The comments above were taken from an individual who was writing about the Toucan in the Windsurfing.Rec Newsgroup

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Replying to:

Toucan Open - Sept. 5-8




It took about ten years of windsurfing for me to


get to the point where I would even consider going


to an event like the Toucan. Who the heck would


want to drive [~625 miles for us] to some obscure


lake in friggin' Nebraska. We always picked a


windsurfing destination with the highest


statistical probability of having hurricane force


winds. I still have strong tendencies of doing


that, but I make an exception for the Toucan. We


go no matter what the forecast is. There's so much


happening in the Circus-like atmosphere that fun


is bound to happen, no matter what the wind Gods


throw our way. If the wind doesn't cooperate, then


the 'misery loves company' phenomenon will


dominate and you'll have fun anyway. Every year


there are literally hundreds of people attending


and the beach is packed for at least one-quarter


to one-half mile [no exaggeration 300-600


people!!].




And speakin' of some obscure lake in NE... Lake


McConaughy, alias Big Mac, is the largest lake in


NE. About 1-1/2 to 2-miles wide and 20-something


miles long with miles and miles of white sand


beaches. If it blows hard, the long fetch assures


for some nice ramps and swell. The last time I


checked, sharks and jellies haven't evolved into


freshwater loving creatures, which makes it a very


family friendly lake. Unless an early season


cold-front pushes thru, the water is usually warm


enough to sail sans neoprene or in a shorty for


'always getting wet', low body fat types.




For the people out there that always use the


excuse of 'I don't have anything competitive to


race on', there's a fun/sport class. Don't own


modern race gear or even have an old longboard


gathering dust? You can charter a Mistral Prodigy


or BIC Formula board. And if it whitecaps, your


plain' ol' shortboard will do just fine. And if


your ego still feels vulnerable about racing,


there are many people that attend for other


reasons: a chance at winning some of the great


door prizes after the Sat. BBQ/beer dinner, the


'how low can you go' limbo contest, free


[windsurfing and kite] clinics, gear demos, beach


volleyball, sandcastle building, beach golf,


singin' round the campfire, or just being part of


the largest and longest running windsurfing event


in America...




Also...


The Toucan is part of the USWA National Race


series.


New planned event this year - morning [before on


the water racing] mountain bike race.


ABK will be providing both fee and free clinics.


The Starboard/Roger Jackson Show [demos/free LTW


lessons] will be there.


One the beach Fri evening party [in addition to


the Sat BBQ/dance/awards].


Yada, yada, yada...