found my board with someone else riding it

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

Just over one month ago, my board, which was a gift from my fiance, was taken from event site while I grabbed a bite to eat. The board is fairly unique to Hood River (I've never seen another rider with the board) and was purchased while we lived in California, near the warehouse that produced them. Today I found it on the beach, but the area where my name was had been scratched out and glued over. There were several other identifiers/quirks to the board that allowed my fiance and I, without a doubt, to identify the board as ours. We couldn't find the rider, so I decided to take the board back to the car to call the new name and number that someone had recently written on the bottom to see if I could straighten things out- who knows... maybe they just bought it second hand. About this time, a man approached me saying that his board had been taken. I said that I probably had it, and that we should have a talk. Without any prompting, he started saying that the board was definitely his... kind of a weird response. He said that it had been his for 3-4 years (although the board was made in 2010) and that he had repaired it. I knew the exact type of epoxy used for the repair because it produces a unique color, but for whatever reason, the man couldn't recall the epoxy brand. We use it on every board we repair. There were some other shady details, such as a second person being brought into the discussion who suddenly said that he had owned the board for 3-4 years and then sold it to the man... so who, in this story, actually owned it and did the repairs???

The thing is, the board is only $150, but being lied to by a man as old as my father was one of the saddest things. I can't even describe the feeling of disappointment I experienced.

We should be a community that works together, not afraid that other kiters are sneaking around, finding ways to score free gear.

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

I forgot to mention- the man kept my board.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

r u kidding me. why did you not keep it and have them call pd if they wanted it back and call the bluff. Dont be such a skirt bag next time you get your board stolen and then you find it. You said there were marks on it identifying it.??? it is illegal to buy stolen property. call the bluff next time and do us all a favor. give the thief a ......... and give him/her some of their own medicine.

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

We tried to call his bluff. He claimed to buy it from a local shop but conveniently didn't have a receipt. We all went to the shop to see if there was any sale record on file, but of course there wasn't so the shop owner sided with the guy, who was a friend and regular customer. It felt like they guy totally set us up- he was obviously lying through his teeth the entire time. Really despicable.

pollywog · Since 07 Aug 2009 291 Posts Obsessed

Thieves suck! You should have kept it! Screw him. He is a lair! You should have called the police and worked with them to sort it out. did you at least get his info?

The cost/value of the board does not matter. Don't give in to thieves. It only validates their behavior.

Sad

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

I have his last name- but it's become a he-said, she-said thing. I know it's mine, and have anecdotal evidence to support it. He probably has some other BS stories that he's since fabricated after we poked holes in his argument.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

sorry for you loss. I have been ripped off before and have zero tolerance for that crap. the next person that pulls that stuff on me or my friends and I find out will pay dearly for all the other scum bags that have done the same sh...

what was the name of the shop you went into. Indirect pressure may cause them not to lie next time!!!!

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

I don't want to slander any shop, because I'm pretty sure they guy just saw us all as a LOT of trouble he wanted to avoid. I can't blame him. I suppose it was going to be shitty for him no matter who he sided with.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

I would suggest you go back to the shop and have a nice conversation explaining again what happened. Let him know that you believe he sold stolen gear. If the shop said they sold it to him and can not produce a receipt they are in the wrong. I will go out on a limb and say a quality shop owner like Pepi with 2 nd wind would not pull this shit. If something like that happened in any way he would make it right. If you are telling the truth give the shop name and let them do the honest thing and make it right to you. Sorry for your loss. Thieves are shit bags!!

knotwindy · Since 25 Sep 2011 615 Posts Addicted

that totally sucks,
and i know you will not want to but you might also give the name you have of the thief.
people like that will probably not respond to pressure from others knowing who and what they are but it might help some others in this small community to keep an eye on him (and his friend that backed him up) in the future. gotta keep an eye out for each other on the water and off.

Front rolls are for girls · Since 10 Jan 2012 10 Posts Portland, OR

I guess I'm hoping that the thief will eventually read this and have to deal with his own guilt and the disgust of the community (you and your responses thus far).

In regards to the shop- I don't think they sold the gear after it was stolen, I think the guy figured that the shop would never have receipts from a board "sold 3-4 years ago" (which is totally absurd because the board only came on the market 2.5 years ago, and the shop owner said he often sells these boards on closeout, which has got to be quite a bit after production year anyways). Knowing this, the guy probably thought it'd be a sure way to get us off his back.

In regards to the thief- selfishly, as a small business owner and a holder of a medical license, I don't want any angry guys coming after me and slandering my yelp page for revenge... a rock and a hard place.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

can you post a pic of the board and details and we can idirectly put pressure on them and shame them into returning the board. names, kites they fly etc. dont back down and give into scumbags!!

Pepi · Sun Jul 08, 12 10:06 pm

2nd Wind was the shop, and you are barking up a very wrong tree.

Both parties (you and the father/son) came into the shop with a head of steam which did not allow me much time to understand exactly even what was happening.

I later was filled in on what actually happened and looked up in our inventory the dates and prices for when that model of board was sold at our shop.
If you wish to see a printed copy of the sales receipt, I will reprint one for you with the permission of the people who bought the board from our shop new.

I will even be happy to show you the inventory timeline of the boards we sold around that time. The board was a Roush design skim from Surftech, of which most all NW Kiters know we have probably sold over 50-60 in the 3 years that we sold Surftech skims. Also to add, the board that you speak of was discontinued as of 2009 and only available via closeouts, so it was made for a couple of years, not only a special make as you had indicated to me.

You and I know each other and could have had a much more civilized conversation about this had anyone actually followed through on full details and then not left me hanging in the midst of my lunchbreak and phone calls.

Lastly, picking up a board off of the beach that you think is yours without attempting to find the person who was in possession of it first likely did not start you off on the right foot with the persons you were accusing.

I will be at the shop all day tomorrow from 10am til 6pm so that you can come by and I can speak more with you directly if you wish accomplish some resolution to this situation.

Justsmile · Since 20 Jul 2009 1530 Posts Not Portland XTreme Poster

Thanks Pepi for speaking up. You are a class act and it sounds like you got railroaded:-(. Always two sides to every story and I don't think for a minute you would be on the shady side. To the reporting party sounds like a little more communication in a different matter might have helped the situation. 2nd wind and Pepi are class acts and i am sure they can get you back on a board rather quick:-).

Bargeslayer · Since 08 Jul 2012 100 Posts Stoked

OP is the man and a true ambassador of stoke for kiting in the gorge. I am 100% sure that this conflict did not start without some very solid evidence. It's unacceptable that something like this should happen to him. longtime lurker on this forum, made an account to put a good word for the Op-he is not the type of dude who makes stuff up or starts shit for no reason.

Jonpnw · Mon Jul 09, 12 6:33 am

Booooooo! Gotta keep an eye on your stuff.

Thanks for the update Pepi!

consumer · Since 28 Nov 2010 406 Posts banned Obsessed

Thank you everyone.
For clarity: My fiancee is front rolls are for girls.

I also sincerely apologize that we interrupted you during lunch and on a sunday. I do appreciate your discussing it with us then and now, thank you.

The fact of the matter is:

That board is ours. I'm certain that anyone who has had a board for some time and has done the repairs will be able to recognize the nuances of their own board.

Pepi, your reputation for sorting things out and good character was something I knew we needed to resolve this, so when I learned the board came from 2nd wind - I immediately tried to convince them that we should have Pepi decide. I trusted that you would at least take a look at the board, but you wrote me off and gave your employee(involved party) the benefit of the doubt. I understand your point of view, from a probabilistic basis if you happen to sell many of those boards and your employee claims to have bought one -you'd just reason that it is probably his board. I can see that you had no evidence to be swayed - That is most reasonable and I would have done the same in your shoes.

I understand that multiple boards have been made, but aside from knowing that the board is mine - their story is too inconsistent and contradictory: First the father claims he did the repair ("with some 5-minute epoxy, I don't know") and bought it from 2nd wind. Afterward, the son claims he sold his dad the board and did the repair -when we call him out on it - he immediately changes his story. When we get to second wind it turns out someone else sold the dad the board. The red flags of dishonesty are all there, the story changes and it is vague.

We talked with everyone(kiters/and non-kiters) before we grabbed the board off the beach, we asked if anyone knew who the name on the board was - for the record the board was found by my fiancé floating in the water. We waited around to talk to everyone getting off the water about it, and we did meet. I believe we did the right thing.

I implore you to take a look at the board, Pepi, and find where my name has been scratched out near underneath near the rail and closer to the nose, where I did a repair on the soft top because it was peeling off with G/flex epoxy- which by the way is something I repair all my boards with. I remember that specific repair and am certain that it is mine on that basis. I also remember there are other spots where the soft top is peeling off which I hadn't gone around to repairing. Please try and recall if you've ever seen him ride that board before a month ago.

Pepi: thank you again. If you are open to discussing this further, I would like to talk to you with my fiancé, Jessica, next time we are in town together. I imagine it would be on the weekend, but will PM you if we find a time to break away this week. Thanks again.