Back when Lee still ran Olympic Windsurfing in Port, I was loading some gear I had just purchased onto the Roof of my wagon when my wife overheard the following exchange between Lee's wife and another customer...
CUSTOMER: Why are they loading all those boards on the roof of that car?
LEE'S WIFE: Well I guess they don't have a van.








I was reading someones post about what makes a good windsurfmobile. So it got me thinking...I've had a lot of cars over the years, and they have always managed to get me to and from the beach. Sometimes on it.

My first was a Datsun B210. It didn't even have proper roof racks. Just some Barecrafter ski racks wrapped in carpet. Then there was the first new car I ever purchased, a white four wheel drive Subaru Justy. That was followed by another Subaru; a four wheel drive wagon, and some embarrassing moments on Madaket beach in Nantucket. But that wagon could off road, and if you got stuck... it was very light. Then there was a leased Ford Explorer. That is when I first tried using the trailer. The trailer was nice because you didn't have to carry your gear around with you all the time. And it kept the car nice and clean. But it sucked because you didn't have your gear with you all the time. Plus in NY you can't drive the parkways, or the left lane with a trailer. Lastly, the Explorer Sucked off road! In fact I almost lost that truck to the ocean in Chatham. I bet the "locals" still make fun of me.


As everyone started buying SUV's in the late 90's, they got expensive. So I tried a pickup. I had a cap on it so I could pull the trailer, or load just a few boards on top. The F150 is a great truck. In fact I still own it. The new millennium brought a rash of board thefts targeted at surfers. This led me to enclose the trailer in an attempt to lock everything away safely.


Then the NY State Parks Police started picking on surfers. It got to the point that the pleasure police would pull your permit just for carrying a board on the beach. I had always admired my friends Quigley 4X4 vans. In 04' I pulled the trigger and have never looked back. I love my truck.