So yesterday i went for a sail on my new board and i struggled quite a lot. Firstly the wind was blowing a solid 5 knots. i got out onto the water and my rig was quite heavy and i couldn't get going. i would be able to get the sail up but then the board would either sink or i would drop the sail. i am 45 kilos and its a 5 SQM sail so i was wondering if anybody could give me any tips or pointers on how to get going. In a total of about half an hour and countless times up hauling the sail and dropping it i moved about 5 Metres so any help would be greatly appreciated thanks P.S the board is about 90 Litres and the sail weighs about 10 kilos (its a Cammed one). Thanks again
Will - there are a few things here. First, 5 knots is barely any wind at all, so probably perfect to learn. The sail size is fine. Your main issue will be the board. 90 ltrs would be fine for you if you were an intermediate sailer, but as a beginner, its going to be way too unstable. I would suggest if you kept everything as it was (wind 5 knts, sail, 5 mtrs, you = 45kgs) but used a 130 ltr board or even 150 ltrs, you would find it a very differnet experience.
We all have to start somewhere, you need a stabke board to learn on. If you can get your hands on one of them for a while, you'll progress in no time at all.
So yesterday i went for a sail on my new board and i struggled quite a lot. Firstly the wind was blowing a solid 5 knots. i got out onto the water and my rig was quite heavy and i couldn't get going. i would be able to get the sail up but then the board would either sink or i would drop the sail. i am 45 kilos and its a 5 SQM sail so i was wondering if anybody could give me any tips or pointers on how to get going. In a total of about half an hour and countless times up hauling the sail and dropping it i moved about 5 Metres so any help would be greatly appreciated thanks P.S the board is about 90 Litres and the sail weighs about 10 kilos (its a Cammed one). Thanks again
at 45kg a 5.0 is pretty big, maybe the biggest you'd eventually need in a wave/freeride quiver (e.g. my biggest is 5.6 at 83kg). Something much smaller will be easier to start with.
Definitely the board is too small and narrow. I did the same mistake starting on 100L board with no luck at all but in year or two sailing you will be very happy to back to this same small board. Get yourself 130 -160 liters board and you will see the difference. The wind 5 knots is also not strong enough, even for learning. At least 8 -10 knotts will teach to feel wind.
I agree that 5 knots is too light and adds an extra level of difficulty to the challenge. 8 - 12 knots is ideal for learning. If you are 45 kg and an absolute beginner a 5m sail is too big and heavy. You will be doing a lot of uphauling or beach starting and you want something small and light. I'd suggest 3.5 - 4 m and NO CAMS! Cammed sails are not for beginners! A 90L board will also be a challenge for a beginner. Bigger = more stable. Look for something 120L (minimum) or bigger, and make sure it has a variety of footstrap positions toward the middle of the board, not just out on the rail. A soft deck all over and a nose protector usually indicates that it is suitable for beginners. A Starboard GO board would be ideal.
Don't despair. Keep the gear you have, it will be useful in the future. If you can't afford anything else you can learn on that gear but it will be challenging. At least ask someone who knows how to windsurf for some tips (at the beach, not online, if possible. A demo is worth a thousand words).
A light rig is everything when you are learning. This is a photo of James sailing a 100 l board with a severne 3.7 kids rig (really light mast and boom), he is about the same weight as you or maybe a little heavier and his first board was 120 litres. I think James learned on a 2.5 m sail.
Jump on the tasmanian forum and track down bearhoover... he has access to the windsurfing tasmania learner boards which you can hire for next to nothing... you'll find it much easier to sail.
