About Christine Parker :

Education and goals:
I have a Bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University in International Relations and a Master's degree from Johns Hopkins University School of International Studies in Asian Studies. My general goal in this area is not to forget too much! I read a ton, both fiction and non-fiction and usually have several going at once depending on my mood. I try to keep up my French, but my Japanese is fast disappearing and my Spanish is only good enough to get me into trouble. I would like to take some Spanish classes one of these days.

Work and goals:
I currently manage the Gorge Surf Shop, a windsurf shop in Hood River, Oregon. It started as a part-time job while I was trying to become a novelist and pitching my first two novels to agents while working on a third.

How I got into the sport:
I first tried windsurfing in Martha's Vineyard during college. I was immediately hooked by the exhilaration of flying across the water, but I never came across the sport again until I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. There I met some windsurfers and I watched from shore, but I was a competitive cyclist then and that's all I had time for. Once I moved to Hood River, I gave it a go and was rewarded with the same sense of joy and fun that I experienced years earlier. Only now the equipment has progressed quite a bit making it much easier for people to learn, and therefore get hooked.

Goals for the sport:
I have put a lot of effort into improving my skills as a windsurfer. One of the cool things about windsurfing is that no two sailing sessions are ever the same because there are so many variables to consider: wind direction, wind speed, swell or wave size, currents, other windsurfers, the gear you have rigged and how you rigged it. Every time I go out I feel like I get better or learned something and I am always trying new tricks. I would love to learn to loop and have tried a few times, but no success yet. Looping puts you in a totally different category as a sailor, and the trick of it is 95% mental – you must have courage and you must commit to the trick because, like with many windsurfing tricks, if you quit half way it can be a disaster.

Achievements in the sport:
Sailing in what we call big wind, this means wind over 30 knots. I have been in wind gusting to over 50 knots and able to rip the swells and jump. That is probably my biggest "trick." Unless you are a pro and can go to Maui or Europe competitive opportunities are few to none and those that exist are regional, for the local hotshots to show off their skills. Even in this arena there are very few women who compete, for various reasons. Achievements in this sport tend to be more personal – learning a new skill or trick or sailing in more challenging conditions are achievements in windsurfing. When a guy windsurfer says, "Man, you were ripping it up out there" or "I saw you boost it big" that's an achievement in a way because guys rarely compliment chick sailors and if I was sailing well enough to induce a comment I know I was on my game.

Inspiration:
Watching any sailor who can loop or do freestyle tricks is an inspiration to me to push harder because I know the kind of commitment and dedication it takes to master these moves. In Hood River there are lots of local women who rip (Zoe Najim is one) and I have learned much from just watching them. On a larger scale the Moreno twins are incredibly strong women and talented sailors who have really shown that women CAN do the same types of maneuvers as men and that's saying something.

Role models:
Outside of windsurfing I have had many other sports women as role models such as Julianna Furtado and Sara Ballantine in mountain biking. I admire many people some famous and many not so famous, and the traits that connect them are integrity, strong work ethic, liberal mindedness, creativity in their approach to a life path, and the courage to live by their convictions.

Other sports/passions:
I used to race mountain and road bikes in the U.S. and Japan. I never thought I'd be able to live without riding my bike every day, but windsurfing has changed all that! I still ride when it's not windy in the summer, and I do a lot of other stuff now too like run, hike, yoga, water ski, snow ski, and snowboard. Outdoor sports are definitely a passion for me and they are a necessary balance to my bookish side. I love to read and write. Learning something all the time is as much an addiction for me as my sports.

Things about me that surprise people:
I like to cook, I knit, and I volunteer at the Oregon Ballet Theatre. I have lived in France and in Japan and would like to travel more again, except I am too busy windsurfing every summer for the last six years, although last winter I went to Costa Rica to windsurf for six weeks. Yeah, that was pretty awesome. Life is good!