Hi Bruce taking the gear was actually fine, I got one of those bags with wheels and managed to navigate the airports with no problems, 1 board 100l for me, one mast one boom, two sails 6.2 and 7, I used the 6.2 the most, slightly overpowered a couple of days.
Costs, I had my own room rather than share with the speedster brothers,

so paid more for that, one of the crazy frogs has a house in town for rent, worth checking out, I can send you his info. And I booked a car for 2 weeks for $800, wasn't essential but was nice to drive to beach, store my gear in it, and did a bit of exploring. Eating out for dinner wasn't as expensive as expected, and breakfasts and lunches from the supermarket, I didn't spend all the cash I took.