hello to everyone.. i have just started windsurfing.... its not easy starting off but with time i am sure i will get the hang of it.. i used to sail red witches in south perth when i was younger... now to step up and try this windsurfing.. i see you guy boot it on the water looks like alot of fun..
I have been to nedlands and lucky bay 3 times now.. every time i have been out so many nice people willing to give advice and help out which is great to see.. thanks for all the people out their welling to give up some time to help us out to the new sport.
i have got myself some second windsurfer just to see if i enjoy it.. i have a drops mb14 board which is 173 litre with a 5.5m sail.. the first board i had was a 120 litre found it very hard to get up and go.. so i will keep that on the side to i get hang of the 173 litre.. any advice out their about starting off would be great.. thanks
Welcome airborn
Good idea with the bigger board. Never the less, in a while you will be looking for something back at that range as your skills improve.
Try to keep at it over Winter, you will see a few down there at Lucky Bay when winds blow enough for a blast.
Mineral
hello mineral1 yes i found that lucky bay was the best spot to start off from wide area and the winds seem alot better to learn in... i must stay its alot of hard work up hauling the rig all the time.. will build up my guns with no problems..
i was amazed last time i was at lucky bay their was 2 world champions cutting it up great to see..
If you want to learn to waterstart, then try to learn how to gybe. The two are intimately related 
forget learning to gybe,
get waterstarting. the minute you can do that get on the ocean, have some fun - gybing will come with practice and time - so dont let it hold you back.
bit off topic aren't we?
Welcome to windsurfing Airborne, and I hope to see you doing jumps like in your profile pic real soon.
It's a fun sport good for all round fitness, but beware it is mightily addictive!
You might find you spend all your non sailing time talking about windsurfing on these forums.
Feel free to ask for help. Windsurfers arevery helpful people.
Hi airborn74, welcome to the sport.. like windxtasy said it can be quite addictive, but I'm sure you'll find that out for yourself pretty soon if you haven't already.
I'd also suggest checking out Safety Bay while you're learning. The wind there is much more constant than in the river, and it makes learning so much easier. I wished that I had done that sooner in my learning curve, lots of helpful people down there too.
See you on the water!
wow thanks guys for all the advice... was amazed to see so many reply's.
ok i thought up hauling was the first thing you do.. its good to know now that i can start on the waterstart which i see all the time i am out on the river... next week i will have some extra time to head down and start the water start....
whats the best wind conditions for learning (10-15 knots or more) and in the winter time i have just got my self a wet suit...
so is it easy to do water starts on the beach or river or doesn't matter?
Yep windxtasy is spot on.
Waterstarting is the hard fast way, uphauling is the slow easy way, (providing you do both of them correctly)
you can learn uphauling by following a book, but waterstarting it's a bit more important to have guidance from somebody who knows what they're doing.
Water starting is counter intuitive, your natural way to get up is to pull on the sail and push on the board.
This is exactly wrong!
You have to push up the sail and pull the board towards you, while keeping the board at 90deg to the wind.
Easier said than done, but once you have it a whole new world opens up.
It means you now have enough sail control for the harness and footstraps, small boards, higher winds, waves, etc..
Yes, it is important to be able to uphaul even in choppy water because sometimes you have to if there is not enough wind to water start or you are too tired or whatever.
thanks every one thats great advice you have all given me...
i will go for a lesson which i think is a great idea...
i will now start working on the water start, keep trying to i get it right..
where do i find info on what fins to have,what size ect...and what size of the sail to use in different type of conditions?
That's a fair call decrepit, although, I only wave-sail and I have an uphaul. It doesn't get used often but from time to time it comes in handy... even on a 74 litre Evil Twin.
But I can see where you're coming from.
Yep, well I've seen one of my mates uphaul, waist deep in water, without an uphaul!
He just grabbed the mast at the closest point to him.
I have trouble just sailing if the nose goes underwater, let alone uphaul.
I bought myself an uphaul last month, for when we go after distance, on big gear, in light fluky winds. First one I've owned for many years.
hi Airbourne, You and me are in the same boat. been at it for a bit now but because of circumstances hevn't been out for a couple of months. I've struggled with the water start. very frustrating. But iam gettin there. I spose we just need to listen to others and take their advice. just keep at it but make sure you enjoy it.
this windsurfing 's the best sport eva.
hello stone.. great to see you enjoying yourself.. where abouts do you windsurf? might see you out some time.. i started water starts i must say getting a bigger board help me alot..
hi Airbourne, iam in esperance, haven't been much wind down here this last week.
Just have to wait now for the odd storm front to come through. I use a 120l freeride board and will be back out there as soon as i can.
