Re-entering the sport: Advice please!

[jingebritsen]

lotsa trim boxes around in some of the larger shops.

one price for e everything? 700 for the lot? rabbit is ancient.

large pryde looks decent. old zetas might be delaminated....

not a bad pkg.

[justall]

Welcome back to the sport! Regarding your question about sail size ... I am about your weight, sail the Chesapeake, and generally use a 125 L board. For this I use 7.5, 6.2 and 5.0 sails. 7.5 is roughly the largest sail without going longer than a 460 cm mast, and is my breakeven between effort and enjoyment. And, the 5.0 is good for the maximum wind I'd want without going to a smaller board.

The 125, or 135 in your case, might be just large enough for the cruise ships to see you in the center of the Chesapeake, too.

See you on the water.

[douglasflather]

Justall,

Thanks for the advice. Sounds like I'm being too timid about sail size.

Ever sailed out of Fort Smallwood? (I'll be living in Glen Burnie.)

4 miles from the water as the crow flies

[isobars]

[wsurfn1426]

My answer is RENT modern gear if at all possible. Even if you have to travel, it will still be the best investment you can make. I would love for you to have good experience, and come back to our sport. A lot has changed. Yes, you can find inexpensive used gear, but it is too easy to buy poorly without good knowledge based on personal experience, not a forum.

I lived in Baltimore for three years in the early ninties while doing my residency. I sailed at Gunpowder State Park then. One caution, keep your eyes open and beware of barely submerged debris coming out of the river mouth. Planing, submerged tree limbs can come up fast and it can smash a fin box if you are not paying attention.

I would join BABA and consider going on their Hatteras trip in the Fall. http://windsurfbaba.org/pages/travel/travel.htm

In Hatteras, you can rent really nice modern gear, meet locals, get very good instruction, and it is hard to imagine a better venue to get your mojo back. You will know if your return to windsurfing is right for you, and you will have a MUCH better idea of what to buy.

[swchandler]

Why rent when the guy is willing to let you demo the BIC?

[douglasflather]

@ wsurfn1426

Thanks.

I discovered and joined their FB group just yesterday! Looking forward to getting to know like-minded enthusiasts.

[isobars]

[acalhounguy]

At your weight the techno 135 should be a great board. I have sailed one for a day, rented it in Florida - it sailed very similarly to my JP x-cite ride and Fanatic gecko. It isn't flashy but it is solid - looks like a good fin. If I had nothing I would buy the whole lot. Maybe some day you have all new stuff and some of these old sails in your garage - you give them a friend to get them started. I would grab the good booms and the board and the rest you can decide piecemeal if you are on a tight budget. I'm not much of a negotiator but the bic is a good value if it is in good condition in my book - what is your time worth to save an extra $75-100 on a board rather than drive all over creation to find a (maybe) better deal.

That smaller board is pretty small - I don't think I'd want it taking up space in my garage. The only sails I'd want are the big ones.

[justall]