heavyweight windsurfer ROUND 2

jwmg123 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 2

Finally was able to try windsurfing again. The first time I took lessons in the bay (sfbayarea) a few years ago - had a lot of issues with chop. This time I took my lesson in a small lake.

Used a 240L board and a 5.0 and a 5.5m sail.
Rider = a relatively nimble 6'5 man of 280lbs (128kg 195cm)

Unlike last time I did find my balance coming along so that I was getting quite warm because I hadn't fallen in!

I'm eager to go out again next weekend hopefully and try again. I do have some questions, maybe the forum can help!

My back kind of hurts. I don't feel like it was from uphauling though. While windsurfing in winds from 5kt-to 12kts I feel like I have hold the sail and the wind. I know that I need to position to get my front arm straight. I am not feeling enough power in the sail to move back on the board to acomplish that. Should I be using a bigger sail? 5.5m felt a little better maybe but not much. Should I change the position of the foot of the mast? It was in a central position.

Going upwind. I can barely do this it seems. Even in a good breeze. Maybe this just takes time.

My board was not very stable. I managed, but without a decent breeze I had a lot of difficulty going from the neutral position to start position without bailing. Would I benefit from buying a large board and just rent sails? The board I used was a 240L HIFLY I think was the name of it.

Especially would like to hear from other large persons on their experiences learning and what helped them.

beaglebuddy · Joined: 10 Feb 2012 Posts: 1120

Clearly you need a much bigger sail at 280 lbs, a 5.5M in 5-12 knots and I would think you would just slowly get pushed downwind.
With a larger sail you will need a harness, at this stage just wear the harness all the time to get used to it and hook in when you can.
At your weight in that wind you would need the largest sail made to maybe get planing at 12 knots for example.
So planing is not a goal yet but you still need a bigger sail to regularly utilize the harness which is the key to not having to hold the rig up, the rig is held up on it's own by the wind countered by your weight pulling the opposite direction thru the harness, not your arms.
Having the mast all the way forwards in the track may help a bit, mast goes back as you go faster, you are going very slow so you need to stand more forward on the board so mast forwards might help your balance and board trim.
I'm not familiar with that board but at this stage and your size you need about the biggest widest board available with a centerboard.
I'm 6'5" #220 and can tell you we might not be able to dance around on the waves on tiny boards like the little nimble fellas but we can hold down some pretty big sails and go fast.

QueNeo · Joined: 10 May 2014 Posts: 27

The board will go upwind with a 5.5. Just make sure the centerboard is all the way down.

joethewindsufa · Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 1190 Location: Montréal

believe the HiFly 240 is 78 cm wide
wider would be better, but the 240 liters is great - comes with dagger board or without ?? i do not know this board - daggerboard helps to start
especially upwind as discussed
i am 6'1" and about 235 lbs - usually about 220
when i try using small sails i get a sore back from trying to balance them in light winds
thus i started with a sail in the 7.x range
more of a counter force and can putz about in lighter winds
have a newer sail in that range and use it in winds around 20 knots
the next sail i purchased, once more comfortable was an 8.5 without cambers
that is now my most used sail range
i use that size on older longboards and around 16 knots on 160 liter shortboard = planing
patience and balance wins the game
keep at it and enjoy !!!
http://joewindsurfer.blogspot.ca/2011/05/heavyweights-and-windsurfing.html

dllee · Joined: 03 Jul 2009 Posts: 5329 Location: East Bay

Keep at it!
You can smoke by the wee people once you get 2 years into the sport, or you finally get a windy enough sail.
Had a housemate 275 lbs, he learned on a Marker1, 205 liters 11' long, 26" wide, then got on a Seatrend 9'5" at 123 liters. By his 3rd season, he was clocked at 44 mph at the Ponds when FredHaywood, RoddyLew is, and LairdHamilton could only go 42 mph for Roddy.
A really cool guy, Dave Megessy, a former linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals, at 255 lbs learned to windsurf at Berkeley, me one of his stauch supporters. He ended up 160 liter KineticFreeRace at 72 wide, his big board, and a 135 liter old Seatrend for high winds.
The litte guys get going earlier, but you can run them down easily.

jwmg123 · Joined: 12 May 2014 Posts: 2

The board had a centerboard that I kept down the whole time. The smaller sail doesnt provide enough lift to counter my drag in the water upwind I guess?

I will try for a 6m or bigger sail next time if conditions are similar. Hopefully it will not be so bulky as to hinder my turning (still a little unsteady doing 180s)

looking forward to going fast. Very Happy

Sailboarder · Joined: 10 Apr 2011 Posts: 656

SeaDawg · Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 384

JWMG,

Just finished reading this thread. All good advice here for you. I now have a little over 30yrs in windsurfing. Time has added pounds and experience. I'm at about 250lbs at this point.

I still find someone that wants to learn to windsurf. Among my goto boards to teach on are a 2000ish Tiga FreeX 79 about 205liter and 79cm wide.

The other board I teach on is a Mistral Equipe it's a Long race board from the late 90's

I've had students be successful learning on both boards....

The Tiga seems to be easier to balance on and get the sail management thing under control.

The longboard with centerboard is better for learning how to "sail"

Perfect learning winds 5-10ish sail sise 5m-6.5

The 5m on the Tiga is more or less there to help learn balance.

The 5m on the longboard will make it go and let you learn to tack and hold a heading.

The long and short of it is, your skill sets will develop with time on the water.

Pick a board and a sail or two that best fits the venue where you sail.
Stick with it. The early effort will lead to a ton of fun.

FWIW, a Longboard and almost any 135lt Freeride board with a 6.0 and a 7.5 freeride sail will cover a good bit of range.

Hope this helps a bit.

d0uglass · Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 8:56 am Post subject:

I think your sore back is from your body not being used to the specific activity of windsurfing. It should go away after a few sessions as your muscles and balance adapt. I don't think you need to worry about a harness just yet.

Also, as others have pointed out, it may help to have a more stable board to stand on, and a more powerful sail to lean against.

To help with that, I have a "windsurfing calculator" that will recommend board and sail sizes for different body weights.

http://jimbodouglass.blogspot.com/2010/11/updated-windsurf-calculator-online.html

Basically, a 5.5 for you is like a tiny 3.5 for a 180 lb person, which may explain why you didn't have enough power to go upwind well.

If you want to have the same power that a 180 lb person would have with a 5.5, you would need an 8.6!!! Of course you probably don't want to go that far right now... I'm just saying if you want significantly more upwind power than you're getting from the 5.5 a 6.0 is not going to cut it. 7.0 or 7.5 would be a good first sail for you, IMO.

As for the board, there aren't many out there with more than 240 liters volume, but there are some good ones, such as the Kona Mahalo, the Exocet Link Tandem, and the Starboard RIO XL.