Home Page Ch. 1: Searching for the Perfect Windsurfing Car Ch. 2: Visualizing Windsurfing Ch 3: Not Designed to Live in the Cold Ch. 4: Returning to Paradise 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 8: H.A.W.A.I.I. Makes Waves   Kailua, Oahu: Early 1990. When Steve Crocker and Paul Staples retired, it seemed a perfect opportunity to step in and do what I could to develop H.A.W.A.I.I.'s potential. Rick and Carol Naish were especially encouraging ... so, I told them if they'd be willing to teach me everything they knew about conducting windsurfing events, I'd take on the roles of H.A.W.A.I.I. President/Race Coordinator/Race Director/Newsletter Editor. We scheduled 20 races that year, all U.S.B.A. sanctioned which enabled the association to purchase liability insurance for the first time. Rick and Carol Naish at Naish Hawaii Ltd. and Rick Maxey at Windsurfing Hawaii donated the costs for the insurance. A fund raising drive was successful for the purpose of purchasing a Race Committee boat and the association became the dubiously proud owners of a used P-14 with an home built windshield and partial plywood enclosure painted orange, purchased with cash for $2300. That's when I got to know first hand the truth of the definition of a boat: "A hole in the ocean you pour your money into". For the 1990 race season, I served as Race Director so did not compete. In the Jan 27th Course Race, Cam Rawlinson 1st, Josh Seymour 2nd, and Stefan Kjallmann from Sweden 3rd. In the Mar 21st Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Happie Chapman 2nd and Carl Bonham 3rd. In the Apr 14th Course Race, Happie Chapman 1st, Allen Peugh 2nd and Josh Seymour 3rd. In the May 26th Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Mike Abbott 2nd and Lyle Chong 3rd. In the May 12th Course Race, Allen Peugh 1st, Josh Seymour 2nd and Happie Chapman 3rd. In the May 17-20 Michelob Masters, Tom Stone 1st, Josh Seymour 2nd and Sonja Evensen 3rd. In the June 16th Diamond Head Wave/Slalom Race, Chris Gutzeit 1st, Dave Wooten 2nd and Lyle Chong 3rd. In the June 30th Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Carl Bonham 2nd and John Twelker 3rd (having found someone to take my place as Race Director). In the July 28th Course Race, Carl Bonham 1st, Josh Seymour 2nd and Cam Rawlinson 3rd. In the Aug 11th Duke Kahanamoku Centennial Celebration Course Race, Jarad Stahl 1st, Happie Chapman 2nd and Dave Cadiz 3rd. In the Aug 25th Course Race, Jarad Stahl from Australia 1st, Carl Bonham 2nd, and Eddie Wong 3rd. In the Sept 28th Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Happie Chapman 2nd and Eddie Wong 3rd. In the Oct 27th Course Race, Eddie Wong 1st, Mike Abbott 2nd and Dave Cadiz 3rd. In the Dec 1st Course Race, Josh Seymour 1st, Rick Naish 2nd and John Zell 3rd. In 1990, the Internal Revenue Service awarded H.A.W.A.I.I. tax exempt status and the newsletter began carrying Treasurer's reports which enabled the association be become self-auditing (members knew exactly where the income was derived and how it was spent). When the newspapers announced Hawaii's first Aloha State Games, I started promoting windsurfing as one of the sports. I offered for Sport Commissioner of Windsurfing and Race Director for the July six day event. Warren Harris, a Kailua Beach windsurfing regular and a Marine stationed at the Kaneohe Marine Air Station, made the proper contacts to get the Marine Corps involved. If you need a few really good men on your Race Committee, recruit some Marines! We did course racing in Kailua Bay and Slalom Racing and Wave Performance at Diamond Head. Some Maui windsurfers even came over and we had a great 1990 Aloha State Games Windsurfing Event. The organizers of the World Corporate Games in San Francisco decided to bring their event to Hawaii and asked if I would handle the windsurfing competition which I agreed to do. "All I have to do", I thought, "is do what I did for the Aloha State Games all over again". The Marines again provided me a great Race Committee. Again, we did course racing in Kailua Bay and Slalom Racing and Wave Performance at Diamond Head. Some Maui windsurfers even came over and we had a great 1990 World Corporate Games Windsurfing Event. Overall winners were Tom Stone 1st, Cam Rawlinson 2nd and Rick Naish 3rd. In exchange for H.A.W.A.I.I.'s help, the World Corporate Games people donated 10 triangle racing marks ($1700) to the association. Thanks to H.A.W.A.I.I's active race program and increased visibility, several major companies began looking at Oahu windsurfers for sponsorship for the first time. >>>