im going to get lessons to start windsurfing.i weigh 110kg.im thinking if im keen to get into it.a longboard would be a good start to learn on but these longboard have a big sail can you uphaul a 6 plus sail.if im sailing 10 to 20 knots what size sail and can you uphaul them. thanks
You can uphaul anything,it gets tricky when its rough or the wind is blowing hard or your board won't float you properly,bigger sails are harder to pull out of the water because of the volume of water they hold in them when submerged,the hard part is working out what sail for the conditions.
The best board/sail combo for learning is a huge board and small sail. There are learner boards out there over a meter wide around 3m long and with a soft deck. They have either a retractable centerboard or a fixed centre fin. Combined with a small sail anyone who is reasonably physically fit and co-ordinated should get windsurfing within an hour if they try it in flat waters with minimal currents and a light steady breeze.
The school you are getting lessons off should have gear like this to learn on. They might have longer and skinnier boards which are good to learn on too. Millions of people learned to windsurf on these sorts of boards. If you are looking at getting out in 10 to 20 knot winds on a longboard you will probably look towards getting something like an 8m sail. They will be a bit difficult to up haul but it's possible. However you should learn how to waterstart but waterstarting will be cumbersome with a larger sail.
thanks for your help but a 6.8 sail is tricky to uphaul .what board to learn on and what sail.i dont want to buy a board and 6 hours later i need a differnt set up cheers
kdalton, get a few lessons at WINDSUP (Matt Stringer), and worry about equipment after that. Google his site and make a booking :). I'm an ex-student.
