Blow Out Update
As this will be the 25th Blow Out, we want it to be a very special event, it will be on Saturday April 30 and Sunday May 1 registration will be Friday night (location to be determined) Saturday morning and Sunday morning at the race site. Saturday will be course slalom with dinner that evening, Sunday will be long distance with awards following the last race. If anyone has any suggestions on how to make it better than it has been in the past you can e-mail Herman at sbsso@awesomenet.net. Be sure to put Blow Out in the subject field.

It’s Your Private Beach - How are you enjoying your “private” windsurfing and kiteboarding beach? Don’t know many sailors or kiters that can brag about having their own private launch site in one of the best sailing spots in the country. You know that the North Flats is a privately owned beach that is leased to our organization. During the lease period the members of the SPI Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Association are the only ones allowed to use this beach.

The association is responsible for keeping the beach safe and making sure that every person or family using the beach has signed a release form and paid their annual usage fee. As the area becomes more popular it is becoming more difficult to make sure that everyone using the North Flats is in fact a member of the association. We need your help to insure that all who use the Flats fill out and sign a release form. If you see anyone at the Flats without a 2005 sticker, please ask them to go see Jibber, Herman or SPI Kiteboarding for a Release Form.

Teaching Kiteboarding and Windsurfing at the North Flats
Our contract with the North Flats property owners has very specific restrictions on this matter. To satisfy these requirements our organization has established minimum requirements and qualifications that must be satisfied in order to become a North Flats Authorized Windsurfing and/or Kiteboarding Instructor.

We are pleased to announce that South Padre Island Kiteboarding has met all the requirements and is the ONLY organization authorized to conduct Kiteboarding lessons at the North Flats. If you are interested in learning more about what’s required to be authorized to teach Kiteboarding or Windsurfing at the North Flats, you can check out the requirements at www.spiwindsurfing.com.

Do we have your Signed Release Form for 2005? - For those of you that have not renewed yet, the date on the top of your address shows the last year you’ve paid your annual registration fee. When you renew MAKE SURE YOU INCLUDE YOUR COMPLETED FORM WITH SIGNATURE. Your registration form is useless without your signature. Also note any changes in your information and be sure to include your email address.

At the Flat’s – We’re working hard to improve the North Flats. Next time you’re out there you’ll notice a few more palapas in the windsurfing area and in the Kiteboarding area(s). We’ve also added four new buoys in the windsurfing area. These buoys are for everyone to use. You can’t miss them, they are the white buoys with the association stickers on them.

Next time you go out to the Flats to sail or kite you should notice that the road from the highway to the launch area is a little smoother and if we’ve done our job right there should be fewer puddles for you to drive through. We rented a backhoe and are doing our best to fill in the holes and level out the road. In an effort to save a few dollars we rented the equipment and then asked for volunteers to come out and help get the job done. We had no shortage of people wanting to help and we want to thank all of them for their time, help and advice.

Final Note: Just in case you have not yet sent in your 2005 Release Form we’ve included a copy in this newsletter. Please feel it out, sign it and return it to South Padre Island Windsurfing - P.O. Box 3827 - South Padre Island, TX 78597. You must have a copy on file with the association before you can use the North Flats. No exceptions.

Call for Pics and more - You are one of 100’s of windsurfers and kiteboarders that make the journey to SPI each year. We’re looking for special stories and pictures we can put on our website to share with others. If you have a story to tell or pictures to share contact us at isrjibber@aol.com.

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