Top windsurfing mistakes

[cgoudie1]

I always stand next to guys who wear their shorts over their wetsuits,
it makes me look better. ;*)

-Craig

[LUCARO]

If my biggest mistake is rolling my sail out downwind and putting my boom on upside down then I must be a damn good sailor.

[isobars]

I don't even agree with that sail unrolling business, and Lord knows I've rigged and derigged in some freaking WIND. New Mexico blows harder than I've EVER seen the Gorge blow, and one of our launch sites in NM was a low, flat, narrow, TOTALLY exposed, hardscrabble peninsula jutting out into full-on Chinook winds. My full-grown Labrador retriever got blown off her feet there one day (I really miss being able to safely let my dogs run loose while I sail), and that was on a SAILABLE day, not the 80-90 mph stuff I've witnessed there. I let the wind unroll my sail, put a toe on the very foot of it, and start rigging. As long as I restrain the foot and tack that way, it doesn't flap much.

Maybe rigging on a fully exposed bare sand beach is a bitch of another mother. I don't ever recall doing that, as at the coast I rig near the parking and carry my rig to the shore.

[arnegahmig]

Hey guys!
Thanks for the awesome feedback! I will be including a few of the suggestions to make the list more complete.

As for not criticising other peoples "mistakes": my intention with this post is to make the experience more pleasant and fun for those who are into this amazing sport. Most of the tips I have suggested to people on the beach (especially the technique ones) are received with gratitude as they were doing things the hard way because they were never taught the easy way (self taught of bad advice). That is why fashion didn't make it on to my list It doesn't add to making the sport easier.

In the end we all do the sport the way we get the most joy out of it (heck, some prefer to go kiting ). This post was written to allow some sailors o have an a-ha moment on how to save energy and avoid more/as many frustrating moments... as if there were not enough of those without a lack of knowledge adding to the mix.

Again, thanks for the awesome feedback guys!

[isobars]

Here's another one for the books. During a lull, we were discussing jibe techniques on the beach. One of the sailors, who seemed to be a good enough sailor and was making frequent jibes, said something in passing about removing his foot from the strap, placing it near the lee rail in front of the strap, weighting it to carve the turn, then flipping the sail, etc ... the usual stuff, right?

It didn't dawn on us until he demonstrated his footwork that he was talking about his FRONT foot, while leaving his back foot in its strap.

Even more surprising was that it WORKED for him ... sometimes.

[konajoe]

If you're making your own list, add 'not reading your rigging guide, assuming all sails rig the same, and trusting that somebody knows how to rig your sail better than the manufacturer'.

[isobars]

Amen. A bud wanted to try out my riggged, wet sail. :Fine, but do not touch the settings. It's rigged according to its custom materials and design, and rigging it like everything else is counterproductive ... i.e., wrong. And take only a short ride; I'm likely to need it soon.

Half an hour later he brought it back ... rerigged completely wrong. He knows more about rigging HIS sails than I do, but not about rigging MINE ... or the hundreds of others LIKE mine being built for many expert sailors. Tip: Dacron behaves differently from monofilm and Kevlar, and extra seam shaping and custom battens affect the draft deliberately. This ain't yer Grandma's Oldsmobile.

Now compound that by the two very different rigging/tuning regimes for the Sailworks Hucker; there's a routine B&J regime, and then there's an AIR TIME regime. The vast majority of riders use only the former, which is just one reason they can't shake hands with Dale Cook at 40 feet.

[VinceSF]

[isobars]

If you jibe the sail too early, GREAT! Now all you have to do is carve the board more quickly and you'll be rippin' 'em off like clockwork on a full plane. Towards that end, jibe with the back foot AND weight forward and into the turn all at the same time.

[nw30]

I'm surprised that this one hasn't been mentioned.

Trying to predict what equipment you're going to need, from home, before you even see the conditions, and then just taking what you think you'll use. Computers will lie to you.

BRING EVERYTHING, ALWAYS !!!

"Shit, I didn't think I'd need my high wind stuff".
"Shit, I didn't think I'd need my light wind stuff".

Tired of hearing those things.