I <3 Windsurfing... Tales from a complete Newb...

[erniego]

Derik, your videos remind me of how much energy i used to have when i started windsurfing many years ago ! I agree with Slinky, that board I'm afraid is way too small for you at this stage. Its more of a first shortboard after having climbed up the learning curve a bit. A bigger board will be way easier to uphaul, especially in rough water and higher winds, giving you the confidence to sail out farther . Also, it'll make the beach start easier . Remember, before stepping up on the board , straighten the rig till the mast is as upright as possible , then put your foot behind the front straps. pull the board as close as possible with your foot, then as you step up be careful to not push the board away with your foot. Your foot should be going straight down on the board.then imagine you are trying to drive the base of the mast down thru the board . In other words, you should pull straight down on the boom, not towards you body. Lastly, once up on the board you should open the sail immediately if its windy, to avoid getting yanked over the board.
you'll get there soon with your enthusiasm. It'll save you tons of energy when you no longer have to uphaul . And it sets the stage for beginning the waterstart process ! Have fun and hope to seeya at lakes bay maybe one day.

[shreddbob]

Derik,

It's nice to see your enthusiasm and your commitment to spending lots of time of the water! Every hour counts, whether you consciously realize it or not, since your body is unconsciously learning all the time.

I sure hope you do sign up for the ABK clinic. By this fall you will be at the perfect stage to refine your skills that you will have been working on all summer. And any bad habits can be fixed (before they become too ingrained).

Below is a picture from page 32 of the "ABK Manual" that you can download from here:
http://abkboardsports.com/tips/manual
This manual is meant as a reinforcement to the things that are learned from the ABK instructors...you can't expect to teach yourself from it. But I wanted to post this picture because I can see from your videos that you need to get your body more forward as you beachstart yourself onto the board. The idea is to hang down from the boom, as shown, and instead of stepping sideways onto the mid part of the board like you are, you should be reaching forward with your front leg to step with it just behind the mast. As long as you are hanging your weight fully from the boom, your front foot/leg will be light and you can place it as far forward as you want. And in so doing think of yourself trying to "kiss the front of the sail, below the boom" as your body comes up onto the board, as the ABK manual explains. You want your body to be crouched under the boom and way forward, as you step up with your front leg, all the while keeping the sail vertical. This is the most stable position to beach start into. If there's plenty of wind you are basically leaving the sail in one place (vertical) as you sheet in and simultaneously step/crouch up onto the board while hanging from the boom. If the wind is light you'll need to sheet in the sail more forcefully (pump the sail) as you step/crouch onto the board.

Practice getting forward and low, by beachstarting in deeper and deeper water. The deeper the water, the less you'll be able to cheat.

BTW: The motion of coming out of the water to crouch under the forward part of the boom will be even more important when you learn waterstarting.

Keep at it!

Bob

[Derikthin]

I want to do that clinic BAAAD!

Thanks for the words of wisdom Bob. Took the long board out yesterday and got some laps in, as always had way to much fun. Also got my first interaction with weeds, and not the kind you can get with a medical prescription lol.

Going to aquire a weed fin for that older long board of mine.

At the end of that day, after filming my failures, I was starting to get to the point of the sail pulling me up, so hopefully with more practice, I'll get there soon.

Hoping when I do the clinic I can meet some more semi local windsurfing buddies.

Thanks again!

[wynsurfer]

Hi Derik, What longboard do you have?

[Derikthin]

Slinky,
Currently rocking a wicked sweet (he's not really sweet but I tell him he is.. Shhhhh) fanatic fox circa back when there was a west Germany hahah =). Also Aquired a free mistral super light that I've been patching some holes in... So it has not touched the water since I got it.

I'm also supposed to go on Wednesday to pick up a starboard formula 160 for $200.

I was really way more proud of my skills on the longboard then I should have. I was using the sail to pull the board around rather just using my feet. I almost felt like I knew what I was doing, and no one was there to tell me otherwise... I could believe all my lies hahah.

I'll post the video from yesterday at some point. I've only Aquired a minuscule amount of vanity thus far, so quickly watching myself on video hasn't quite reached any level of importance. Though the feedback so far has proved to be very helpful, so I'm loving the idea of it.

[Derikthin]

Erniego,
Just saw your post as well =).

I get the idea of pulling down on the boom rather then pulling it towards myself, that makes much more sense.

Also in regards to long V Shortboard thing. I agree with you, I'm terrible lol and have no business on a shorter board at this point. Only reason I was using that board, that day was that it was really windy and I felt like maybe trying the beach start with that board would give me some practice and maybe learn something. I also had not brought the board out that day because I thought it might be too windy but that was silly.

I could have kept going out when I was getting up on that Bic Rock however, common sense (I have a little bit regardless of what my wife thinks) kicked in and I knew to just get up, get moving, feel in control and then bail and start the process over was my best bet. A couple times I went a little further out and that is when you saw me trying to up-haul and go upwind back to the beach. (I think I included that). I actually succeed a couple times doing that, but it did not allow me to feel comfortable enough to go out further. I have no interest in being that guy.

Earlier you guys had mentioned to me about moving my hands down the boom "quicker". Now you guys meant AFTER I get up on the board correct?

Yesterday I was trying to keep my hands a little further away from the mast while beach starting and was having more problems controlling the sail getting into position. I'm almost certain this has more to do with my lack of ability then anything else, but thought I would just ask.

Further, I think it was while I was wrestling with and being assaulted by my sail that my gopro got moved on my helmet mount which might prove for some lousy footage when I go back and review. hahaha.

At the very least I owe you guys the opportunity of getting a good laugh at my attempts. =) it gives me a good chuckle of thinking about it in hind sight.

[shreddbob]

[Derikthin]

Shredbob,
Got ya! Yah I was getting on the board and moving my hands further down the boom. I was getting the feeling for different positions and such. I'll keep all this in mind next time I'm out and work on it. I really don't want to get to attached to a bad habit.

Was going to hit the Hook Tuesday with family because the wind looked good. It's now not so cheery as it was a day or two ago. Thinking about dragging them another 45 minutes further south and hitting up Lakes bay.

[Derikthin]

Was just watching youtube videos on tacking/jibing etc.

It's very clear (or a lot more clear) the reason for "staying low" and "pulling DOWN" on the boom rather then pulling it towards me. I was having this constant problem before that I would get up but end up falling back in the water. Staying low, kissing the sail and pulling down on the boom (as you wonderful SOB's have suggested =) ) will prevent me from ingesting more salt water then is necessary.

If you all hadn't pointed out that most obvious fault of mine I would never have thought more about it or at least not known why I kept falling back in the drink.

Also the other day when I was actually more aware of my hand placement on the boom I could notice that I seemed to get more power from the sail at points with my hands further down.

I get a lot of forum time at work =/.

Also happy fathers day to all you dads out there!

::EDIT::

So excited to go back out and start crouching more. Maybe Tuesday my 1 year old will walk also.

[NOVAAN]

This has been stated over and over again. GET LESSONS. Go on a windsurfing vacation to a windy flat water location in the windy season. You will progress 10 faster with a week of pro lessons than you will in years of learning on your own. Lots of good places to go. The best one I can think of is World Winds on Bird Island in April. While the rest of the country is still recovering from the long winter, its warm and windy on the bay. You will come back even more stoked than you are now. With new skills that will allow you to take the ride that is windsurfing. We did it the hard way because we had to. You can and should take advantage of the years for R and D for boards and sails and the knowledge that a good instructor can give you....