races. The second series had lighter wind and I didn't do so well, placing 6th or 7th each time. In the Sept 29 Course Race, Eddie Wong 1st, Rick Raymond 2nd, and Rick Naish 3rd. In the Oct 28th Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Cam Rawlinson 2nd, and Eddie Wong 3rd. In the Nov 23 Enduro, Patti Cadiz,1st, Jane Rawlinson 2nd, Eddie Wong 3rd and Cam Rawlinson 4th. In the Dec 30th Course Race, Rick Raymond 1st, Rudy Rico 2nd, and Stevie B. 3rd. In addition, H.A.W.A.I.I. scheduled seven Slalom Races but all were canceled but two for lack of wind. With Kailua's infamous light wind, it seemed Course Racing was the way to go!

Kanaha Beach, Maui: August, 1989. Seventeen Oahu windsurfers went to Maui for the 1989 Hawaii State Slalom Championships. Considering the fact that few of us were used to the strong wind and choppy conditions at Kanaha, I think we did great. In the highly competitive Men's Open, Cam Rawlinson 9th; Men's 30, Tom Stone 7th; Men's 35, Tom Stone 5th; Men's 45, Dave Cadiz 5th and John Twelker 7th; Juniors, Blake McElheny 2nd and Chris Gutzeit 4th.

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