Why Beginners Get Discouraged

[isobars]

Way too many skunks cured me of that.

[DelCarpenter]

I wish to gently disagree with the last line of cgoudie1's post on page 1 expecting andreafuentes99 to have 125l as her largest board in 3 years. This is my 33rd windsurfing year. I have and use 4 sizes of boards larger than 140 liters (Fanatic MegaCat, Kona One, F2 Comet Slalom, & Kona Hula). I've never frequently used a board under 135 liters. I am so passionate about windsurfing I do go out and enjoy 5 to 8 mph winds and up to about 25 mph.

Newbies who live in Iowa and won't windsurf unless the winds are above 15 won't stick with windsurfing.

I believe, but have no evidence, some relatively new windsurfers drop off when they find full enjoyment of their venue requires more equipment than their storage space, or transportation mode or wallet can handle.

[U2U2U2]

[quote="DelCarpenter"]I wish to gently disagree with the last line of cgoudie1's post on page 1 expecting andreafuentes99 to have 125l as her largest board in 3 years. .[/quote

I read the post as 2 distinct areas.
1. The unlikelihood of a beginner using a 125liter, unless 80 lb.

2. By saying Andrea would be on a 125 in a few years, indicates her enthusiasm , which he acknowledged, thus her progress will skyrocket.

[isobars]

I've had WSing gear in Iowa for a total of about 3 days on different trips. All three blew in the 20s much of the day. Was that a fluke or do you just not have much spare time?

OTOH, I've been to Seattle > a dozen times in every part of the year and have never seen any rain there, and the only day I've ever been in Tampa was a solid 3.5 or so.

[DelCarpenter]

My biggest issue with cgoudie1's comment was the expectation that 125 liters would in 3 yrs be the LARGEST board owned by a now beginning windsurfer who lives in FL. I think the idea that only short boards are cool is part of what nearly killed windsurfing. And that goes double or triple for an area like most of FL that often has quite light wind. (I apologize that my disagreement became less gentle even though I believe posters are trying to be encouraging.)

Isobars, your Iowa experience probably wasn't at the end of July or in August. At the Dam Jam in May (one of our best months) even if one of the days is 20-30 the other day is often only 5-8 or less. In the same vein I should mention two of my three experiences sailing at the Hood River event site were on a 1990's 12ft+ F2 Lightning in conditions that were so easy for me to handle with a 5.0 there were a lot of shortboarders sitting on the banks with nothing better to do while they waited for real wind.

[U2U2U2]

Duly noted Del.

[cgoudie1]

Hey Del,

I'll let Andrea speak for herself in 3 years if we're all still alive ;*)
She's got the stoke, she's not a heavy weight, and 125 ltrs should be good
for about 150 lbs in 14MPH winds with a 7.5 sail.

If it's always 8 or 9 MPH where she launches, then a long board it should be!

And, I'm not offended, Florida is your stomping grounds. But you know
you'd rather be on a plane, wouldn't ya ;*)

-Craig

[konajoe]

This forum has had hundreds of posts from folks asking 'I'm a beginner. What kind of board should I get?'

We all know that places like Hawaii, the Gorge, Corpus, etc. are the super windy exceptions. But for folks who ask this question and DON'T live in one of these consistently windy places, there are going to be predictable recommendations from certain members, on whether to get a board with or without a centerboard.

Unfortunately, the draw of the smaller board without a centerboard, is like a super-huge magnet.

I'd like to hear from folks who took recommendations from this forum, and what their situation has been. I'm betting that folks who started with boards with centerboards have had alot more time on the water, and alot less frustration.

Again, I'm not talking about the consistently windy places.

[dllee]

Of course, light winds need bigger boards to learn with.
But that doesn't mean a beginner cannot ride a board that barely floats him in light wind. You gotta start somewhere.
Case in point, me and all my surfer friends. We all started with 200 liter boards, no doubt. After one week, which equates to maybe 5 days, ALL of us tried sub 90 liter boards, COULD uphaul, could ride out and ride back after falling, and stuck with it as our ONLY board, from 3 mph breeze to whatever winds we could find.
But we spent our windsurfing time ONLY in winds of 5 mph and less, we'd all be riding 200 liter boards.

[joethewindsufa]

with the current trend to wider , thinner boards ...
should we concentrate as much on volume ??
100 cm wide boards are still Formula
85-95 cm wide boards are wide freeride (will NOT say FreeFormula here )
some of these have centreboards
80 cm wide boards are from around 120 liters and up

once one is past the "how do i get back to start" point centreboards seem less critical
also, once you realize the walk of shame is easier than the swim of shame
it just comes down to FUN and TOW

if one loves the outside and likes the challenge
there is NOTHING better than windsurfing
for me and those here

my hope for the near future is simple
get as many friendly people on the water with :
http://joewindsurfer.blogspot.ca/2015/06/starboard-has-inflatable-sailboard-that.html



now if only they were MORE affordable
seem to cost the same as a decent hard board