Big Winds will be contributing all the SUP boards for the “Paddle Benefit,” a fundraiser for First Descents (young adults with cancer). The event will be held Sunday, June 6th at the Hood River Waterfront Park, with registration beginning at 11AM. The kayaking experts at Outdoor Play are your hosts for this very special event.

It’s going to be awesome….You gotta be there!

North Kites will be premiering their new DVD at the Skylight Theatre in Hood River on April 22nd. Tickets are $7 with all proceeds benefiting KB4C. Check out the trailer at North Kites where you can also register for a free copy of the DVD.

Kite Demos

We’ve expanded our kiteboard demo lineup. You’re allowed unlimited exchanges all day increasing your odds of finding that perfect fit. Here’s the latest list of what’s available. Just call us and ask for the rental department. They’ll get you hooked up in no time.

• Naish Sol 134
• Naish Thorn 132
• Naish Haze 136
• Naish Fish 5’2″
• North Jaime Pro 132
• North XRide 135
• North Kontact 5’7″
• North Freestyle Fish 5’0″
• North Pacific Tuna Fish 5’4″
• North Pacific Squash Quad 5’7

There are still some high flying deals in our kite closeout section.

Only Big Winds and one other unspeakable outfit has a special limited edition of the Naish 2009 Helix kite. 2009 marks the 30th anniversary of the Naish brand. To commemorate this great achievement, Naish is releasing a Limited Edition Helix with the famous Skull logo that was hand drawn by Robby Naish himself back in the 80’s. They’re available only in 9m and 12m.

2008 Windsurf Board Prices

Over on the windsurfing front, the deals on new 2008 boards got a little sweeter yesterday. These boards got their stickers shaved $100 to $200. Crazy.

• Starboard
  • Evo XTV 70, 75, 80 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Evo XTV 62, 75, 80, 90 Wood -$200 to $1199
  • Futura 93, 101 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Futura 93, 101 Wood -$200 to $1199
  • Pure Acid 74 Technora -$200 to $999
  • Pure Acid 68 Wood -$200 to $1199
• Naish
  • Pro Wave US 1111 65, 75, 80, 85 -$100 to $1199
  • Global Wave 83, 87 -$100 to $999
  • All Terrain 95, 115 -$200 to $999
• Mistral
  • Syncro Move 104 -$100 to $799
  • Syncro Move 104 RD -$100 to $999
  • Screamer 104 RD -$100 to $999
  • Syncro Style 84 -$100 to $799
  • Syncro Style 84, 94 RD -$100 to $999
  • Wave 69, 86 RD -$200 to $999

Ladies SUPper Club

The ladies are spanking it pretty hard on Tuesday nights. We’ve posted a couple of slide shows, here and here on Flickr to prove it. Due to the overwhelming response, availability is limited so call Daryl as soon as you can to reserve a board. Or, if you have your own, roll it on down and join in the fun. It’s all free! Scope out the details.

New Virtual Shop Tours

Dr. Pete came in and shot up the store. Where we used to have three tours we now have eight. They’re bigger too. You can drop in virtually and check out all the new stuff for 2009.

“Geez, there are so many different boards!” you might be saying to yourself. “Which one could possibly be right for me?” Fret not, for we have in our employ a veritable legion of windsurfing experts to help guide your buying decision. We’re all windsurfers (or kiteboarders or both!) here at Big Winds, and each and every one of us is knowledgeable and passionate about these sports.

We understand that “a grand plus” is a pretty hefty chunk of change to throw down for a new piece of gear, and that you’re probably experiencing quite the jitters about your potential purchase. That’s why we always encourage people to talk to us if they have any questions about the gear we carry… boards, sails, kites or otherwise.

We’re out in the water every day playing with this stuff, so we can speak with experience when we help you guide your buying decision. We’re always curious about where you’re riding, what sort of conditions you enjoy, what wind ranges you find yourself sailing in, and what sort of body type you’re sportin’ these days.

These kinds of questions, coupled with whether you enjoy candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach, help us to find you a perfect match… in a windsurf board, that is. We can’t really help you with the other stuff, unless you like strong, tanned and athletic folk with a passion for windsports. If that’s the case, we might be able to get some phone numbers for you… but you’ll never know unless you call us first!

For a limited time only, we’re offering some amazing prices on the 2007 North Vegas. This is a great kite for intermediate and advanced riders who love being powered up while riding. The North Vegas is a high-performance C-shaped kite, but its swept wingtips give it the wide wind range and huge depower of a bow kite.

Over here at Big Winds, we talk to a lot of people who are just starting to get into kiteboarding, and who are completely baffled by the huge selection of kites and kiteboards available these days. Sifting through the near-limitless array of gear can be a daunting task, so we took the time to put together some great entry-level kiteboarding packages for ya’ll.

These packages will be a great match if you’ve taken a few hours of private kiteboarding instruction, and are now looking to get your own gear for the first time. That said, none of these packages consist of purely “beginner” gear. Everything that we carry here at the shop is high-performance gear that we ourselves (experienced kiteboarders and windsurfers alike) enjoy riding, day in and day out. Bea loves her Naish kites, Dane is stoked on his Cabrinha quiver, and Craig is all North, all the time.

While this gear is certainly forgiving and durable enough for beginner kiteboarders, these packages also have what it takes to satisfy the intermediate and advanced kiteboarder in your life. What’s more, if you are indeed a beginner, this is gear that you won’t outgrow any time soon, and will last you through your entire progression in kiting. There are no slouches in the Big Winds catalog.

Oh yes, and the best part is that these packages are discounted from our original price! Coupled with our free shipping offer on all kiteboarding packages, as well as the fact that there’s no sales tax in Oregon, you can get yourself a mighty fine collection of kite gear at a very nice price.

Also, our generosity isn’t limited merely to these packages! If you’ve been perusing our catalog and have written up your own gear wish list, beginner or expert or otherwise, feel free to give us a call. One of our friendly kite experts will be happy to put a package together for you, with your own special pricing. It’s just our little way of rewarding our customers for taking the time to speak with us!

How much of everything, you ask? All of our windsurf boards, sails, masts, booms, windsurfing hardware, rig accessories, rack accessories, board bags, travel bags, harnesses, spreader bars, harness lines, kites, kiteboards, kite accessories, wetsuits, rashguards, backpacks and luggage. Phew! If you can name it, it’s on sale for the next five days!

The only catch is that you need to either visit us in Hood River or call us on the phone. Our prices are so low, and we want to meet you so bad, that our website isn’t going to reflect these slashed prices! If nothing else, it makes for a good excuse to bust out of the city this weekend, and go for a drive up the Gorge.

We look forward to meeting you this weekend!

Free shipping on all 2007 windsurf sails

Free shipping on all 2007 kiteboards

Free shipping on all 2007 kites

Free shipping on all O’Neill product orders over $100

Free shipping on all Dakine product orders over $100

In addition, we also offer discounts for windsurfing/kiteboarding packages, and multiple sail/kite purchases. If you’re interested, give us a call and we can put together a quote for you!

* Now for all the gritty details. “Free Shipping” applies only to orders within the contiguous United States (also known as the Lower 48). All items will be shipped via UPS Ground, which takes from 2-6 business days depending on your distance from Hood River. Expedited service (including UPS 3-Day, 2-Day and Next Day Air) is available for an additional charge. Very large items (including Dakine’s 60/40 Split Convertible Luggage, and Dakine’s Single-Wall Windsurf Bag) are considered “oversized” by UPS and cost significantly more to ship, and thus are not included in our free shipping promotion.

As always, please visit our company website for the most current and accurate information regarding our promotions.