Toadwhispera said...Lots of people have said to me, even today, a person said they had a go at windsurfing and it was just way to hard "I couldn't turn around got blown out to sea" "uphauling that sail just killed my arms " "climbing up on to the board falling back in" "I had a go but it was too hard" I hear this all the time! Don't you ??
Yes I do, and you're right. There are 2 reasons, in my view.
a) this is the "I want it now" generation, them's the times. People who say that say so after only 10 minutes sometimes.
b) people nowaday teach on 100-liter boards, in adverse conditions, strong winds, off-shore. Very often with wayyyyyy too high booms for beginners. Usually it's their own rig for their height and the wind of the day. Almost as if they wanted the learner to fail and look good in the process. Almost...
When I teach, and I have a great time at it, I pick my crowd, the time and place and equipment. (And I pick a time I wouldn't sail myself for lack of wind AH AH).
Toadwhispera said...Fair enough putting around on the old boombora in a lake even that takes some skill and determination. but progressing to in the straps and blasting on high tec gear takes real determination. and two years is quite a long time to move through the basic learning curve,Waterstart ,straps , hooked in,jibing tacking all take time and determination.
Two years is longggg, perhaps you're considering the extreme of wavejumping high and so on. Going from a heavy board on Narrabeen and Botany Bay, to a freeride board on the same waters, or even venturing at Wanda, doesn't take that much. And if the person is not skilled, then he/she may still stay at the Airport strip and blast and have a good time. At the last comp I was in, more than half had 2 years or less - impressive. But we need not get to that level to have a good time.
And this is the conundrum: if one can't go in this-that wind on this-that expensive brand new board, he's a loser. We've gone full-circle and agree on most points now
Cheers mate,
P.
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geez
