I'm a total beginnner... i've been trawling this forum for weeks/months and figured there would be similar people around needing reassurance that they're not alone. So here is my story so far. I'll keep it updated as i go...
Specs: 30yrs old. Male. 85kgs. 178cms tall. Fitness 7/10. Still playing tennis, golf, cycling, running, paddle a surf ski regularly, Snow skiing, Wakeboarding but have never windsurfed or sailed. Office Job. Engaged. Looking for a few sports to enjoy before golf becomes more common in future years.
Start: Given a bunch of 20yr old gear by my uncle, because he wanted the space in his garage and i was silly enough to say yes. Inventory = 360cm learner board, 265cm slalom, 235cm wave board... none of which i can balance on. Also got 4 x Simmer Style sails at 4.00m2, 4.90m2, 5.00m2, 5.25m2. 1 x 441cm Mast, 1 x 465cm Mast. 2 mast foot extensions (700 + 500), 2 booms both adjustable. 1 Neil Pryde yellow harness made for someone 5-10kg skinnier than me.
Progress: Christmas 2013 i am given 2 x 2hr beginner lessons with Windforce at Nedlands in Perth. Lessons taken almost immediately in late December 2013. Starboard Start equipment. Winds 5-10 knots. Picked up the skills pretty quickly and could sail both directions, steer upwind and downwind, carve gybing, etc. Loved it. Easily best in class. Confidence sky high. Started sifting the internet for affordable second hand gear and even looked at flights to windy destinations for future trips and qantas luggage regulations with regard to windsurfing gear. Can't believe people think windsurfing is harder than kite-surfing... i could be a legendary kite-surfer if that is the case...
Small Initial Investment: Massive amount of internet research leads me to believe a that mysterious SeaBreeze Forum calculation of 85kg Me + 20kg Sail/Mast/Boom = 105kg and theoretically that any board above 105-110L i will be able to uphaul since 1L displaces 1kg water approximately. 1st January i purchase a 112L 265cm Bic board with sexy new fin off Gumtree from a friendly dude who gives me a bag for the board for free and a tonne of advice. Great Guy. Intermediate windsurfing world... here i come.
The Real World: So a breezy evening with 10-12 knots comes along and i head down to the swan river. I realise on arrival that i don't have any base plates whatsoever, so head to windforce on closing time to buy a couple of parts. The guy at the shop was great, was not dismissive about my ancient gear at all, and gave me a few bits and pieces for free and only charged me for the major equipment. Total gentleman. By the time i get back down to the water its getting dark and wind is almost gone. So i email a buddy of mine and the next night we head to JH Abrahams Reserve when its 20 knots. Experienced blokes everywhere. I rig up the 112L Bic and my 5.25M2 sail - get everything right with a bit of help, and i'm in the water ready to go. One problem. The board sinks when i stand on it so I can't uphaul. Second problem. Water-starts in 20 knot winds are impossible when you've only seen it done on youtube. Whilst my mate is struggling a bit he's got a sweet Starboard-something-or-other which can be uphauled so he's getting going... eating sh-t... then getting going again. I have spent 45 minutes wrestling with my sail in the wind like a seagull trying to eat a taco tied to a wind sock. Exhausted i unpick the equipment and pack it back in the car... i'm NOT intermediate. I'm beginner. So I need a bigger board and smaller ego.
Weekend ahead... rental of some more Starboard beginner gear.
To be continued.
26 years ago I learnt on the most cumbersome kit ever known, a TC Beacher with an old oval shaped wishbone boom that must have been 3m long and a 5.5m triangle sail.
At the ripe age of 15.
In six months I had her planing and steadily progressed.
With the products on the market today being a quarter of the weight I hope to give my kids a crack at 11-12 years old or when they are swimming well.
Any way it sounds like our sport has got you hooked, keep it up mate and I hope you can keep on the water as time = progression.
Look forward to hearing more
A big board you will allow you to learn new stuff the quickest time. I have to return back to a big floaty board when learning new tricks. Other sailors don't. It will depend on your talent level/fitness. I reckon stick at it with your biggest equipment for half dozen sessions or so. If you're not getting anywhere, then consider getting a large modern freeride board, I'm guessing 125-150L freeride would be a good start. Even when you progress, you keep this board as a light wind board to learn new tricks or for flat water blasting. Yeah, as Dezza said, there are heaps of users at your level that won't see this post as they won't look in the SA section. Anyway, keep at it 
If it was easy we'd all have lost interest ages ago!
No matter where you are on the journey there's always something new and challenging to learn!
Keep up the good work mate!
WINDSURFING, like a woman will build you up, then kick you in the nuts! But you keep going back for more"
Hey all, thanks for the replies and the pm's to my first post.
Quite a few people asked me to post this on the General Page rather than the SA page - so i have just done that and have used the same title, but I have included a few extra notes from the weekend just gone and some questions that hopefully some experienced people can help us with.
I got back on the swan river on the weekend on some hired Starboard Starts and had an hour. It was really gusty 20-25knot winds so i got smashed because i couldn't keep the power in the sail nice and even. In one particular fall i lost my sunglasses, and they didn't float, and the swan river does not have high visibility. So my lost $250 sunglasses are my biggest investment in windsurfing so far. Now scouring the internet for those things you tie onto your sunnies and around the back of your neck... i think its a sunglasses leash?
Gos, Bunnings sell safety sunnies for $13. Scatter proof, get the job done and they look pretty good (I get the ones with no frame - to prevent blind spots). If you use them for work, claim em on tax
