benyip said..
Learning water start now..a mate has given me some useful advice of how to lift the rig up..they are bloody heavy.. have ordered a easy water starter to float the clew after today to make my life easier..
Check that water isn't getting into your mast! I remember now the first rig I had and it used to fill with water and uphauling for a few hours left me completely and utterly exhausted. Then I figured out there shouldn't be any water in the mast.
Swim down to the tip of the sail (or bring it to you) and get the wind under it. The entire sail should fly just off the water. Weighs nothing.
As for water starting I highly recommend body dragging around for an hour. Just drag along to get a really good feel for sail control. Honestly this was the best advice anyone ever gave me. You might even be water starting after an hour.
TIDES: Best direction is the tide going against the wind.
Means you can sail downwind all the time, as opposed to upwind all the time. Also the chop is just nicer. It's bigger (for jumping)
and at the same time smoother. You can ride in between the swell which is smooth and fast.
When tide is with the wind you have to sail into wind and the chop, all the time; bang-bang-bang. Not as much fun.
