Schwag:



A vintage 90something liter Quatro custom by Keith Teboul himself.

    This board is corky, fast, agile and such a sweet ride.  I just had it out for a twenty year challenge (as in how long it’s been since I rode it,) and it really surprised me how much I enjoyed it.  Seemed far sweeter than I remembered. although I should add that but I never really rode it that much.  Yeah, instead of three or four runs, I rode the whole session and had a ball.  Slightly onshore Whiskey Run, 5.3, Sail range be like 4.2 to 5.3.  Though she’s carried 5.7 for me without complaint.  Come give it a try next time you are on the south coast, it’s a sweet deal for a Maui custom of such exclusive lineage and with very little air time.    Available with straps and fin of your choice.



   Goya sails:


5.0  Banzai   ’13  w/ new window

4.5  Banzai   ’13  w/ new window

4.0  Banzai   ’13   



 






           

An interview about “If it were easy.”:


    Speaking of answers, here you go some excerpts from a recent interview where I found myself evading some tough questions about “Cancel this productions.”

   

Did I just hear you say Kitesurfing bites?   

    Oh come on.  Not only are some of my closest friends kiteboarders, but I don’t hesitate to recommend kiting if it seems to make more sense for whoever might be asking.  What’s more, I couldn’t help but laugh the first time I saw a “Windsurfing has been canceled” sticker. 
    But you have to admit, that’s a bogus claim that went unanswered far too long -- and that windsurfers have never had it better.  The new gear completely rocks.  We’re finally figuring out not only how to teach it, but what to teach it on.  And the new moves are so far beyond previous imagination we can only wonder what might be next.
    It’s such a beautiful moment in time and I’m still so into windsurfing I can barely sleep when the wind comes in the night.  My van is a total boardmobile.  My sponsors rightly expect me to promote not only their windsurfing gear but windsurfing itself.  I’m even lucky enough to be living less than four miles from an epic right hand cove break.  A place that judging from how seldom I see any kiters, seems to favor windsurfing.
    Still, I’m totally impressed by kiting.  I love watching it.  I think about the designs.  I check out the mags and the videos.  I’ve never been more conflicted about taking up another sport and I’ve launched and landed more of the damn things than a lot of people who consider themselves kiters.  I’ve even been teaching some entry level on trainer kites.   


Really?  Then what’s up with the anti-kite stickers?

    Oh please, they’re so totally about having some fun with it.  Besides, how could I pass up an opportunity to moon Trip Forman? 
    The “Windsurfing has been canceled” stickers and the t-shirts he’d been spreading all around the scene were bad enough.  But it was that OUTSIDE MAGAZINE article under the same title that brought off the gloves.   
    And I know “if it were easy, they’d call it kiteboarding” may seem like a cheap shot and not so original either, but I really just couldn’t resist.


I hear you saying it’s all in fun, yet I sense a certain edginess to these bra.

   
I certainly don’t mind if they stir up a little debate.  And the heat I’ve been taking for inciting inter-sport rivalry with this project makes me wonder just how dysfunctional aspects of our inter sport relationship has become. 
    Sure there are some heavy safety issues -- and I really think they are what we should be talking about.  Sure there are risks.  And we should support people’s rights to take them -- while trusting the risk takers to go out of their way to protect the people around them that have not agreed to take those same risks. 
    It seems to me as simple as the kiters recognizing their responsibility to respect the upwind window of other use groups.  And to be generous in their estimates of how far downwind they need to consider as a danger zone.  The windsurfers of course, should contribute and compromise by giving room and hanging upwind in a shared venue.


Do you suppose it was like this for the Skiers when Snowboarding came along?  

    Well, you totally hit on a large part of why I couldn’t resist doing the “If it were easy” sticker.  Of course it was inspired by the old K2 Skis campaign “if it were easy, they’d call it snowboarding”, and offered up such appropriate parallels.  And kiting might after all, be even easier than snowboarding.
    But as for comparing the experiences of windsurfers and skiers, I really don’t think it was so intense for the skiers.  Maybe if the snowboarders had been using kites though.  Now that would have been pretty scary.  

I hear the stickers have been a bit of a hit on Hatteras, how are they going out in Oregon?

    I still haven’t done very much to distribute them out here, but since most people out this way haven’t had to endure the “Windsurfing has been canceled” campaign, “Cancel this kiteboy” is going to come as a bit of a mystery to them.  But maybe it’ll help start some conversations that need to be had.  Especially here on the south coast, for the area seems to be a veritable hotbed of anti kite sentiment.  I suppose I’m fortunate to have had plenty of time to find my peace with it after years on Hatteras sailing around some of the best kiters on the planet.  But I will certainly remain sympathetic to how demoralizing it can be watching a light air kite attack going off in your face while you are out there schlogging your ass off on a windsurfer.  

So are you going to hook me up?   

    I did have some extras printed up while I was at it and I’m honored you might want to ride with one.  Send me your address and a buck or two to help cover the costs and you’re on.  I’m also doing them out of the van here in Pistol River and will be pleased to entertain locally exclusive wholesale accounts.  I even finally got around to doing a few very fine organic cotton t-shirts and sweatshirts as well. 

    Dana Miller rides for Goya, Quatro, Chinook, NoLimitz, Promotion and all the windsurfing shops and windsurfers out there that might feel a little canceled.  Contact Kazedoka@aol.com or write me at POB 6111 Pistol River OR 97444 

   Please feel welcome to get with me on more information about “Cancel this productions” including the t-shirt and sweatshirt offering -- featuring of course, some very fine organic cotton t-shirts.  I’m also just tweaking the proto type of a knit hat that sports the BoardheadInternational logo.  The Mega goes ballistic action figure will have to wait. 


   And if you are wondering what the “cancel this” thing is about, it’s a long story.  But the short version is that I really just couldn’t resist.  Especially after all the noise from Trip and the crew over at Real Kiting back on Hatteras about how windsurfing had been canceled.  It was bad enough watching so much of the sponsorship, gear development and buzz go over to the yark side.  Then the “windsurfing has been canceled” stickers started getting plastered all around.  And the T-shirts too.  But that article they got into Outside Magazine under the title “Windsurfing has been canceled” really was just a little more that I could let go by unanswered. 

An old video:

        “... this from an ultra-sweet solstice sesh at Sebastian not long after I moved to Oregon full time.”

     Yeah, I’d love to hear what you thought.  And keep in mind it was my first attempt at a wavesailing video.  Thanks to Tigi I had some footage to play with and I ended up staying up late a couple evenings cussing I movie ’09.  Still, it was kind of fun and I’m totally hooked on the whole process.  I’ll work on getting the voiceover thing dialed in a little better, or at least quit doing them.   And look for the world premiers of my first sandsailing and skateboardsailing videos here soon. 

Old gear for sail:

    There is actually a lot more gear on hand and I’m thinking about producing a virtual swap meet.  Look for more about that coming up on the facebook group BoardheadInternational and my IG feed under the same name,