How to water start

[brucefalck]

hello,

any tips on how to make this easy. it is clear that experienced riders have no problem being pulled up out of the water, i assume there is some technique?

thanks for any help,
bruce

[spyder]

I really like teaching waterstart by 2 main steps first:

1). get the beach start wired, then move into a little deeper water and get that down. Keep getting in deeper water until you are waterstarting!

2). practice flying the sail, with your back leg on deck. The idea is to keep the board and sail in position to waterstart. You move the rig forward or back, and shift your body to keep everything lined up.

With these 2 exercises, you can combine them to pull off the waterstart.

The only remaining trick is to get that sail out of the water.

when you are practicing #2 above, try to float in the water and place your rear foot on deck. Try to keep the board pointing in the right direction, and the sail under control. If you find the board rounding up, then try positioning the sail a bit forward, using your rear foot to move the board.

Once you have that down, try to simultaneously lift the sail, and using your rear foot to slide the board under your butt. Then bring your other foot up on deck.

Next try clearing the sail from the water.
So, you are still in standing level water, try clearing the sail without touching.

First pop the cambers, (if a cambered sail) then, You want to position the mast perpendicular (very important!) into the wind. Grab the mast well above the boom with your hand closest to the mast. Then lift it out of the water, catching the wind underneath the sail. Work your way underneath the mast, and with the other hand, grab the boom.

If the sail is not clearing the water, try to pump the mast up and down to try and get more wind under the sail, and less water on the sail.
Once the sail is flying,
both hands on the boom now, and try to manuver the sail and board to the correct starting position (as you did above)

Now put it all together, raise the sail and get on deck. Once there, sheet in, hook in, footstraps...youre off!

thought I should be clear on flying the sail,
Once you have grabbed the mast and attempting to lift it free of the water, you should simultaneously lift and push it towards the wind. This helps get the wind underneath and assist in lifting. Once the clew is clear of the water (you might have to work the mast up and down, and forward to clear it completely), then you can transfer your other hand to the boom and work the other hand down, and move that one to the boom as well.

Now its just a matter of controlling the sail and board position so you can mount it without being thrown overboard.

Crouch low (bend your knees) to anticipate the force of the sail pulling you once you are up.

[kaptekarev]

I agree with everything Spider Said, but let me add a few things.

1) You could probably water start with any sail but the easiest is a non cambered wave sail.

2) Find the biggest continuously shallow place you can. If your sailing in the bay, Third Ave, with the right tide is a good location. Being able to stand up between attempts will make life tons easier. Also, its nice to be able to stand while your learning how to fly and control the sail.

3) Like Spyder said, break the learning curve into parts. First, learn how to position the sail so its ready to fly. Second, learn to fly it. Third, learn to control it with your back foot on the deck. Fourth, learn how to let it pull you up.

4) Once you got it, try it in different wind speeds. The technique of letting the sail pull you up changes slightly with different wind conditions.

Its really not hard to learn to waterstart if you go about it the right way.

[chadperkins]

I learned to waterstart wwith Dashers Vidio Learn to Waterstart This is an excellent video. The way I see it you can either take a lesson or get the video. There are some things in there that you really need to know. Like how to keep the board from wrounding up. I hit almost every waterstart now. Which is good becasue I cant jibe. After watching the video I played in the water abour 3 sesions and had it. If you are anywhere near the Chesapeake Bay area or near Hatteras Let me know and I can help you.
Chad

[Windlover]

Bruce,

Some great advice. Here are a few more tips to consider.

Flying the sail;
Postion your mast in the mast track fairly far forward so your boom will rest on the tail of the board. This helps to keep from rounding up. Postition the board perpendicular to the wind, mast aft, clew downwind. Push down on the tail of the board and pull the boom up onto the board. Let the board float back up, lifting the mast out of the water(board does the work instead of you). Hold the front of boom or the mast and let the wind lift the clew out of the water. Grab the boom with the front hand moving the sail forward to push the board offwind. Grab the boom with the back hand.

Getting out of the water;
At this point the sail will be flying (with less energy expended). Place your back foot on the board just in front of the back strap. KEY technique now, straighten your front arm and sheet in slightly with the back. This will give the front of the sail lift to pull you up and also helps prevent rounding up. Board should be pointing offwind.

As you start coming out of the water (same advice), pull your back leg under you to help keep the board from rounding up. Also, hang from the booms and allow your body to move closer to the board & sail. This helps get the sail upright for more pull. It also helps keep you from getting launched when you are getting the front foot on the board.

On the board;
Once up, if you are getting pulled forward, sheet out a bit to depower the sail. Get control of the sail and start crusing. Hooking into the harness is next, once planing, front foot in srap followed by the back foot in strap.

Staging & practice;
Definitely work on beach starts first in thigh deep water. Then get into waist deep water and try the boom on board trick to fly the sail. Once you get this dialed, go to chest deep water, float your body and practice flying the sail. Then work on the other techniques listed to get up and going. Go out a short way and try a jibe. Then try a waterstart back to the beach. Do this about 10-15 times and you will be getting the hang of it. If you have a place shallow enough to stand for starting in both directions it will help. When I learned, there was a sand bar about 100yds out to get positioned for the return trip. Worked out great.

A few dos & donts;
You will see people placing both feet on the board and both arms straight out. This works with plenty of wind, but if it is marginal, one foot is better. Easier to keep the board pointed offwind too. Just the front arm straight allows you to control sheeting the sail and gives the front of the sail better lifting power. In marginal conditions, as you are coming out of the water, try to get your body next to the board and kick with your front leg. This helps get the board moving a bit and helps stand the sail up. Board will want to round up so you really need to keep the sail forward. Placing your back foot about 6 forward will help position the sail forward in marginal winds.

It wont take long to get dialed in. Once you learn waterstarts, the real fun begins. Good luck and keep practicing.

Windlover

[coachg]

Bruce,
One thing to add to windlovers great instruction on how to water start. As you start coming out of the water, try to head butt the mast. It is very important to swing the sail towards the nose of the board to prevent the board from rounding up. By trying to place your forehead on the mastbase, you naturally swing the sail towards the front of the board.