New to windsurfing, will this board be suitable?

[MalibuGuru]

In the early days there was no instruction. It took me 2 years to be able to wave sail, and I worked hard at it. Today it would take me 3 months with good instruction and the right gear. FYI

[Sailboarder]

Boards:

I think you could buy that board if it's in good shape and keep it for later. You can start with renting a huge board like a Start and learn basic sail handling with it. Maybe 1 to 4 times that's it. You can skip that too, but I thinks it's the shortest path to success.

A longboard would be great afterward (you can start with it too, but not easy as a beginner board) They are much nicer to sail in light wind than large barges, and can also work fine in planning weather. I recommend a Kona One since I have one and love it. It also sail similar to a 130l while on plane so you can use it in more wind. I use it up to 20kts quite often and more if the water is not choppy.

Attitude:

I don't know if a surfing background helps for flatwater windsurfing but the success you had proves you have the proper mindset. You will have to be patient. You also need to be aware of your environment and use it to you advantage, you cannot go against it! Furthermore, you need to be able to react to subtle cues given out by the environment. The analogy there with social dancing is strong. All partners are different, some guys will adapt and make them all smile, but some just can't do it.

I think being athletic is usefull especially if you learn by yourself. 30 years ago, I spent my whole first day falling and climbing back on board. Like someone else said, I was sore for a while afterward and also had bleeding ankles. It took me a few hours to figure out by myself that it uphauls better with feet on each side of the mastfoot! Even a tiny bit of instruction would have saved me a lot of bruises...

If you want to learn by yourself, I suggest you help it by buying a DVD with lessons. Mine is "From beginner to winner" (Jem Hall). You will find that requests on the web will give you a variety of answers, most of which are good. But it can get quite confusing at time! So your DVD becomes your base point, and you will be able to contrast and augment it to your reality with the extra advice you will glean here and there.

Being athletic can also be a curse if you try to manhandle things. Using extra force will often work, but you'll tire quickly and develop bad habits. As an example, experienced windsurfers don't like to uphaul because it's so much easier to waterstart. We are lazy! But as a beginner, you will probably find the reverse to be true. With good technique, you will eventually figure out how to use the wind effectively and waterstart effortlessly too!

[Darbonne]

As an accomplished musician, I see many parallels between learning windsurfing and learning to play an instrument. You have to want it bad, and you have to practice a lot. I am in my 4th year as a self taught windsurfer. My progress has been slow, but I am getting there. There are many good free resources available. Here is a link to some vids that have helped me a lot. I watch them over and over and practice things like footwork and stance on land. The more you learn the better it gets.
https://www.youtube.com/user/GetWindsurfing

[miasibs]

There's a small group of beginner/intermediate windsurfers who go to the Alamitos lagoon on any given weekend . That's a good place to learn bec the people there are friendly and always willing to give you tips. I'm there at times teaching my 13 y/o son.
Best thing to do is to take 1-2 lessons with either Jeff ( LB windsurf center) or Capt Kirk's and learn the basics. Go the Alamitos lagoon for the succeeding weekends and I'll let you borrow my son's 180 liter beginner board and I'll give you some tips when I'm there ( or the inside of Cabrillo). I wouldn't recommend spending on a beginner gear for now bec you'll outgrow it quickly .
The 127 liter board for you is too small to start with.

[NOVAAN]

For several years running, I have spent the month of April On South Padre Island. My condo is right next to the spot that hosts the ABK camp. In one week I have seen people go from never windsurfing to getting into the straps using a harness and full on planning.
I am self taught. No lessons 34 years ago. It took me a year to learn what these guys and gals learned in a week. Yep there is a lot of yelling. Seems pretty needed to get your point across in the wind. I wish I had the benefit of pro lessons so long ago. Might have a better back now. My pursuit was lots of trail and error. Why reinvent the wheel. Take the lessons. Learn from the people who know how the wheel was made and refined it into the great thing it is today.. Just sayin

[GURGLETROUSERS]

A problem with modern attitudes to life is that instant results, with the minimum of suffering and effort, are expected as of right. WHY?

We are here for the duration so I have never felt deprived or cheated at 'wasting time and energy' through being self taught. (Many other things in life also.) The end result, while not technically perfect or to world beating standard, sure as hell gives me priceless satisfaction, and a sense of pride.

To concentrate on taught perfect technique is, to me, to miss the point of why we do things in life. No doubt I'd perform 'better' had I listened or taken instruction, but stuff it! After 30+ years of windsurfing I still rush out there instead of sitting in the car park moaning (perfect gear-perfect technique crowd, but imperfect conditions ) bad back and other of a long life's ailments not withstanding.

So take lessons if that's your thing, but don't pretend that's the purpose and meaning of life, and the only way of doing things! ( )

[techno900]

My first attempt at windsurfing was in Caribbean in 1984 and it was a total failure for about an hour. However, that really bugged me, so when I got back to the states, I found someone who rented windsurfers out of his garage, got a library book on how to windsurf and went from there. There were lots of frustrating times, but it was all worth it.

Bought my first board after a few rentals and started racing within months, but very slow on my HiFly 500 Poly board. Soon after I bought a Mistral Superlight and did much better.

Made my first trip to the Gorge in Aug. of 1985 and got a seasons worth of short board sailing in 10 days. Self taught except for the library book.

Commitment has to be big time. I started too late in life to really go after the radical stuff, and was land locked so only had lake sailing. Tried some gulf coast surf sailing in the 80's& early 90's but that was mostly good for breaking stuff.

[cgoudie1]

I am going to suggest something about the current state of lessons,
and why they seem so much more efficient in learning. Certainly there is
a factor of not having to reinvent the wheel, and that is definitely
more efficient (not to mention it keeps you from inventing square wheels),
but, modern lessons also tend to be taught in places and at times,
where there is good potential for extended planing TOW. That in itself
will have a huge impact on how quickly you learn, and is independent
of the lessons.

What I'm suggesting is that someone self-taught (in the Gorge or
San Francisco for instance) is going to learn a lot faster than someone
who gets 5-20MPH winds for an hour twice a week for 3 months on a
mountain lake.

My 1st Gorge trip caused me a serious beating, and improved my sailing
Immensely in a very short period of time.

I am a fan of lessons, and I am also self-taught (and most of us older guys are,
because there just weren't that many quality lessons available back in the day.)

I will say that self-teaching does give you a certain creativity in how
you learn which can help or hinder your abilities as you get better.

Plus, I'm a fan of self-discovery, i.e. I like discovering the secrets stored
in the video game I'm playing rather than just googling the cheats to get
me through to the end (ala the GURGLETROUSERS philosophy) for me,
"the journey is the goal". That doesn't mean you shouldn't take a lesson,
it means you should enjoy your lesson while it's happening. ;*)

-Craig

[PeconicPuffin]

Re the discussion about lessons vs self teaching and self discovery:

1. Anyone taking high quality lessons will experience a world of self teaching and self discovery. Being told or shown what to do does not suddenly make you capable of doing it (most of the time.). What it does is steer you in the right direction, and away from the wrong direction.

2. You can waste years developing poor habits and mediocre technique. I did, before I stuffed my ego and started working with great instructors.

3. ABK is the de facto best available source of high quality instruction for most people in the US (and vacationers to Bonaire) as they travel around the U.S. on an annual circuit. (There are excellent instructors in fixed locations, but unless you're in the Bay area, for example, you have no access to Jason Voss.) Most critics of ABK have never done a clinic with ABK. ABK saves people years of time in getting to any particular level of proficiency.

4. You will never ever learn as fast as a self-taught windsurfer as you will with good instruction. Nor will you get as good on your own as you will with good instruction.

5. As anyone who has done it will tell you, high quality windsurfing instruction is the best buy for your windsurfing dollar.

[swchandler]

"Most critics of ABK have never done a clinic with ABK."


Given the fact that I made an earlier comment related to ABK clinics, I thought that some clarification would be appropriate. Many may not know much about The Access on Sherman Island in California's Delta, but it is a very concentrated launch site where everyone parks, rigs and sails together. I have sailed there many times, including on consecutive days, while ABK was conducting their camp and clinics. You can't help but see and hear what's going on, from the on shore classes to the on the water instruction, especially if you're there sailing for the whole day.

During a multi-day freestyle clinic, I had the opportunity to talk with a number of participants who had participated. Every one of them was stoked, and quite happy with the clinic, especially since the conditions where great with consistent winds. All viewed the $350 three day clinic as a bargain that they would do again. All were very capable sailors in their own right.

Now, was the clinic something that I would have wanted to participate in? Frankly, no. However, to be fair, it's more about me and what I want from windsurfing. I'm just not a lessons kind of a guy, and I clearly prefer learning at my own pace in a more private way. Often, it's easier and more satisfying when it happens that way, even if it takes more time. But, to assume that it would always take more time though would be false. After buying my first shortboard, I learned to waterstart in less than 30 minutes, if even that, and I had it down thereafter. It was like suddenly figuring out how to ride a bike, and finding it so easy. Yet, I will say that I had been windsurfing a longboard for about 1 1/2 years before attempting my first waterstart, and I was very comfortable tacking and jibing consistently.

Lastly, I must emphasize that I'm not against lessons, and I wouldn't begin to argue that they are of no value to folks. Like many here have said, lessons can be the best way to learn the right stuff in the shortest period of time. The caveat being, whether you're inclined to learn best with an instructor and a lesson plan, and you can afford it.

After all is said though, I have to admit that my eyes roll when I hear folks suggesting to best learn the sport by taking a vacation to some exotic tropical location and spending thousands. Small wonder that some folks might look at windsurfing as an elitist sport.