Dallas Cowboy: Texan tales of the foiling kind with Dean Peaple #1

Brit born and bred windsurfer Dean Peaple never considered his regular local sailing patch would become a freshwater lake in the middle of Texas. Having cut his teeth windsurfing on the UK’s south coast Dean embarked on a world tour of headline spots before ending up in The States. Before foiling it was making use of light winds and stand up paddle boarding when there was no wind. These days things have changed…

Wind and wing foiling has opened up Dean’s stretch to the flying brigade. So much so that the lake Dean and co fly above is fast becoming a wind driven foiling Mecca.

Here at Foilshop UK we’re keen to give air time to those enthusiastic, real world types who make foiling what it is. Keeping this in mind we’ve asked the ‘Dallas Cowboy’ to keep in touch with regular wind/wing foiling shenanigan updates. So without further ado it’s over to DP with the first instalment of his Texan tales of foiling.

A-Team Foil Shenanigans in North Texas – Walking the plank over the snake pit.

‘Interesting year that 2020; windy and warm but one HUGE problem with COVID-19 meant local park and beach bans aplenty. Our biggest problem was how to launch when our main foiling beach was shut down by city officials.

Windsurf Bay Park, known as Fire Ant to the locals (if you step in a pile, you will not know until you find your foot on fire and you better peg it straight into the water for relief), was closed entirely. An 8′ fence was built around the perimeter to make it obvious you shouldn’t be going here.

The local windsurf and foil clan got its thinking caps on. Do we jump the fence Dukes of Hazard style or do we blow the fence like the A-Team? Perhaps climb the fence like the Great Escape?  Hmmm, it was a difficult decision indeed, but we did not necessarily want to go to jail either…

Luckily for us a local married couple that were also windsurfers had bought the last house adjoining the yacht marina overlooking Lake Ray Hubbard just a few hundred yards from the main beach area. They were prepared to give us access. One small issue though: you must launch through a small “keyhole” located in the middle of 12′ high water reeds and home to many a Texas sized water snake. The infamous Water Moccasin is a water snake you do not want to be bitten by. It will land you in hospital and not everyone makes it.

That is when we discovered another local windsurfer had built a pirate’s board plank (with wheels) for another access project from many decades ago. And it was the perfect solution to bridge the rigging area over the muddy quagmire, bee’s nest and any sleeping reptile that was looking for its next dinner voucher.

It is far from a perfect situation but it’s what we have for now! And being from the south coast of England, with ample rigging and launch areas, it does seem a tad unfair, however, we will keep finding a way to get our foil on.

If you have a problem, if one else can help, and if you can find us…Maybe you can hire the A-Team.‘

Stay tuned for more Dallas Cowboy tales of the foiling kind coming soon to Foilshop UK. Be sure to hit up Dean’s North Texas Foil Facebook group for more insight as well as his Core Adventure Sports biz page –

https://www.facebook.com/groups/558231227855990

https://www.facebook.com/coreadventuresports