Hi. When water starting you don't need to sink a board to get on it. You use the lift from the rig to lever yourself out of the water.

Put your back foot on the board first, and that helps you keep the nose of the board pointing a little downwind or to keep the board lying square to the wind. The sail starts in the water upwind of the board and you lift it via the mast to get it over your head, until you can place both hands on the boom, with the sail still almost parallel to the water.
You then lift the rig up with your front hand (the one nearest the mast) to allow more wind under the sail. As you raise the rig the wind should lift you onto the board. But you will need to be using a sail big enough for the wind strength on offer.

No need to do this on a smaller board.
Perhaps check out some water starting videos on YouTube.

Miamidan said..
Hi crew,

Dans my name and I'm new here.
Been surfing for over 20 years and keen to master water starts and wave riding in small waves in the next year to two. Have a 5.5 jp wave sail and 10'2 fusion wave sup which I can gybe fine on in low winds, however water starts are another issue. I can get the wind under the sail however the board just doesn't allow me to place my feet on the deck to sink it. Am I making it too hard for myself to learn to water start on such a long and big board or is there a way around this without spending 1-2k on a new board and perhaps rig?
I generally go out around 15 knots.
Ultimately I will buy a board that I can wave ride and free ride.Regards,
Dan

Hi there,

The wind strength/sail combo must generate enough power to lift you out of the water. Technique makes the use of that power more efficient and that is why you might see experienced sailors water starting with smaller sails/ lighter wind than you. Watch some YouTube tutorials. try to practice water start on the beach/shore (don't put the fin on the board!) because it will help to to concentrate on harnessing the sail power only (you won't be having balancing issues or concerns about drifting away)

as soon as you can make one in the water, the rest will come much easier and water start is a game changer!
I remember when I was learning how to water start I could not do it with my mistral equipe (380 cm ish longboard). A friend lent me his freeride 130 and the first try was a success. I tried a handful of times on his board and when I went back to my longboard I had no issues to waterstart. This was my story but the truth is that gazillion of people learnt on what they had.
when learning to waterstart good sail power is your friend.

Beachstart in knee deep water,
then beachstart in waist deep water,
then beachstart in chest deep water,
then beach start in chin deep water,
then do it again,
and Again,
you can now waterstart.

"feet", makes it sound like you are laying on your back with both feet on the the board hoping that Huey will lift you up. That's the never gonna work. Put one foot on the back of the board and pull it under you. Use the other leg to thrash around for a bit of lift and to scare the sharks off.

My 9'6" Fly is much easier to waterstart when I installed a 9.5" wave fin instead of using the flex plastic 8.5" middle fin.
Sidebites are tiny, and don't do much.

I confused why wave riding a 9'6" is relevant in a waves discussion... but carry on.

LeeD said..
RocketBen mentioned his 9'6" SUP waveboard.
Can you understand the title? 10'2" waveboard!
Are Aussies all as intelligent as you two?

I was born in California.

Remery.
People adopt the culture and customs of the country they move to.
If I moved to Australia, I'd down multiple beers after any activity, hang out in social groups, box with kangaroos, and defend against any possible critisicim of anything remotely Aussie.
But I'm stuck in USA, where we somehow elected Trump, chose to go on multiple military excursions we have no business going to, are mostly obnoxious tourists, and still use feet and inches as a measurement.