Terrebonne hosting fundraising tournament
May 29, 2012
Cecile Brou Mongrue
May 31, 2012
It was a simple switch for Gene Dalton when he got off his boat to experiment with windsurfing. It was a natural progression in his life on the water. The retired Houma communication engineer has been windsurfing for about 30 years now.
“I was racing and cruising big boats and it was just a natural thing to do,” Dalton says. “It’s so much easier and less time consuming, plus more fun.”
Dalton recently sold his last boat, redirecting his focus on water hobbies solely on windsurfing.
“I always had power boats and was always on the water fishing, skiing, cruising and racing,” Dalton says. “I cruised it to Pensacola and did series and offshore races in the summertime. I became infatuated with windsurfing whenever I went on one with a friend. I found out it was so much easier to go windsurfing. You just carried the board onto boat and anchor and go windsurfing. I finally decided it was so much fun, I quit sailing.”
His friend and, coincidentally, his cousin Mike White, a retired schoolteacher and Morgan City resident, met and bonded with Dalton through the sport.
“He’s the type of person that walks up and starts a conversation,” White says. “He said, ‘Hi, I’m Gene Dalton.’ Turned out we are related and didn’t know. Gene graduated and moved away. His mother and my mother are first cousins.”
Since then the two have taken trips to places like Corpus Christi, Texas, where they camped on the beach in a friend’s RV. When he first began windsurfing, White said there were about 30 other people who participated in the sport in the area. Today he only knows of a handful, and he and Dalton are rarely accompanied by anyone else on their excursions.
White’s progression into the sport sparked from the curiosity of a friend.
“My friend was a postman and he saw an old windsurfer on sale at someone’s house for $100,” White says. “We took it out to the lake and didn’t know anything; nothing. There was a real light wind and we were able to go out, turn around and come back. It wasn’t too long after that that we ordered two brand new rigs from Minnesota.”
The two friends were doing well until the winds picked up and falls from the board were becoming too frequent an occurrence. They were given one lesson and continued to pick it up after that.
Dalton and White’s most visited spot is Lake End Park in Morgan City, as it is the closest spot to them. The two agree it was a better place until a park for campers was built on the shoreline, where the two usually enjoyed windsurfing.
Fed up, White decided to do something about the predicament.
“We lost good sights because of the camper park,” White says. “So I went to a meeting one day and asked, ‘Is there anywhere you guys don’t plan on building anything and if so can we use it for windsurfing?’ They said, ‘Sure.’”
Shortly after the park manager took away some concrete blocks to create some more space for them.
“We needed something to give it a slope to walk out into the water or it would be a drop off,” White says. “I got a dump truck to unload clam shells, but they were washed away. One day the city was tearing up a street and the asphalt looked like good material. I got a sledge hammer and loaded it into the tuck and threw it on the side of the water.”
Now the two enjoy having a nearby spot to windsurf.
For beginners interested in learning the sport, Dalton and White both agree to start with a wider board.
“Start with a larger board, although newer boards aren’t as big, just wider,” Dalton says. “Smaller boards are a lot more fun but they don’t float as easily.”
“Boards started out narrower and harder,” White says. “Now boards are wider and easier to balance on. I have a friend who moved to Florida and taught 15 people in one day. On the board I learned on, you were lucky if you taught one person in 3 lessons. You’d keep falling off.”
The two agree that the best time for experienced windsurfers is typically during the late winter, early spring months, using the winds that bring in a cold front. Hotter months, with lighter winds, are better for beginners.
Dalton also suggests steady exercise in the off season.
“If you windsurf, you’ll find yourself doing things to keep yourself in shape, or don’t get out there,” said Dalton.
Dalton says the most difficult part is usually balancing the sail and the board without falling off or pointing the board in the wrong direction. He suggests watching instructional videos before getting on the water and never hesitate to get lessons.
“A young person with fortitude could probably be doing some serious wave hopping after a couple of seasons,” Dalton says.
Though difficult at times, windsurfing is a sport anyone of any age can do. At 70 years old, Dalton still sails with ease as does White, eight years behind him.
“Years ago I saw a guy who was maybe 75 years old and bent over, trying to put his board up on top his car,” White says. “I asked him, ‘Would you like me to help?’ but he said, ‘No I have to be able to do this myself.’ As long as he could get it up there he was going to keep doing it.’ It’s a lot of fun and it’s a lifelong hobby as long as you can get up and get on it.”
Gene Dalton, a Houma resident, checks the trim on his windsurfer one day prior to hitting the water. Dalton met his cousin Mike White through windsurfing, which the duo continues to enjoy.
