Excessive measures
One of the really annoying parts of been a pro windsurfer is the gear. The gear when you are traveling becomes part of your family, like a small baby at airports, everywhere you go you have to take it with you and not take your eyes off it with all the airport restrictions now. Most of the time you’re alone and I have to carry 7 bags on my own and I can only carry 2 at one time. Sometimes the airport people or security see them alone for 30 seconds and they start complaining that you can’t leave your bag unattended, it’s so annoying , they don’t understand that I’m not an octopus with more than 2 hands and can only carry maximum 2 bags at one time and they are heavy. Some airports are just so hard for windsurfers, you have the parking really far from the check in, then you finally get to the check in sweaty from carrying all the bags, then you have to discuss with the airline agent that 4 bags is one windsurfing set and they keep telling you, ‘you have to pay for 4 bags’. I get angry very easily in some cases, especially if you’re rude to me and most of the airline agents are rude. I normally tell them what ever comes in my mind with respect but once they start getting disrespectful and rude I just explode. I had a case once in Miami where one lady called the police because I was talking to her trying to explain to her that I had 2 bags which was one windsurf set (in American Airlines rules) and she kept telling me I had to pay for 2 bags and I really didn’t, so I was calling her and she kept pretending she didn’t see me and she clearly did, so I touched her so she could see me and she freaked out because in the US you are not allowed to touch anyone. Anyway she called the police and I had to explain to them the situation and one of the police men gave me the reason she wanted to press charges against me – for touching her! Ha-ha, the things you see in the US! But in the end she didn’t press charges! Anyway after finally getting to the check in tired and discussing with airlines and paying a lot of money for the windsurfing gear to get on the plane they finally tell you ‘Sir you have to take your bags 2 floors and put them on the over weight belt!!’ and I’m like WHAAAT?? I just paid 450 dollars for my bags and I still have to carry them down? Arrgh, anyway sometimes it’s a real night mare traveling with so much gear, this is when I say I should have been a surfer or a kiter! Hahaha they just travel light, sometimes when I make trips without gear it’s like a dream; it’s so easy to travel with only your clothing bag! But most of the times for me it’s never like this!