Welcome to the home of
F.O.F.
(Friends of Fireant)
This website is dedicated to the most actively
sailed windsurfing launch in the Dallas area...
Windsurf Bay Park in
Garland.
a.k.a. Fireant Beach
In the coming months, we're going to try to put together a proper website - something that encourages the users of Fireant to get involved in their park.
There's a few of us forming this new windsurfing organization in town. We've not really figured out if it's going to be a formal club or just a collection of boardheads drinking beer on the beach. It all depends on how motivated we get... And whether the city of Garland will recognize an informal organization.
Now some of you may be asking why we don't do this through the local Dallas windsurfing club... Well, that's kind of a long story. The local club seems to have lost interest in community involvement. As such, many of us have lost interest in the local club. They're still good for hosting the two major windsurfing races, but that seems to be the limit of their resources. Plus, the local club includes people from all over the Metroplex - many of whom don't sail at Fireant.
Our intention is that FOF (which will probably be renamed later) will be composed mostly of Fireant regulars - and more specifically, by residents of Garland. That way we hope the city will pay attention when we tell them that they need to act. And since there's a whopping big bond that was approved that gives Windsurf Bay something like $700k for improvements and erosion control, we want to make sure that they do it right. As Friends of Fireant, we're pretty sure that we can help them do it right. After all, who spends more time there than us?
Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
And if you're a Garland resident and Fireant regular, you'll probably be hearing from us.
See ya at Fireant,
The Guys and Gals of F.O.F.
January 26, 2006
F.O.F. member Brian C was interviewed today out at Fireant by the Dallas Morning News. Brian was contacted earlier in the week by Karin Shaw Anderson of the DMN after she saw this website. While the scope of the article was not discussed, Karin asked questions about the history of the park, windsurfing in the area and Brian's involvement in the Garland Bond election that approved funding for improvements at Windsurf Bay Park. She also told Brian that the article will probably run in the Sunday edition of the DMN on January 29th.
January 30, 2006
We're Famous
The Dallas Morning News printed an article based on an interview with F.O.F. members Brian Cunningham and Bob Cummings. While the article is a bit more confrontational than some F.O.F members might have liked, it is accurate in describing the current "hurry up and wait" problem with planned improvements at Fireant. F.O.F. would like to thank Karin Anderson for taking to the time to find out more about F.O.F., and writing about our cause and concerns.
The entire article can be found on the DMN website - Click Here. Because you normally have to register (it is free) to get access to the articles, we are reprinting the article here. They'll probably make us take it down sooner or later (which kind of defeats the purpose of their article). If you'd like, we've also converted the article into an Acrobat PDF. We can email you that document if you have trouble registering with DMN:
Garland: Erosion, poor facilities plague land near Lake Ray Hubbard
Brian Cunningham doesn't mind picking up a paper
plate from an abandoned picnic or scooping up cigarette butts left by
fishermen. After using Garland's Windsurf Bay Park for more than
10 years to launch his windsurfing boards, he feels obliged to do what he can
to improve Garland's southernmost claim to shoreline along Lake Ray Hubbard.
But sometimes the effort feels like painting a burning barn. "We've probably lost 30 to 50 feet of shoreline
since I started coming out here," Mr. Cunningham said. Erosion has cut away at the sand, claiming a
section of posts and leaving a steep bank where there once was a sloping
beach. "They really didn't do the grading right" when the
park was first established, the Garland resident said. "We ended up with a
flat wall, and the water laps against the base of it, which constantly
undercuts the wall and then collapses it. "It's been doing that pretty much forever." Garland voters approved a bond package in 2004
that included $21.68 million for improvements to about a dozen city parks,
including Windsurf Bay. Mr. Cunningham serves on an implementation
committee that recommends how to spend that bond money in south Garland. "The City Council is under no obligation to listen
to us, but they do, for a large part," he said. "I just kind of became the
squeaky wheel." The city hasn't started any improvements yet to
Windsurf Bay, but Mr. Cunningham has a wish list ready to tackle, including
adding permanent restroom facilities and stemming the tide of beach erosion. "Of course, I'd like for it to happen tomorrow,"
he said. "But I'm realistic. The city is only going to take on so much bond
debt a year." City Council member Harry Hickey, whose district
includes the park, could not be reached for comment. But Mr. Cunningham said
he has been working closely with Mr. Hickey, and he believes engineering for
park improvements will start within the next year. "We understand the limitations, and we're just
giving them a little bit of input and hoping they'll follow it," Mr.
Cunningham said. Bob Cummings of Garland remembers when windsurfers
had plenty of beach surface but had to dodge dozens of fire ant mounds before
hitting the water. "Before it was officially Windsurf Bay Park, it
was unofficially called Fireant Beach," he said. Mr. Cummings is helping Mr. Cunningham organize a
grass-roots push to attract attention to the park. The group, still under
development, calls itself Friends of Fireant. "It truly is a world-class windsurfing spot, and
it's not living up to the potential it has," Mr. Cummings said. "And it gets
crowded now, in the condition it's in, which tells you something." Still, a lack of adequate restrooms, lighting and
other amenities have prevented the local windsurfing club from holding its
annual race at the park. "It would be nice to bring a big race into town,"
Mr. Cunningham said. "A lot of people who used to race don't anymore, because
we don't do the event in close. "They've been holding it down at Lake Whitney," he
said. Mr. Cummings believes that if the parking lot were
moved farther from the lake and erosion control were addressed, plenty of
prime windsurfing beach would remain. "But I really haven't seen much of anything
happening out there to do that, which is unfortunate," he said. Mr. Cunningham said he understands why
improvements to other parks have taken priority. "Obviously, the softball fields is where they put
most of their money, because it's a moneymaker for them. "Those of us who sail here regularly are just
interested in making sure that it's still a good place to sail 10 years from
now," he said. But Mr. Cunningham realizes others may want to
spend taxpayers' money on something that benefits more diverse groups. "But since they call it Windsurf Bay Park, you'd
assume they'd want to cater to us," he said. "We try to be good visitors." E-mail ksanderson@dallasnews.com January
30, 2006 All F.O.F. members are encouraged to participate in the
upcoming trash clean-up being at Windsurf Bay Park on Saturday Feb 4th.
While this event is being organized by the other local windsurfing club, it is
our park. Since we've always done the lion's share of the clean-up anyway,
we need to continue setting an example. If you can't participate on that
day, please let Brian C know.
Shabby beach taking the wind out of surfers'
sails
12:00 AM CST on
Sunday, January 29, 2006