Mine's still got another 7 weeks of listening invitro to my boring musings about how he/she will be starting 'early' - ie approximately 38 years before I got the bug. A relief to know you're thinking the same thing - my wife things I'm strange...Looks like we may have the early makings of a local kindy club to keep SHQ in business for another few years. Should we seek commission?

Hi guys, my brother and i started when we were 11 and 12, years old. My wife started when she was 14. We all started on a tyronsea moth with a 2m and 2.5m sails. All you need is good swimming skills, and the ability to uphaul.
Leave the umbilical cord attached to your wife, and allow them to start uphauling, straight from the womb.
Goodluck.

KR

It really is important for kids to be competent swimmers before learning to windsurf.
You can start swimming lessons at about 6 weeks of age, but it really takes some years before they are competent swimmers.

Even with a kid's rig and sail they really need to be a minimum of a biggish eight year old to be able to uphaul.
Ten years is a better age as it won't be such a strain and is less frustrating.

I think 10 is leaving it a bit later than you need to. I taught my son to windsurf at 7 and he is now planning, in the straps and harness. It was the best thing I ever did - we are now in Greece and sailing side by side in 30 knots and he hasn't turned 8 yet. He is really close to cracking the waterstart. You can have a look at him sailing on this website under the Windsurfing NSW forum, under the "No wind Blues part 2" topic. The main issues rather than age is firstly height (but not weight), teaching them to swim well and dealing with kids concentration spans. I really believe you need the right equipment and that they have to have the appropriate gear on hand as they need it. I used Ezzy sails and then Severnes and Starboard boards. It took me a season to get him going and I had to give up most of my own sailing in that time to walk his gear upwind and tutor and encourage him. I made sure he didn't have any bad experiences to turn him off and found the appropriate sailing spots to maximise the opportunities to progress so he didn't get frustrated. I also think there is a fair bit of psychology involved with teaching kids - you can't have them think you want it more than they do. It starts from when they're very young and making them feel that they are part of the sport and know that their turn is coming. He always watched windsurfing movies with me. I also taught him to skateboard at under 2 years old (getting dizzy holding his hands as he learnt to tic tac) but gaining him lots of balance and board skills. It's worth all the trouble and expense - there is nothing like having your kid as one of your best windsurfing buddies!

divaldo said...

www.lanoworld.blogspot.com

Our daughter Phoebe is 7 and has been sailing for 2 years on and off, but has really started to demand that we hit the lake every weekend for a few hours to sail (you have no idea how good it feels when she says, when can we leave to go to west lakes!)

We have travelled a bit to Maui and she has had a few lessons with actionsportsmaui.com/windsurfing-tips/ , these guys run a kids club that is for kids only! Dave and Susie are great instructors and always put on a great program.

My advice is to get a big wide modernish board and a kids specific sail under 2.0 to start.......

Well I think Divaldo settled it. His 7yo has been sailing for 2 years. You can see her completely carrying the kids sail, so clearly could easily uphaul it. Great to see the next generation of windsurfers. Guess that's our advantage over kiters, would not want to see a 7yo strapped to a kite.

We have the Hot sails 2.1 and it will be too big and too heavy for a 6 year old learning. You'd be better off with an Ezzy kid's rig pack that comes with a 1 and 1.5 together. Then later get the 2 and 2.5 metre pack. They are far far lighter than the Hot sails. The Hot sails are better when the kid can rig steer, tack confidently and can really pull on a sail and ready to start planning.

Another comment I have is about the boards people are talking about using for the kids like the Seaskip or old adults boards - don't even go there. You definitely need a dedicated kids board with a full foam deck like a Starboard Starsurfer or equivalent.

KA360 said...
You definitely need a dedicated kids board with a full foam deck like a Starboard Starsurfer or equivalent.

Agree. The tiny sails won't turn a large board

5 years old worked for me ;)



That's a custom made 2m (made by dad).