get a smaller sail. 7.8m is massive for a lightweight in high winds.
even if you did manage to uphaul it, holding on to it powered up would be almost impossible.

I remember this one from when i started . When your getting back on the board make sure that the sail is down wind and on a angle so that the mast edge lifts out to get wind under it and do it quickly if you stand there a while the wind blows you down wind of the sail and makes it heaps harder . A 7.8 is a big sail for your weight though thats what i did most my learning on at 98 kg .

What are the rules about sail sizes? Is it possible to use a smaller sail with this class? That is a big sail for someone your size. The only advice I can give is be patient and perhaps use the board rail to be a pivot point to leverage the sail against so any water being held by the sail will flow off.

The wind is your friend, like Scargo says.

Don't bend over (think about the angles, the lower you are the less leverage you have) and always use the wind to lift the rig, or at least position the rig so that the wind is not pressing it down.

For example, if the rig has fallen to leeward and is angled back 45 degrees compared to the centreline of the board with the mast forward, it will be a struggle to lift because as soon as you pull on the uphaul, the sail will start to fill with wind and you will have to drag it forward before the clew will release from the water. The clew will just start dragging along the water and at the same time the sail that is sticking up will move the board forward, so you will just keep on dragging the clew along the water.

So don't bother! Kneel on the board, grab the foot and lift it so that the wind gets under the rig and flips it over in a 180 degree horizontal movement around the mast. The mast will now be behind (i.e. closer to the back of the board) than the leach and clew, and the force created by the sail flicking over will get the board moving forward. The sail will also now be lying on top of the water as it has descended onto a cushion of air.

The remaining bit of forward motion of the board will now allow the mast to keep going forward while the clew sinks. That means that when you pull the mast up, the clew will be in the water BUT DIRECTLY DOWNWIND OF THE MAST. Therefore the sail will not fill with wind and you can pull it up easily.

This is very hard to explain in words, but the basic idea is to work out how to manipulate the angles of the board and sail so that the minimum amount of wind is pressing onto the sail when you pick it up or (even better) the wind is under the sail and actually lifting it. That can mean that you drag the sail across the board, drag it in a semi-circle around the board before trying to pick it up, whatever - the important point is that you are thinking about how to make the job easy.

It's worth stopping and thinking about how you can drag the gear around to help you, rather than just standing and struggling; you're doing the right thing by asking.

With respect to those whose opinions differ, I don't go slow and steady and neither do most of the best. A lot of the time you may slowly apply pressure to move the rig around with the head of the rig just a couple of feet in the air, for example, and then go really hard when you have got the angle right and there is no wind pressing the sail down.

I have coached or watched a lot of kids, including the top Techno guy and girl in the country (now RSXers), and I would definitely get a smaller sail. Don't worry if it's not a great sail and the newest style; just get something cheap from a sailor you can trust.


PS I'd be very surprised if using the rails to lift the rig hurt a Techno. I use the rails to lift big Raceboard rigs in strong winds and have never damaged a board.

The problem would be similar to a larger sailor uphauling a decent sized fully cambered race sail with its large luff sleave full of water. There is plenty of great advice already on this thread. So here is my variation.

With easy uphaul connected keep an upright and straight body and lean back until the sail eventually floats near the surface downwind of where you are standing. Patience is your friend. Start to bring it up with the sail clew now pointing downwind of the mast (at this point the clew might even be submerged) . Now comes the skilled bit when all the hard work can go astray. As it comes up push the mast across your body but mainly forward, sheet in to get enough to lean back against, bear off with foot steering and sail away.