The Beginner Experience

Janet Jay joined us a few months ago for a windsurfing adventure. She wrote a fun article (with cool photos!) documenting the experience.

I think it nicely captures the experience of learning to windsurf. Best of all, I'm quoted in it! Ok, that isn't really the best part. I really liked her reasons for windsurfing. Try windsurfing, you will have fun.

Surfing Lessons

I found myself at the Ron Jon Surf School in Cocoa Beach, Florida this past Sunday. I bet you're wondering: "Surfing? Not windsurfing?" You might also think that I would already know how to surf, seeing as how I can windsurf. Not so.

Surfing and windsurfing may sound like they should be closely related, but they are more like cousins. The philosophies behind them don't match. One activity is powered by wind, the other is powered by waves and a bit of paddling. There is definitely some cross-over between the two, but surfing requires many new skills techniques.

Amy and Missy taught James, Ed, Chad, Jolyon, and I the surfing basics. Class started out with a quick safety lesson describing the various hazards surfers face: riptides, stingrays, the sun, jellyfish, shallow water, and the dreaded Portuguese Man O' War.

Since we were not frightened away by the dangers, Missy and Amy moved on to teach us the pop-up. The pop-up maneuver gets you from laying on your belly to standing on the board. We practiced this on the floor of the school's office. After we all made fun of each other for lying on our bellies, paddling carpet, and performing pop-ups, we moved on to the beach.

There, we slithered into our wetsuits, smeared on some sunscreen, and carried the boards to the beach. We learned another curious difference from windsurfing: the leash. Each of the boards had a leash with an ankle strap to keep the board and rider attached to each other. This makes sense, although the leashed board tends to follow the rider like an over-exuberant puppy.

Out in waist-deep water, we lined up and laid on our bellies waiting to get launched into a wave by Amy or Missy. One, two, three, a push, and an attempted pop-up. Like learning to ride a bike, most of us fell for the first few tries before starting to get the hang of it. Despite the high risk of falling, getting up on the board feels great. There is definitely something new about standing on a board and moving without a sail.

Once we started getting the hang of standing on the boards, we moved on to paddling for the waves rather than relying on a push. For this to work, now we had to judge the waves, start paddling soon enough to match their speed, and sense when to pop-up on our own. Once we all managed to catch a few of our own waves, it became a case of practice makes perfect.

Even if you're a hard-core windsurfer, I strongly suggest taking a surfing class. You have to have something to do on those light wind days, right? Surfing -- at least with a long board -- doesn't seem to require huge surf. We were surfing in one to one and a half foot waves. Even small boat wake might do the trick.

Also, there are lots of interesting advantages to surfing over windsurfing. Compared to windsurfing, you definitely need less equipment. The only really necessary surfing equipment is the board. As much as I enjoy windsurfing, it does require a certain level of planning to avoid forgetting a key piece of equipment. Don't forget the board, the fin, a sail, a matching mast, a screwdriver, electrical tape, a harness, the boom, and so on. The difference isn't a huge deal, but I could see squeezing in a one hour surf session. Packing, assembling, and disassembling a windsurfer would easily eat up much of that time. And, of course, more equipment just makes for a more expensive sport.

Windsurfing has its advantages too, of course. You generally spend more time actually up on the board when windsurfing. I suspect that you can go faster on a windsurfer than the average surfer will ever get on a wave. If speed motivates you, a windy day and a windsurfer might make you happier. Windsurfing also lets you go places. I'm not an expert, but I don't think most surfers use their boards to explore. Of course, most windsurfing fanatics just go back and forth anyhow, so you might call this a technicality. Windsurfing also involves all this cool equipment that you can tweak and tune -- equipment geeks definitely will like all the stuff that you can play with and use for tricks.

Despite these differences, surfing and windsurfing are complementary. The balance and board control skills of both sports definitely overlap. Some of the stand up paddle boards even have mast tracks, which intrigues me. Naish has a stand up paddle board which looks cool as heck. It appears to make a decent light-wind sailboard too.

To wrap up, we all had a blast. Learning to surf is a fantastic way to spend a few hours. Amy and Missy both showed us a great time as we learned. If you're in the Cocoa Beach area, visit them. I'm hooked; I definitely plan to surf again!

September 2007 Trip Report: Sunday

Following the traditional meal at Agua Java we all sailed at Worldwinds. I sailed the 2007 JP X-cite Ride 145 and a 7 meter sail for the light 10-15 MPH winds.

Yun took the beginner class while Matt and Justin took the harness class. Karen practiced on the intermediate board. I practiced trying to go downwind.

If you think getting upwind is difficult, try aiming more than a few degrees downwind. I guess everything needs practice to feel natural, but I swear that downwind was the only place I went when I first learned to windsurf.

After sailing for a few hours, I purchased the JP X-Cite Ride 145 rental board and a 6.5 meter sail from Worldwinds. Don and Angela instructed me on how to assemble and disassemble everything. Here is a list of all the major pieces of the rig: the board, a mast, a sail, a mast extension, a mast base, a fin, a boom, a uphaul line, two harness lines, and a mast shim.

With some nervousness, I loaded my Honda Element with the equipment and started the trip home. The Yakima rack with the crossbar pads and "Strap Thang" worked surprisingly well to hold the board. Even at 70 MPH, the board didn't even wobble. I made it home safely with no problem.

September 2007 Trip Report: Friday

Friday's weather was perfect for windsurfing. The wind blew around 25 gusting to 29 MPH. Unfortunately, I was the only one in our group arrived Friday. Their loss. The Worldwinds staff agreed that it was the best windsurfing day they'd had in a month.

After a little practice on the JP X-cite Ride 145 and a 6.0 meter sail, I took the waterstart class with Olivier. He also gave me some pointers on my beach start and getting into the front footstrap.

For the beachstart, his biggest hint was to keep the boom close to the body. The boom is supposed to do all the work as you gradually twist the sail into the wind. Yanking on the boom and jumping on the board is poor form.

In waterstarting, the ah-ha moment was turning my hips forward as I get pulled out of the water. With the hips forward, it becomes possible to collapse the back leg to pull the board into position under the body. The motion of the arms in the waterstart is very similar to the beachstart except the arms are above the head. Again, the front arm pushes forward and out as the back hand sheets in. Once the sail is just right, you pop out of the water. The back leg pulls the board under your body, and the front foot lands on the board.

I tried getting into the front foot strap a few times, but never quite managed it. I get my foot right next to the strap, but I keep unintentionally sheeting out as I concentrate on my feet. If I can get one more day of good planing wind to practice, I think I can make it.

The Ten Step Guide to Windsurfing

The Ten Step Guide seems a little dated in areas, but it does have a good review (with diagrams) of beginner to intermediate windsurfing skills. The guide also covers some safety points and rules of seamanship. Reviewing this before your next trip to the beach couldn't hurt. Link.

How to Uphaul Incorrectly

I spent much of Friday the 13th of April uphauling my rig instead of sailing. Some jealous observers may have thought that I avoided sailing only with the help of a strong wind to blow my sail down. They'd be wrong. Sure, the wind makes it easier, but the real reason I could enjoy most of the day uphauling had much more to do with skill.

Learning the proper uphaul techniques to defeat sailing isn't hard, but it will take some practice. Carefully follow these directions, and your days of uphauling will never be interrupted by sailing again.*

Technique #1, The Scissors (of doom):

The best place to sabotage your uphaul is before you start hauling. This is a simple beginner technique: tug on the uphaul line as you climb on the board. The board and the sail should pull together in the water, just like the closing blades on a pair of scissors. By the time you stand up, the board inconveniently points up or downwind. This should make sailing difficult.

If you find the board remains properly oriented in the wind, or if you have to yank really hard, you probably aren't pulling the right way. Gently tug the uphaul line while holding it a bit to either side of the mast. It will require little force to turn the board. Pulling straight up or back usually won't provide as much leverage.

Technique #2, The Wounded Pelican:

If the scissors fail, you still have a chance. Once you're standing on the board, lift the rig slowly. Hold the sail by the uphaul line for as long as possible. As the sail clears the water, you want to give it a chance to flap (luff) like crazy. Eventually the uphaul line will tear right from your hand as the oscillations grow stronger.

If you quickly get the sail up and the boom in your hand, you're not giving the sail enough time to misbehave. You can cheat a bit by swinging the uphaul line like you're trying to steer. Once you get the sail jumping around, there is little chance you'll be able to sheet in and actually sail.

Technique #3: The One-Claw Crab:

If you somehow manage to stand on the board and get the sail out of the water, you'll need stronger measures. As you move your front hand from the uphaul line to the boom, reach as far towards the clew as possible. Grab the boom far enough out and the sail will sheet in without needing a second hand. This way the board immediately starts moving, and the sail starts tugging before you can get positioned. The sail will rip from your grasp or pull you over. Either way, you'll be back to uphauling in no time.

The key to this technique is to get the sail sheeting in early, before you can adjust your stance from uphauling, and before your back hand can help out. If you grab the boom too close to the mast, the sail won't properly bite the wind. Try to reach your front hand near the harness lines -- that should put enough power in the sail to pull it right back into the water.

Some anti-sailing purists argue that this is a "walking" technique rather than an uphauling technique. They have a point because you and the board can be pulled downwind fast (almost sideways). This will eventually require you to walk the board back upwind (the desirable "walk of shame"). However, an expert can usually get several uphauls for every walk this technique provides. This is why I classify it as an uphaul technique, not walking.

There may be elements of both walking and uphauling to the crab, but either way it is still a useful weapon to add to your arsenal of anti-sailing techniques. Walking novices may wish to save this technique for later. You can easily end up in advanced walking or swimming territory (deep water, long walks, lost aqua socks) using the sideways run.

*Yes, this is all a joke. Normal folks will want to avoid these "techniques" which are based on my own mistakes.

April 2007 Trip Review: Monday

Monday, I was the only adventurer left. After I got breakfast and coffee at Agua Java, I took a short walk around the Corpus Seawall. Then I checked out of the Big Blue Best Western and drove to Worldwinds.

The beach wind blew strong, back up in the 20's. Unfortunately, the air was cool and the sky somewhat cloudy. I was back down to a 4.7 on the JP X-cite ride 145.

I took a class with Randy for the first time. The class consisted of half review, half harness, and half fast-tack. The review went great, even if the water was freezing cold. I had tons of material for Randy, little habits and errors in my technique that were correctable. Randy's explanations were very clear.

I still need a lot of practice with the fast tack and harness, but by the end of the class I was planing for the first time. The planing felt like magic. The nose lifted, the gusts blew, and my board moved. Now I just need to clean up my tacks so I don't lose so much ground on windy days.

After the class, I borrowed an old sail batten from Randy so I could hook any HEB bags I found while dumpster diving (see the previous post). The dumpsters smelled quite ripe. Lucky for me, there were only a few HEB bags in either dumpster. I easily hooked them with the batten and inspected their contents through the side of the bags. Pistachio shells. Beer bottles. Slightly used napkins. Well used napkins. No wallets.

Standing in the one spot with reception on Bird Island, I called Jeff. How full, I asked, were the dumpsters when the wallet was trashed? Apparently they were nearly full yesterday. I informed Jeff of the bad news: the dumpsters were now almost empty. He took it well -- his wallet was gone.

I ate some trail mix, a granola bar, and drank some water before starting the long drive back to Austin. I found myself wondering: is the 145 it? Should I buy a board so I can practice on lake Travis? Next time I'm down in Corpus, perhaps I will.

Sailing Measurements

The numbers in the name of a board or sail are more than just model numbers -- they are measurements. A New School 180 board, for instance, has a volume of 180 Liters. If a sail is a "5.5" it means it has a surface area of 5.5 square meters.

Board length and width seems to get measured in centimeters.

It seems that surfers like metric.

Speed can be measured in miles per hour, kilometers per hour, or nautical miles per hour (knots). One knot is equal to about 1.15 mph. One kph is equal to about 0.62 mph.

Hint: google has a built-in calculator which understands units. For instance, you can type 5.5 square meters in square feet into google and click search. Another example: 20 mph in knots

Cardinal wind direction is indicated by origin. A north wind comes from the northern direction and blows south. An east wind blows from the east towards the west.

However, it seems that an offshore wind blows from the land towards sea. An onshore wind blows from the direction of the sea on to land. Online I've seen a few folks get this wrong.

Incidentally, offshore winds are considered dangerous because they blow you away from safety. If you lose a fin, you'll have a very difficult time reaching shore.

The Intermediate Class

The intermediate class at Worldwinds mostly refines the skills you learned in the beginner class.

When I took the intermediate class with Jason and Stephen in October 2006, we switched to smaller, more streamlined boards than were used in the beginner class. These were JP 180 "New School" boards. For comparison, I think the beginner boards are in the 200+ liter range. The JP 180s look more like real boards and less like floating tables. The JP 180 boards are still stable, but not as stable as the beginner boards.

We also used bigger sails, ranging from 4.5 to 5.5 square meters. The larger sails and smaller boards mean more speed and maneuverability. You should get a much better sense of how to control your direction on these boards.

In this class, you work on posture and positioning quite a bit. I suggest practicing as much as possible after taking this class so you have a chance to memorize the skills while they are still fresh in your head. The posture didn't really click for me until I got to the harness class. I probably would have had an easier time if I had practiced the next day after the intermediate class.

The first aspect of posture is standing so that you are more prepared to resist gusts of wind and so you don't have to use much strength to hold the sail up. If you're leaning forward a lot or your back feels tired, you probably need some help on your posture.

If you still hold the mast with your front hand, this class is where you start to migrate it to holding the boom. This will be a necessary skill for getting into a harness in later classes. This seems a little tricky because the mast won't be straight up and down like you probably held it in the beginner class. You'll need to adjust your idea of how to hold the sail.

Finally, you will try to move back on the board as you gain speed. This part is easier said than done. I still can't move very far back on the board. To be able to do this, you need enough speed and power in the sail so that the back won't sink as you move. If the back sinks, you'll quickly turn up-wind until you lose power.

Keep in mind that these are my personal thoughts and notes on the class. I'm a student, not an expert.

The Beach Start

You stand with your board in knee-deep water. No, you're not sailing. One possible solution to this terrible situation might have you climbing on the board, balancing, hoisting the sail out of the water, and sheeting in.

A more elegant and fun method of starting to sail exists: the beach start.

Imagine... You grab the boom, aim, step aboard, and zoom away. It's a lot more fun than uphauling, faster, and the wind even does most of the heavy lifting for you.

A few limitations spoil the convenience of the beach start. You have to properly position the sail and board relative to the wind. This requires either planning or work on your part, but uphauling has the same problem.

Also, the water has to be deep enough that your board will float while holding your weight. At the same time, you can't really perform a beach start unless the water is shallow enough so you can easily step up on the board. That means water about knee deep, maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less. Unless your knees are in a funny place.

If the water is deep enough that you can't comfortably step onto the board, then you'll need to either learn the water start, or bite the bullet and uphaul.

Taking a Beginner's Class (or Why Windsurfing is Easier Than You Think)

A few of the folks that I've tried to convince to come windsurf have tried the sport before but were frustrated to death. The board they tried was hard to balance and didn't float very well. The sail they were loaned was difficult to lift from the water. They became convinced that the sport was incredibly difficult because they started on advanced equipment and didn't get much training.

Don't feel discouraged. You can start sailing on your first day under the right conditions. The beginner's class at Worldwinds involves a big board, a small sail, knee-deep water, and a good teacher. You will probably fall off the board a few times, but you'll spend more time sailing than anything else.

Based on my experience, the beginner's class will teach you how to stand on the board, uphaul the sail (that is, lift it from the water), steer the board, tack (to turn the board by facing it into the wind), and to get the board moving. Once you learn those basics, you're cut loose to practice for a couple of hours.

As long as you're in relatively good health -- you can swim, you can climb a few stairs, you can lift a backpack off the floor -- I think you can take this class. Windsurfing doesn't require above-average strength. This is especially true if you manage to learn the correct posture early. This is why you'll see skinny stick-people, kids, and retirees windsurfing right along with body-builder types.

As you learn more advanced techniques the sport seems to require even less strength. The harness class teaches you how to pull the sail against the wind by hooking it to a harness (basically a fancy belt). The beach start class will teach you one way to lift the sail by using the wind rather than arm strength. With each class I've taken, windsurfing has become easier and more fun.

Windsurfing Resources

I've discovered a few good learning resources that don't involve water.

Personally, I have not found books and websites to be very useful before I take a class. When I'm on the water I can't remember what I do for a living, much less what a book said.

Plus, diagrams and instructions are much more difficult to understand than demonstrations. Think about instructions for tying a knot -- aren't demonstrations better?

Still, after a day on the water a book or website can help review the experience. So for me, texts aren't a replacement for instruction -- but they can supplement it. They are also good for understanding the jargon, the hardware, understanding what the techniques do, expanding your horizons. And they have pretty pictures too.

Windsurfing by Simon Bornhoft
Windsurfing has about 90 shiny full-color pages that explain and illustrate the basics of windsurfing. It does cover a few advanced-seeming techniques like the carve jibe, but mostly sticks to the basics. It has lots and lots of photos.

Windsurfing Magazine
Last time I was down in Corpus, I met this surfer Pieter who suggested that I get a Windsurfing subscription. I don't have my first issue yet, but the Windsurfing website has some really good content:

• If you hover your mouse over the "Instruction" menu on the left of the main page, there are some very useful how-to and hints articles. The flash-based tutorials are very cool -- even if the moves are over my head.
• There is an "Introduction to Windsurfing" PDF that you can download off the main page (if you can't find it, try this link). The "3 Steps to Get You Sailing" article has a great section that illustrate how you should uphaul, tack, and start moving.
• There is an online forum with lots of discussion.