Hello there!
I am new to windsurfing and i recently learned how to upwind, but i still need some tips.
You can check how i ride here:
I think your sail needs a bit more downhaul, you can tell from the vertical creases parallel to the mast. Also if you can improve your stance everything will be easier: for start place your front foot behind the mast, pointing forward at about 45 degrees with a straight leg, and the rear foot on the centerline, perpendicular to the board with a slightly bent leg. As the wind increases, move back and out. Keep the board moving if you want to go upwind, pointing without speed will just drag you laterally. You could buy a dvd to help you, Jem Hall's 'beginner to winner' is a good one. As you progress check Guy Cribb's website, heaps of great tips.
As per power sloshing.+ these
Just some general sailing tips. Tuck your bum in if you can . Bend your front arm to keep the rig closer to your body so you aren't reaching forward to go to it..That is - bring the rig to you rather than you go to it..You'll have to be careful as in lightwinds if you get it too far the other way you'll go in backwards.
If the rig gets too much let go with the back hand & just let it fly until you get your act together . To do this move your mast hand ( the front one ) so its in front of your chest but comfortably bent or you can hold the uphaul near the mast & let it swing. Once you feel ok again grab the boom with your back hand and sheet on to sail away. You might have to bring the mast diagonally forward and toward the front of the board to windward with your front hand so you can reach the boom easily with your back hand.
Repeat if things get too much.
My 2 cents - you seem to be stalling the board upwind, which in turn pushes you further downwind. Try the above-mentioned technique changes & once you gain some speed, you'll be able to turn the board more upwind (as opposed to stalling) and the upside is it will be less effort on your body.
Also, look into getting a harness, you'll triple your time on the water.
Can I put in another 2 cents worth? You will love this sport when you get it but it does take a little effort. The thing with learning to ride is that the board allways seems to want to point into the wind. I know the question was how to sail upwind but you cannot do this if you have no forward momentum. I would lean the sail a bit further forward along the centreline of the board to get the nose of the board off the wind and then you should pick up some speed which will make it easier to balance. You seem to be struggling with controlling the sail, when you get going, just relax a little and lean back. You have to trust that the sail will keep you upright and out of the drink, it will if you let it.
The sail has two forces acting on it, one will pull you across the board therefore you must lean back and the other is to pull you forward, this is what gives you forward thrust so when the sail pulls, you will have to step back as well to counteract this force.
Sure there are techniques to aid going upwind but at this stage I would concentrate on getting some speed going.
First thing, raise your boom by at least 100mm (it should be at least shoulder height when standing straight up with the rig vertical). This might feel uncomfortable at the start but that boom is way to low which makes things difficult. Second get harness lines and a harness ASAP, you want to get used to using these as soon as practicably possibly as it will increase your progression immensely.
The reason you are sailing in the position you are is because you are putting a majority of your weight through the rear leg, to counteract this you have to lean the rig forward at an awkward angle, it's the normal beginner problem as it's natural to push with the rear leg when you pull with the rear arm (to sheet in).
To fix this you want to put a majority of your weight through the front leg (closest to the mast), this will push the nose of the board off the wind allowing you to rake the rig backwards and pull it in closer to vertical, resulting in a much more natural sailing position. You are also over sheeting the rig, partly this is due to the rear leg issue as it's the only way in that situation to create enough force to keep the nose tracking straight. Once you get the leg weighting sorted out and the rig more vertical this should be less of an issue.
Are you using a centre-fin as some of those boards have? If so I suggest you get rid of it as soon as possible as this can make it more difficult to maintain the proper sailing position and is certainly of no use later down the track.
I would also advise against letting go with the rear hand to release power from the sail as suggested above as this should really only be a last resort if you intend to jump off. You should never be letting go of the rig with either hand in an effort to gain control.
I still don't think you should to it ever, as if you start doing something no matter how light the conditions it will imprint that action in your muscle/reaction memory and you'll do it no matter what the conditions. Whether or not you can re-train yourself out of it is a moot point, you should never get into bad habits, do it right from the start. My take on it anyway
I would say your sail handling is not good yet. Sometimes you are sailing sheeted out (spilling wind off back of sail) and sometimes oversheeted (sail too much across the wind).
You can practice sail handling on dry land if you have somewhere to set the board that wont damage the underside. You want to practice positioning your hands so you are getting the same pull on both arms and learning to lean back against the pull of the sail. 90% of windsurfing is sail handling.
When sailing, you want to be confident that you can control the power of the sail, so on dry land, you would practice turning the power of the sail off and on to gradually be able to lean further back against the pull and how to bend your legs to adjust for sudden lulls in the wind.
You can do the same thing on the water, but its much faster to learn it on land.
The guy in this video is a couple of stages further on than you, but it gives a good idea of where you are trying to get to.
He is still a beginner so he is not doing everything exactly right (is maybe getting too much pull on his back hand), but his stance and hand positions are good enough.
