tilldark said..

Great thread!
Hang in there with the back mate I've had it go on me 3 times (slipped disc's) make sure you buy something to help you down haul the sail when you get out again. Pulling down on the downhaul is nasty if you've got a dodgy back, try and find a downhaul crank tool or check out Sean Obriens site where he demonstrates using a harness
carbonsugar.com/technique/save-your-back-rig-it-right/

Regarding a downcrank tool... good tip thanks! I'm not great with lingo but pretty sure you're referring to a little tool to help get tension on the bottom of the sail when i'm pulling the ropes tight between the sail and the mast base extender?

Ok so my mate came out with me last month, and he had about 6-8 inches what was his mums broom handle with a couple of holes drilled in approximately the middle. We just put the ropes around the pullies and eye-hole as usual, then the last bit of rope was put through the hole in the handle, wrapped around on itself, and it gave us awesome leverage to pull the sail as tight as we needed.

sboardcrazy said..

Re bigger boards be careful to get a freeride board and NOT a slalom board- The isonics are slalom baords and won't be easy to learn on - they are go fast machines that need to be sailed in outside footstraps and won't be as forgiving as a freeride.

hey thanks for this tip in particular... i've been checking out some of the JP boards because they're readily available in WA, and trying to get my head around the differences in the Slalom, Formula and Funster. From what i can understand;
Slalom will not be as easy to learn on (as you say), because its thinner. There is a 140L 2012 Slalom currently for sale which might be ok to learn on but anything smaller might be tough for me.
Funster should be a good versatile board for learning and progression and if i purchase one in the bigger litres then i could probably windsup on it... thinking 145L is probably borderline but if I go 160/180L then that should be enough for me at 85kgs.
Formula... not quite sure but i think this is speed machine, might not turn that well... but it comes in big litres... could i learn on it?

jp747 said..

You better pick your own wind tree and not let anyone let you see checking it out even at night.

And before long your significant other will notice your contemplative gaze, and before you even finish the thought say, "You're not going."

Windxtasy said..

You'll come back to the 112l board one day and ask yourself "how couldn't I uphaul on this?" yes!
In 2 years you still won't be carve gybing. Took me about 10. It depends how coordinated you are and how hard you work at it. [b]Took me one, when I was 15. I was on the board every second of every day over summer. It can be done.[/b]
You'll give up at least 3 times. No, but came close about three weeks ago Family and work, keep your eye on these killers.
Your legs will soon figure out how sharp fins are. Yes
You'll pray to god to get you back to shore at least twice. Regularly! Yep, 2 hours it took one time. Kept all my equipment, even the broken mast.
Your family might have an intervention. They refuse to listen to anything about windsurfing and can't understand why anyone would take up such a frustrating sport.
You will catapult at least 20 times. Yes Yep - bruising right now across my stomach from one two weeks ago.
you will smash the nose of your board twice. At least three times...
You'll hate winter. Detest it. Loath it like nothing else. Always did. But at least in winter you get some nice fronts... Autumn, now that's a reall fizzer. Autumn is the worst, still warm enough to sail, just bugger all wind. Winter is the smack in the face, wind is back, but the cold . . . .oh how I detest the cold . . . .
You will buy a station wagon. or SUV!
You'll try to get all your friends into windsurfing. yes .....but you'll lose patience trying to teach them. You'll want to be on the water instead of helping them balance on the board in the shorebreak.
Due to work and other commitments you'll miss a lot of good days. Get used to it. I still get annoyed. You won't get used to it. Windsurfing is a drug, once you're hooked, that's it. You'll come up with all sort of cunning plans, most will never come off though.
You'll be tempted by kiting from time-to-time. less and less. Still a little niggle, but only on those 8 -12kt days.
You will get your mast pieces stuck together, twice. I had a base that always got stuck...
You will hit a sandbank at least twice. yes
You will inexplicably nearly hit a navigation pole. have got very close on occasion Or floaty things in a mussel farm, which you were SURE were old sea mines from WWII.
You'll hate jet-skis. and ferries, and jet boats! Hate isn't really a hard enough word. Jet skis are the rodents of the water.
You'll wish you had just splashed the cash on good gear the first time. I don't regret any of my purchases
You will contemplate getting a windsurfing tattoo. never nope, but maybe one of a red back spider
You will spend too much time on seabreeze. definitely!

You'll break things many times, masts, booms, sails, fins, ribs, toes . . . . . .
You'll buy stuff you don't use, that gather dust in the garage.
You'll rig up so fast to get onto the water that you realise on your first run you haven't tied off your outhaul.
You'll spend hours trying to work out why that guy always goes faster than you.
You'll have gear envy over and over again.
You'll try to convince your wife that Maui is the perfect family holiday destination and that you're only thinking of her and the family.
You'll wish you hand't sailed out so far on that last run when you're exhausted.

terminal said..

Hi Gos,

What is the 360cm learner board you were given?
Reason I ask is that when you learn to use the sail properly, width is not so much of a hindrance. I learned on a board like that and on flat water like the Swan river, it should be reasonably easy to uphaul, once you learn how to uphaul properly.

Also what are the details of the rest of your equipment, as you could learn a lot of useful stuff in the meantime that would help you get a good set of compatible gear together cheaply and would also allow you to get things set up properly for when you start windsurfing again.

Things like the masts, make, and any details marked on them and are they one piece or two piece?

Boards and fins
Which Bic 112 have you got as there were various models?
http://www.bicsport.com/catalog/windsurf/previous-ranges,35.html#2008[/i][/i]

**************************************************

(For some reason i can't write under this quote... sorry - this is my reply)

Thanks Terminal, great advice.
So i went back and had a closer look at my current inventory - here it is in more detail.

360cm learner board; is a plastic Tyronsea 360 made in South Australia with single fin and centre dagger.
265cm slalom; is a white Warren Thompson sugar coated board with Global Hard Core printed on it - don't know anything else. No Litres
235cm wave board; is a McTavish Rip Curl board, which from research i find out is actually a surfboard shaper? Looks cool.
Plus I have a 112L BIC Techno, it is bright yellow. Although looking at the catalogue and website i can't find the 112L anywhere which is odd.

Both masts are 2-piece.

Your post above made me reconsider the big 360 i already own and its a Tyronsea 360, so i set about trying to make it useful. Some further research helped me realise that my inability to balance on the big board wasn't my fault, its because these old plastic boards age and when they get old the plastic becomes very slippery. Adding to the problem is the fact it is covered in very old wax, no doubt from previous owner who was also slipping on it. Local windsurfing store in Nedlands hooked me up with some offcuts of that soft grippy stuff for your deck, i came home from the hardware store with a paint scraper, some sandpaper and methylated spirits... 2 hours later all traces of the wax are gone from the board. Next job is to arrange the pieces and stick them onto the board in some sort of fashion that doesn't look like it was done at kindergarten. At the moment i'm struggling to decide how far forward/back to place the pieces so here i am on seabreeze looking at pictures of other learner boards and trying to get an idea of where to place them.

Fingers crossed, in 24 hours i will have a big heavy plastic board that i can practise on for a month, get waterstarts happening, and perhaps in April/May i can step up to the BIC Techno 112L that i bought.

If anyone knows anything about the McTavish or Warren Thompson boards please let me know... i can't find much listed online at all.

Gos said..

terminal said..

Hi Gos,

What is the 360cm learner board you were given?
Reason I ask is that when you learn to use the sail properly, width is not so much of a hindrance. I learned on a board like that and on flat water like the Swan river, it should be reasonably easy to uphaul, once you learn how to uphaul properly.

Also what are the details of the rest of your equipment, as you could learn a lot of useful stuff in the meantime that would help you get a good set of compatible gear together cheaply and would also allow you to get things set up properly for when you start windsurfing again.

Things like the masts, make, and any details marked on them and are they one piece or two piece?

Boards and fins
Which Bic 112 have you got as there were various models?
http://www.bicsport.com/catalog/windsurf/previous-ranges,35.html#2008

**************************************************

(For some reason i can't write under this quote... sorry - this is my reply)

Thanks Terminal, great advice.
So i went back and had a closer look at my current inventory - here it is in more detail.

360cm learner board; is a plastic Tyronsea 360 made in South Australia with single fin and centre dagger.
265cm slalom; is a white Warren Thompson sugar coated board with Global Hard Core printed on it - don't know anything else. No Litres
235cm wave board; is a McTavish Rip Curl board, which from research i find out is actually a surfboard shaper? Looks cool.
Plus I have a 112L BIC Techno, it is bright yellow. Although looking at the catalogue and website i can't find the 112L anywhere which is odd.

Both masts are 2-piece.

Your post above made me reconsider the big 360 i already own and its a Tyronsea 360, so i set about trying to make it useful. Some further research helped me realise that my inability to balance on the big board wasn't my fault, its because these old plastic boards age and when they get old the plastic becomes very slippery. Adding to the problem is the fact it is covered in very old wax, no doubt from previous owner who was also slipping on it. Local windsurfing store in Nedlands hooked me up with some offcuts of that soft grippy stuff for your deck, i came home from the hardware store with a paint scraper, some sandpaper and methylated spirits... 2 hours later all traces of the wax are gone from the board. Next job is to arrange the pieces and stick them onto the board in some sort of fashion that doesn't look like it was done at kindergarten. At the moment i'm struggling to decide how far forward/back to place the pieces so here i am on seabreeze looking at pictures of other learner boards and trying to get an idea of where to place them.

Fingers crossed, in 24 hours i will have a big heavy plastic board that i can practise on for a month, get waterstarts happening, and perhaps in April/May i can step up to the BIC Techno 112L that i bought.

If anyone knows anything about the McTavish or Warren Thompson boards please let me know... i can't find much listed online at all.

Good thinkin' man.

The 360 can be made useful and get you to the using the harness stage and if it has suitable strap positions even better. It is big for learning to waterstart on and you would probably need more wind to haul you up onto something that big, but it can be done.
As for the deck pad, you need it just in front of the mast track and from behind the mast track down the centre of the board in a width greater than the length of your foot.
For beginners, footstraps are best in the most forward and inboard positions, so you would need deckpad in the area where your feet are in the straps.

This should identify your Bic 112 which will be a good board when you can waterstart. eg. the 2008 model 112 is 263cm by 63cm and suits sails from 4.5 to 7m and has a trim box fin. The trim type fin box was only used by a couple of manufacturers and is nowadays not used by any.
http://www.bicsport.com/catalog/windsurf/previous-ranges,35.html#2008

The 265 slalom will probably be in the 95 (56cm wide?) to 105 litre (59cm wide?) range, so the Bic is probably your go to board after you can waterstart well and use the harness and straps on the 360.

bspot68 said..

Hey guys, great topic. Had a sail at corona classic in Merimbula last year and got hooked. came home and spoke to a mate how
had a bit of windsurfing gear in his back shed and some how picked it all up for $500 buck. with a supping back ground and lots of other water sport over the years i went full on into it. after starting on a starboard starter i went onto a JP 145 cite ride with 6.2m and a 5.6m. I'm 6foot and 95kg so i need some size .after a couple of trips into Surf FX on the gold coast the boys asked me if i was keen on filling there last spot on there yearly Maui trip.
with a little bit of hesitation and them talking me into it i said yes. Have to say it was the best thing i could have done to make some big steps forward in this sport. learnt to water start 3 weeks before i went and mastered it over the 10 days and catapulted about 30 time broke 7 harness lines and dropped down to a 122L board. we just book the years trip and i can't wait a must if your super keen on the sport. Cheers

heres a link for a little video i did of my trip

Good topic and Great video - thanks for sharing

Sputnik11 said..

Windxtasy said..

You'll come back to the 112l board one day and ask yourself "how couldn't I uphaul on this?" yes!
In 2 years you still won't be carve gybing. Took me about 10. It depends how coordinated you are and how hard you work at it. [b]Took me one, when I was 15. I was on the board every second of every day over summer. It can be done.[/b]
You'll give up at least 3 times. No, but came close about three weeks ago Family and work, keep your eye on these killers.
Your legs will soon figure out how sharp fins are. Yes
You'll pray to god to get you back to shore at least twice. Regularly! Yep, 2 hours it took one time. Kept all my equipment, even the broken mast.
Your family might have an intervention. They refuse to listen to anything about windsurfing and can't understand why anyone would take up such a frustrating sport.
You will catapult at least 20 times. Yes Yep - bruising right now across my stomach from one two weeks ago.
you will smash the nose of your board twice. At least three times...
You'll hate winter. Detest it. Loath it like nothing else. Always did. But at least in winter you get some nice fronts... Autumn, now that's a reall fizzer. Autumn is the worst, still warm enough to sail, just bugger all wind. Winter is the smack in the face, wind is back, but the cold . . . .oh how I detest the cold . . . .
You will buy a station wagon. or SUV!
You'll try to get all your friends into windsurfing. yes .....but you'll lose patience trying to teach them. You'll want to be on the water instead of helping them balance on the board in the shorebreak.
Due to work and other commitments you'll miss a lot of good days. Get used to it. I still get annoyed. You won't get used to it. Windsurfing is a drug, once you're hooked, that's it. You'll come up with all sort of cunning plans, most will never come off though.
You'll be tempted by kiting from time-to-time. less and less. Still a little niggle, but only on those 8 -12kt days.
You will get your mast pieces stuck together, twice. I had a base that always got stuck...
You will hit a sandbank at least twice. yes
You will inexplicably nearly hit a navigation pole. have got very close on occasion Or floaty things in a mussel farm, which you were SURE were old sea mines from WWII.
You'll hate jet-skis. [b]and ferries, and jet boats[/b]! Hate isn't really a hard enough word. Jet skis are the rodents of the water.
You'll wish you had just splashed the cash on good gear the first time. I don't regret any of my purchases
You will contemplate getting a windsurfing tattoo. never nope, but maybe one of a red back spider
You will spend too much time on seabreeze. definitely!

You'll break things many times, masts, booms, sails, fins, ribs, toes . . . . . .
You'll buy stuff you don't use, that gather dust in the garage.
You'll rig up so fast to get onto the water that you realise on your first run you haven't tied off your outhaul.
You'll spend hours trying to work out why that guy always goes faster than you.
You'll have gear envy over and over again.
You'll try to convince your wife that Maui is the perfect family holiday destination and that you're only thinking of her and the family.
You'll wish you hand't sailed out so far on that last run when you're exhausted.

Friendly as...as long as you don't look like a girley hammerhead?

www.answers.com/Q/Has_there_ever_been_a_fatal_Hammerhead_shark_attack_recorded?

McSmurfin said..

Friendly as...as long as you don't look like a girley hammerhead?

www.answers.com/Q/Has_there_ever_been_a_fatal_Hammerhead_shark_attack_recorded?

20'!!!!!!!!!! Cripes if I saw one of those it wouldn't need to eat me I'd die of a heart attack!

On a related topic, I was in a resort couple months ago - crappy business thing.
There was WS school, few people showed up in the course of the week, and paid, for lessons.

All of them, no exception, gave up within 10-15 minutes.

"Gee, too hard", "didn't think I needed to work at this", "I'm moving to something easier".
Conditions were ideal, wind was light, cross-shore, nice sandy bottom, beginner equipment,
good teachers (and great freestylist, as an aside).

Mr. Original Poster, not only you get to do the best sport in the world,
but on top of that, in a world where people have the attention span of a gnat,
your very perseverance says heaps about you.

Keep us posted re. your progress !

Gos said..

Benyip - great post - and stick with it!! Sounds like you have persevered in Sydney despite your challenges with equipment and lack of shallow water. I agree that getting an understanding of all the equipment required is difficult at the start. Its lucky i only live 3-4 minutes from the water, because so far in my 5-6 trips windsurfing with my own equipment i have only once managed to arrive with all the gear. I seem to be forever packing the car, drive home, pickup 1 item, then drive back to the beach again.

For those that need a list (either to purchase, or to take to the beach) here is my beginner list.

10-point plan... Working your way upwards;
1. Board.
2. Fins for the board, and vent plug/screw.
3. Mast Base Plate. Make sure you also have the bolt(s) and nut(s) that attach it to the board.
4. Mast Base Extender. Ensure you have the right mast base, that it is long enough, and that fits into your mast base-plate.
5. Mast. Correct length for the sails you are going to use.
6. Boom.
7. Sail(s). Take a couple, they don't take up much room and conditions change quickly.
8. Harness.
9. Tools: Downhaul tool. Allen Keys for Base Plate (if required). Screwdrivers (flathead and phillips head)
10. Handy but not essential: Sunscreen. Towel. Cheap Sunnies. iPhone (for watching youtube "how-to" videos). Bottle of Water.


Since the last update i've had some equipment updates;

First, i went and bought some of those soft paddy stick-on patches for my Tyronsea 360. I spent most of an afternoon drinking Dark Ale and working on this big beast of a learner board. First I removed most of the wax from the board carefully with a paint scraper, and once i couldn't get anymore off i then got stuck into it with Methylated Spirits and a cloth. Next task was to position the grippy-bits, mark them up with a pencil, and then i used 90-grit sandpaper to rough up the plastic so the adhesive would stick properly. I cut and trimmed the grippy-bits into reasonable shapes and then stuck them onto the board, using a ruler to make sure all the grooves were in perfect alignment. Now the Tyronsea is looking slick and sexy... and ready to be sold... because...

I went and bought a Mistral 161L Freeride board! Yeah! I'm absolutely wrapped because now i feel like i've got the right board to transition away from the Start gear i've been hiring and onto a freeride board with plenty of litres. Unfortunately the 161L will mean that i need massive sail to start planing but at least i can practice my turning and my balance on an improvement board.

I took the Mistral 161 out last night at Pelican Point for its first run. I had my old Simmer Style 5.0M wave sail on but unfortunately by the time i got in the water at 6pm I think it was about 18-20knots and quite choppy with the Southerly. I managed to uphaul a couple of times and get going but I really struggled with the choppiness and i was worn out after 30 minutes of uphauling and falling in the water. The difference in the board compared with the Starboards is bigger than i thought - so now i'm thinking that i still have the right board, but i probably need to make sure i'm in flatter waters for a couple weeks, and i also need to focus on getting out in a wind range of 10-15 knots instead of 15-20 which is knocking me around a little bit. (Yellow Arrows... not Green ones)

Also the Mistral 161 has a completely different "balance point" (not sure what to call it) than the Start gear. On the Starts and Go's you can stand pretty central and control the board and the sail... moving backwards along the centre line of the board towards the tail without having much impact on the board... and if you're a little bit off centre it doesn't make much difference. On the Mistral i find that it is super sensitive to me being off-centre, so moving my feet towards the rear of the board before i get enough power in the sail is an instant dismount. I'm going to have to improve my speed at powering up the sail and getting my feet back at the same time.

I am currently the proud owner of 5 windsurfing boards... living in an apartment... so my normally chilled out missus is blowing up. I think i need to sell the McTavish, and the Warren Thompson, and the Tyronsea. That would leave me with the Mistral Freeride 161L and the Bic Techno Medium 112L which will be enough to keep me entertained for a couple of years at least... if i stick at windsurfing that long i will reward myself with a brand new 2016 model something-or-other.

Our garage is full up need another shed to take extra miscel items ( other sports as well) or another room on the house..

Good idea to suggest a list. I keep all my smaller bits and pieces in a couple of those plastic tubs and replace them every sail so I know it will all be there. Just grab the tubs. My sails are all in a large sail bag ( unless I have one out drying) so I just have to struggle out and lift that into the car... If I ever do my back in that will be when..Masts are in another bag.
so 2 big bags + 2 tubs then the booms + boards..

Gos said..

B
Since the last update i've had some equipment updates;

First, i went and bought some of those soft paddy stick-on patches for my Tyronsea 360. I spent most of an afternoon drinking Dark Ale and working on this big beast of a learner board. First I removed most of the wax from the board carefully with a paint scraper, and once i couldn't get anymore off i then got stuck into it with Methylated Spirits and a cloth. Next task was to position the grippy-bits, mark them up with a pencil, and then i used 90-grit sandpaper to rough up the plastic so the adhesive would stick properly. I cut and trimmed the grippy-bits into reasonable shapes and then stuck them onto the board, using a ruler to make sure all the grooves were in perfect alignment. Now the Tyronsea is looking slick and sexy... and ready to be sold... because...

I went and bought a Mistral 161L Freeride board! Yeah! I'm absolutely wrapped because now i feel like i've got the right board to transition away from the Start gear i've been hiring and onto a freeride board with plenty of litres. Unfortunately the 161L will mean that i need massive sail to start planing but at least i can practice my turning and my balance on an improvement board.

I took the Mistral 161 out last night at Pelican Point for its first run. I had my old Simmer Style 5.0M wave sail on but unfortunately by the time i got in the water at 6pm I think it was about 18-20knots and quite choppy with the Southerly. I managed to uphaul a couple of times and get going but I really struggled with the choppiness and i was worn out after 30 minutes of uphauling and falling in the water. The difference in the board compared with the Starboards is bigger than i thought - so now i'm thinking that i still have the right board, but i probably need to make sure i'm in flatter waters for a couple weeks, and i also need to focus on getting out in a wind range of 10-15 knots instead of 15-20 which is knocking me around a little bit. (Yellow Arrows... not Green ones)

Also the Mistral 161 has a completely different "balance point" (not sure what to call it) than the Start gear. On the Starts and Go's you can stand pretty central and control the board and the sail... moving backwards along the centre line of the board towards the tail without having much impact on the board... and if you're a little bit off centre it doesn't make much difference. On the Mistral i find that it is super sensitive to me being off-centre, so moving my feet towards the rear of the board before i get enough power in the sail is an instant dismount. I'm going to have to improve my speed at powering up the sail and getting my feet back at the same time.

I am currently the proud owner of 5 windsurfing boards... living in an apartment... so my normally chilled out missus is blowing up. I think i need to sell the McTavish, and the Warren Thompson, and the Tyronsea. That would leave me with the Mistral Freeride 161L and the Bic Techno Medium 112L which will be enough to keep me entertained for a couple of years at least... if i stick at windsurfing that long i will reward myself with a brand new 2016 model something-or-other.

You can safely sell the other boards and keep the two you suggested. You won't need the others.

Is it a Mistral Explosion of about 2005 vintage?

Until you are ready to use the straps, its better to have them off the board. When you put them on, they will be at the innermost and most forward positions.

You are learning to keep your feet on the centreline of the board, which is something that becomes even more important as the boards get smaller.
What windsurfers use to balance is the sail. On a tiny board with the water up to their knees, they can still balance if they have wind in the sail. You need to get the feel for turning the power on and off and balancing. You can do that on dry land on a windy day by bolting the mast base onto a sheet of wood fixed to the ground.

You can mount the mast at the back of the mast track while you are using your sails and learning. It means you will have your weight more over the main volume of the board. When you are trying to get planing and there is enough wind, you should mount it in the centre of the track.

When uphauling, you should be able to balance while the sail is still touching the water. Its when you free the sail from the water that you are at your most vulnerable, so you want to get the sail from contact with the water into your hands and using it for balance fairly quickly. You can take your time getting the sail to that point where you are ready to finally separate it from the water.
Again, you can practice that bit where you have the sail flagged and touching the ground to pulling it clear of the ground and leaning back, using the wind in the sail to balance your weight on dry land.

Ok further update; I am so freakin excited...

I've been out about 3 times in the last 8 days thanks to some late season winds in Perth and I have improved quite a lot.

Late last week i managed my first beach starts which was a big step in the right direction, i learned most of the skills on youtube and watching people at Peli Point. What i DIDN'T know was that to take the enormous step from beach start to water start actually requires quite a lot of wind to be able to provide enough force to drag my fat a-se out of the water. So last week i couldn't water start but i did manage 4-5 beach starts across 2 nights.

Equipment update... i've started wearing my Vibram shoes when windsurfing to give me a bit of protection against anything weird in the water (eg jellyfish, cobblers, stingray, bottles, etc). I've also started rigging with the sail downhauled MUCH tighter and the outhaul not so tight. thanks to the guys providing advice at Peli Point.

First night, i got some momentum and really enjoyed being on the Mistral 161 with a 5.0m wave sail... i got used to balancing on it and made some beach starts... and uphauling was tougher than the Tyronsea 360 but still possible. I certainly noticed that the Mistral got planing much quicker than the Tyronsea - i guess due to its smaller volume?

Second night i again worked on my water starts but for some reason i was having trouble with the Mistral 161 due to rougher water (same wind but bigger chop) so i put it back in the car and plugged my old canvas 5.25m race sail into the Tyronsea and away i went with much better balance. The most exciting thing was the speed... i hadn't gone that fast before and LOVED the speed, leaning right back against wind and transferring all that energy to the board, wow, what great fun. I know my heavy old Tyronsea isn't pretty... but boy it can get up and go!

Third night - tonight... a handy little stormy-style system comes into Perth and between 3-7pm there is some 15-22 knot winds (or at least i think thats about what they were). I was pretty intimidated because this is the most powerful wind i've ever been out in, so i rig my old 4.0m canvas wave sail on a 460 mast with the Tyronsea board, and ambitiously I strap on my harness, even though i've only used it once and that resulted in my busted sail. Well... what a night! My biggest learning curve day. I start with a beach start... YES! away I go... i do a couple of laps up and back getting used to the wind. I wiped out down near the channel marker and decided to try another water start. It is really windy. I was watching youtube last night and i remember that best way to handle the sail is to grab the end of the mast, it comes out of the water easily, so then i get hold of the boom and hold it out of the water with the wind passing over it with no force... i lift the boom up over my head... back foot on the middle of the board... pull hard with my hands and WOOOP!!! I'M UP!! Sheet out... balance... and MY FIRST WATER START!! AAAHHHHH
Brilliant. So my confidence is sky high and i decide its time to give this harness another go. I have been down to the windsurfing shop in Nedlands and picked up a longer set of harness lines... so i hook in... it feels weird. I'm too upright. Something is not right. So i go slow and I mess with the lines, bringing them closer together and trying lots of positions along the boom. Eventually i find this spot that feels ok... it allows me to lean back against the sail and yet I am still able to pivot the sail back and forward to increase/decrease the power in the sail, steer, etc. This must be the spot... so i started to really lean my weight back into the harness and i was amazed to find that it really put down the power. I could kind of kick the board forward with my front foot, making it accelerate, or plane, or something... but when i was leaning back into the harness and there was sufficient wind i simply TOOK OFF. Wow.. it was a real rush... going so fast across the water. NOW THIS IS WINDSURFING.
It is worth mentioning that I was very poor at getting out of the harness lines and wiping out whilst hooked in is quite spectacular. I ate sh-t tonight way worse than anything up until now whilst windsurfing. I need to learn how to unhook quicker.

So my tally for the evening. 7 deep water starts. 8 beach starts. 3 nipple-deep water starts. In between i uphauled at least 20 times and I learned how to use the harness a little bit.

Also - i have been on the receiving end of lots of good will and good advice from numerous people at pelican point over the last 2 months. Tonight i got to repay some of that good will. Some guy was rigging up his equipment with his girl when i arrived and we had a chat... he beat me in the water and then 5 minutes later came back to the beach - he had snapped his outhaul rope! He looked in his vehicle for a rope and didn't have one so i found my spare mast-base extension and pulled the rope out of that and it worked! Awesome! He enjoyed another 90 minutes on the water and I finally got to be the guy that helped someone at the beach instead of always being the one receiving the favour :) woohoo!! i gave something back!

Last: there is always someone to talk to after windsurfing. Must pack some beers in an esky and enjoy the de-rig chats.